Buffing Gelcoat
 

I plan on buffing my boat this winter. I have a partial wrap on the boat. Any ideas of what to put over the edges of the wrap so the buffer doesn't mess it up. I was thinking painters tape but I did not want that to peel up the wrap when I pull it off. Has anyone else ever done this?

Thanks,
Blake

the blue painters tape is pretty weak stuff, the glue is like a friggin post it note lol. I would think regular 3M green should work good and if your wrap was properly applied I wouldnt think you should have a problem pulling it off.

Thanks Dave!

If properly installed, you shouldn't need anything. I've buffed mine with no problem.

Even with a rotary buffer and wool pads buffing pads?!

I wouldn't think it would pull up the wrap, but the buffer could take out the coloring or mess the coloring up, I would run a piece of 2" down the edge of the wrap to protect it against that.

Hey Blake, tried to RE your PM and got a "pm box full" thingie . . . so hear ya go :D



Yep actually i have a compound i use for exactly that, light oxidation. Fountain of Youth Restore has a compound called Totally Buff that is amazing, not a snake oil product just a well thought out marine compound. Its a diminishing compound that works itself down to a finer polish as you go and it has an odd/cool property that lets it clean itself out of a wool pad (by the way wool ONLY for gelcoat, no foam) As you work the buffer it kinda balls up and flings out of the pad and never gums up. I have done three thirty eights with the same pad and never spurred it a single time pad. After hitting it with Totally i finish up with either Vitreo or Awesome wax (also from FoY) heres a link. All there stuff is great its all i use in my shop

http://www.fountainofyouthrestore.com/products.html


not sure if you saw this thread but theres some good info . . . .

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/f...vibra-cut.html

good luck man and let me know how it goes

Thanks Dave. I am going to order now.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]531675[/ATTACH]

I use a Dewalt 7" polisher variable speed, tops out at 1750. Foam pad to polish and finish up with terry cloth pad.

Never had an issue, but I would listen to Glass Dave.

Im another huge fan of these products. Great stuff. I HATE detailing my boats / cars, but I'm extremely anal at the same time. This stuff works great and is easy to use.

RT930turbo, Empty your PM box or PM me please.
Cyrus

Sorry man! Cleaning it out. I'll shoot you my number. Give me a call!

I agree with Dave 110%. I don't have a wrap but do have vinyl graphics and use the totally buff with a wool pad right over the top of my vinyl graphics. On a wrap you should hav a clear layer over your wrap, so there should be no harm to the colors. As a matter of fact, after I polished my boat a few weeks ago (first time since redoing the vinyl graphics) it actually made the vinyl graphics glossier.

Ive been detailing boats professionally for 6 years now and the Fountain of Youth Products is the best Ive used... great stuff.

Thanks for all the comments. I received my products in the mail today. I hope my porter cable 7424 will be sufficient enough for the light oxidation. I figured I would run it at about half speed or a little higher for the totally buff and a about 1/4 of the way for the wax.

If you are going to use the totally buff compound, I might suggest you try using their Vitreo polish/sealant instead of wax. I haven't put wax on a boat in years. The Vitreo polish, in my opinion, works better than any wax I have ever used and is very easy to apply. There are a lot of arguments on wax vs no wax (not going there....). Before using FOY products I waxed my boat a few times through out the season. With the Vitreo I only use it at the beginning of the season and it lasts the entire summer (I do store indoors). When I outdoor stored I would apply by machine in the spring (after totally buff). Then once by hand about the mid point of the summer. Either way you go, let us know what you think of the Totally buff. I'd bet you will become on of the many FOY fans. Good Luck!

That's what I have. Totally buff and vetreo. Just couldn't think of the name at the time. I'll get some before and afters the next couple of weeks. Heading out on vacation tomorrow.

You'll want to work the compound at maybe half speed but as the compound breaks down ramp up the speed, as it heats up you'll see the gloss start to come out. I genetally buff in the spring with Totally hit with Vitreo then maintain it with Quick Shine spray detailer (also from FOY)

So what you are saying is that if I hate buffing and polishing my boat because of less than desired results this stuff will change my mind. I'm not a stranger to hard work just older now and don't like wasting my time. Boat is 31 Sonic, mostly white, not chalky, just not bright as I'd like.

what year is it? I dont know that it makes it any easier, buffin is buffin and if your doing it right it takes some elbow grease. What this stuff does is maximize your effort, its a real well thought group of products that work . . . . :cool:


http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/f...vibra-cut.html

I hate to disagree with the absolute master of this stuff (Dave), but the Porter-Cable 7424 is not a true rotary buffer of the variety Dave uses on most of his stunning work. The big difference is pad speed. The 7424 is a random orbital machine with some (non-forced) pad rotation. In other words, if you apply too much pressure to the machine, the rotary motion of the pad will stall and all you get is a weak random orbital motion. That doesn't give you much correction ability - regardless of the speed at which you run it. Don't get me wrong, I have a 7424 and a 7424 XP along with a Flex and a DeWalt rotary machines. The 7424's are great machines, but not for medium to heavy correction.

A true rotary machine on the other hand has no random orbital motion and forced rotary motion. Translation: You cannot stall the pad. For heavy correction work (and a real upper body workout) these bad boys are the only way to fly.

So getting back to how fast you'd probably want to run a 7424, I'd say to run it flat out for the oxidation removal - especially with a wool pad. Even flat out, this particular machine just doesn't have the pad speed of a rotary. For final polishing and / or wax application with a foam pad, you can slow it way down. Hopefully Dave will agree - and not take me off his Christmas Card list.

Tom

to be honest i never looked up the machine i just thought it was there big box store rotary machine. You are 100% correct Tom there orbital machines are for final detail and wax only. In my shop i use Makita 9227's and have had others but none has stood up to the abuse the Makita has. Dewalt makes a nice burly "looking" machine but (like all my other Dewalt stuff) did not last long at all. I have herd Flex is the king cheese these days but with the longevity of my current buffer i may never wear it out so i can get me a new one lol.


good catch Tom, honestly i just overlooked that very important part of this. Whats funny is i have four PC 7424's in the shop but we use them for sanding the big orbit makes them a hog of a DA. :cool:

I agree on speed as well but like i said i start slow to get the compound spread out and working then ramp it up till your cookin (pretty much flat out) gel likes heat to bring out the gloss but go easy on the wraps and any vinyl it can distort them.

+1 Dave. They just upgraded the Makita 9227C to the 9237CX2 see link:

http://www.autogeek.net/ma927po.html

I just bought a dynabrade random orbital attachment for my old school Milwaukee buffer.

It wasn't cheap at 150 but it's badass for not getting swirl marks everywhere.

Was thinking about purchasing this: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...5139_200485139 and then using the porter cable for the final step. Can you send me a link to the pads I need to purchase for the totally buff and the vitreo or is just any wool pad for both.

Never heard of Clutch, to be honest if your always gonna have a boat (which I'm guess'in you are :D) then you should own a quality buffer. You dont really need the most expensive but nearly every 99 dollar tool i have ever purchased didnt last long. I have been pretty happy with my Makita stuff and i think they are like $220 or so. Just food for thought, that one will probably get ya by for a while but buffing gel is hard of equipment, takes a high load at times.

If you have a Harbor Freight in your area the wool pads there aint bad.

Heading to Harbor Freight now!

Curious about the results with the vinyl graphics.. I just bought Totally Buff and Vitreo to do my top deck which really needs a good polishing. But it also has vinyl graphics on it and I was planning on replacing the vinyl because I figured I would destroy them with the compound and buffer. Didn't the grit in the totally buff scratch the vinyl surface??

I just bought a Makita 9227 CX3 (that's the buffer plus two pads and a carrying bag for $190 including shipping on eBay...

So I bought the Dewalt 849 series rotary today. Anyways, I also bought these pads from Harbor Freight - http://www.harborfreight.com/7-1-2-h...pad-90451.html

These do not seem compatible with the backing plate that comes with the rotary. They are for a hook and loop backing plate which I assume is just velcro. Anyways, I didn't see anywhere on the packaging what size backing plate I should buy. Should I get a 6" backing plate.

Sorry for all the stupid questions just want to make sure I have the right stuff.

Blake

Paging glassdave! haha

yo! :D . . .


I use these but there are other brands, seven an a half inch velcro backing disk. I switched to velcro everything long ago :cool:

http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/m...tegory_Code=T2

Thanks Dave. Ordered a hook and loop backing pad.

[QUOTE=CBlakeNS;4219898]So I bought the Dewalt 849 series rotary today. Anyways, I also bought these pads from Harbor Freight - http://www.harborfreight.com/7-1-2-h...pad-90451.html

These do not seem compatible with the backing plate that comes with the rotary. They are for a hook and loop backing plate which I assume is just velcro. Anyways, I didn't see anywhere on the packaging what size backing plate I should buy. Should I get a 6" backing plate.

Sorry for all the stupid questions just want to make sure I have the right stuff.


CBlakeNS - any 6" to 6 3/4" diameter hook n Loop backing plate with a 5/8 thread should work. I have never used the Harbor Freight wool pads but my Lake Country and Buff N Shine 7 1/2" pads work well with the Lake Country 6" backing Plate or the Dewalt 7" Backing Plate (actual diameter is 6 3/4").
http://www.autogeek.net/6-inch-rotary-plate.html

You may also want to invest in a pad spur to clean the wool pads "on the fly". This is a lot safer than using a screw driver or a folded metal strap. It is advised to give new wool pads a good spurring before the first use to get rid of any excess fluff.
http://www.autogeek.net/wool-pad-spur.html

Chase - I ordered that backing pad. I am probably going to order a spur in case I use any other product for another project. However, according to glassdave, the totallybuff product doesn't clog the wool pads up.

you will need the spur for vibra but not likely for Totally buff, either way its good to have one. I went through a full qt and three boats and never spurred the pad, its about the only product I've seen that cleaned so well.

It wont pull the wrap if you buff with the pad coming down on the wrap... not against...

How long are you all typically buffing a 2x2 section? I messed around a little tonight and ran the buffer slow then up to 2200 rpm. Should I go faster?

seems like most times I will have to work an area a couple times to get the full gloss out of it. Just start off working the compound around while increasing pressure and speed. I dont think there is a specific rpm per say but as you go you'll probably develop a feel for it. Generally I finish up with the buffer cookin pretty good and then sort of throttle it as I'm cleaning off the final bit of compound.


time wise you could kill the better part of a day doing a thirty three footer :D

Ok guess I shouldn't worry about burning up gel coat just keep it moving. I was doing l forward to back and up and down motions. Hopefully work on one side this weekend. I just ordered a spur. Can I spur the pad and use it again after the compound dries on the wool I just used