EXHAUSTED

Use 3M High Gloss Gel Coat Compound. It is white and abrasive. Worked real well for me. Kind of hard to find, might have to have dealer order it.

GEORGE YURICK

try meguiars # 49 compound.. pretty fast cut stays wet for a while ... wet sand up to 1500 grit and polish out with this stuff followed by finess it II all on wool pads and it will shine like new ... but it will be alot of work.. use a good buffer and plenty of elbow grease... good luck .. post b4 and after pics..

Pantera1

I need a digital camera , sorry no pics.. Heres what I tried.
I went to west marine and bought the Marine Finesse it II compound pn# 06039.. Its definitely a fairly fast cut compound, supposed to take out up to 800 scratches and its white..I used it for a while and had descent results but it was taking alot longer to get through the totaly oxidized gel coat..So I went back to the 3M super duty rubbing compound , it definatly works better..I still have to go over an area 2-3 times before I get it the way it should look..(again ,this thing is realy oxidized, and the gel has very tiny cracks all through it ). Im going to hit the whole thing twice with the super duty , maybe once more with the finesse it compund, once with imperial machine glaze , then wax the hell out of it PHEEWWW... maybe I should just paint it .. Anyone ever use that paint that you brush on and it shrinks to a smooth gloss?? Whats it called and does it work?? It supposedly comes out as smooth as a spray job ..

Mbam

See if you can get your hands on some Aquabuff, comes in a 1000 and 2000, I forget which is finer but it will change the way you feel about buffing. Most of the manufacturers use it. Jerry's Auto Marine or Jomar here in Ft Lauderdale carries it.

Steve 1

Pantera 1
I can only guess at the surface you are working on, if you have to buff that much then maybe you need to sand a little.
3M Sells a dry guide coat kit (you can wet sand with it also) Go to a fresh area and see what it takes to remove the guide coat May be 1200 will do! Worst case drop back to 600 Grit ,Anyway finish sand( Guide coat now )to a min 1200 grit This is what I do then 3M Perfect it 3 one or two passes .doing the finial with Finess it 2 By then I see like a mirror finish ..Production Gel Coat..

Sand paper stay with 3M as Foreign is in Metric grit in some cases IE their 1200 is like our American standard 600 Grit

Use a Guide Coat so you do not over or under Sand an area

Buffing is like grinding it softens the detail sometimes and Sanding is the way to mirror flat !

Watch your heat from the buffer (friction)

Post a Picture there are many of us here to help !

A trick a normal DA and DA paper can be used wet so use a squrt bottle with a water and dish washing soap just a drop! While the machine cuts.!

Keep the Pad Fluffed and clean of heavy Compound Buildup !

Nave Fun and Best Regards

Pantera1

Ive wet sanded some small areas that needed it , and thought about sanding the whole boat, (a ton of work). I didn't know you could wet sand with a DA , that would be the way to go here..The deck is far worse than the sides and bottom , its obviously just years in the sun.. I just dont care for paint or the work it takes to get it prepped.. Its not coming out too bad with just a good compounding although I think the deck will be different story..
Whats the dry guide coat? Im guessing its a dark color so you can see where youve sanded to what level?
Mbam ..whats aquabuff? A compound or ?
This boat must have sat in the same direction for years as the left side is alot worse than the right.
Something else bizzare.. On the left side gunwale there are spots ranging in size from 1/8" to 1" that did not oxidize at all.. Almost seemed like the gel coat in these spots got harder or something ..Ive never seen this before. Thanks for all the help

RonS

The spots that are not oxidized are more than likely repairs that have been done at one time or another so they will fade at different rates.

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

steve1 is sure right about wet sanding with a DA. works real well. if you can, use the 3M hook & loop (velcro) system for your sand paper. it costs alittle more for the backing pad and paper but it pays off quick in paper life. hook & loop is avaliable up to like 3000 grit. also there is a spongy intermidiate pad (goes in between the paper and the backing pad) for grits above 400 try to find one of those also.


oh yea . . . .if your wetsanding with a DA, make sure your not using one of those electric Dewalt DA's

happy sanding/buffing

GEORGE YURICK

DID YOU JUST BUY THE BOAT ?? IF SO WHERE DID U GET IT.. WAS IT THE ONE FOR SALE ON LONG ISLAND??

Pantera1

GY I bought it in ontario about 3 months ago...
Does anyone make a decent electric DA ? I have an Ingersol but compressors to big to bring to the boat..