Buffing Imron?
 

Has anyone ever buffed out Imron paint?
I have a couple small scratches I wanted to address?

If they are light scratches in the clear and not into the color or graphics, first sand them out with 2000 grit wet sandpaper. then buff them out with ''3M Finesse'' compound on a foam pad. Just make sure not to sand or buff through the clear or it will leave a nasnty bloch. Also, put a little dishwashing liquid in the water you are using. It will help to keep the sandpaper from clogging up and make the job go a little easier. Roger 1

If it is an older boat I would have to say the chances of it having clear over the color are pretty slim as Imrom is a single stage polyurethane anddoes not require clearcoat, having buffed 1000's of feet of Imron I would use a wool pad with perfect-it-III compound.

Like Geo said......I have buffed 1000s of feet of that stuff !!
If the damage is bad..I have started with 400 and worked back
You better know your stuff !!!! that may be time for a pro...

Perfect-it-III does a great job if not to bad....Imron is some
hard stuff !!!

I doesn't appear to have a two-stage finish, just color.
I have buffed Gelcoat with good results. The Imron looks as if it would behave differently, which led me to my original question.
Thanks for the feedback!

Gelcoat is a lot harder to burn through when buffing as where Imron is softer. At this point You may be farther ahead to pull it down to you local reputable body shop. This may save you alot of $ in the long run.

572
 

I also would like to do some buffing. I am not sure what you mean, is the gecoat hard to buff or do you mean it is a hard product. And when you say Imron is softer do you mean before the paint is cured?:confused:

when both products are fully cured,stop by some time for a free lesson

DMANN You need to own 1 boat for longer than a year to buff it!

For the record, I am not offended by Dmann'a avitar.

Bulldog aka ronnie

Why would ya anyway? Its a hound dog not a bulldog:D

Confused...

I was told not to use Imron over Gel-coat. If you get a scratch or chip, the paint could pull away from the Gel-coat causing huge problems.

Does this sound right or can an Imron clear coat be sprayed over the original gel to bring back the shine?????

Most suggections say use gel onl, but the expense is almost double the price.

Any help would be appreciated...

red racer- where did you hear that!! All Formula boats are painted at the factory with Imron paints. I have owned Formula's or been in Formulas for 15 years and never saw a blister or bubble in Imron. The gel may blister, but if the gel is solid & prepped correctly, there is no problem.
I was buffing mine last week & used a cotton (doesn't feel like wool) wheel to polish my Formula. I used the Mc Guires combo marine 3 part kit & it worked great on the Imrom as well as the gelcoat. Very Light compound, marine polish & then pure marine wax. Looks great. The compound is just right to get off all that environmental crude that falls out of the air & with rain (minerals on the gelcoat). Cleans it up great!
The second great thing is the kit only cost $25.00 at West Marine and will do a complete 31 foot boat.

red racer
 

Imron over gel is ok if you are putting stripes or graphics on. Or if you are sanding the entire boat with something like 320grit sand paper and are going to paint and clear. If you were going to sand and just clear you probably would have to sand with something finer than 320, and I would not recommend doing that. You might end up with adhesion problems. just my 2 cents.

Thanks Guys....

That's where I am heading... A 10yr old gel coat that needs oxidation removed. The color sanding does not last long enough, so the colors needs to be covered. The issue would be to use a clear gel coat or imron and whether they will stick for another 10yrs.

Does Formula start with Imron from the bottom to the top or gel coat colors with an imron clear?????

I hear gel on gel is the best avenue, yet also heard that imron is the best "paint" fix for my problem. Curious which way to go, will the imron really fix the problem or just last a year or two which tells me to go for the extra expense of the gel coat????

Thanks and Still a bit lost...

red racer
 

no matter what way you go if you don't take of it it won't last 10 years. If you do take care of it you might get 10 years out of Imron. If you are going to color and clear I would go with Imron, if it is going to be half the cost. again my 2 cents.

Thanks Dmann...

The damages was already done when I picked it up 3 seasons ago.. I survived the buffing and waxing so far, but now I'm done and what it done right.

Gel coat will always oxidize, constant waxing is required to keep it shiny. Imron or another of the 2 part polyurethanes (Awlgrip, Sunfire, etc) will pretty much stay shiny forever. I have painted a small handfull of boats, but never done clear over gelcoat. Most important is the total 100% removal of any wax or silicone. Most of the paint companys sell a solvent dewaxer. This is used with enough clean rags to about cover the boat. You wipe a small section, then change rags and wipre another, etc. We have used scotchbrite with kitchen cleanser to scour the entire area to be painted. Not sure how this would work out with clear. Also, we always wet sand and buff the paint, I just can't spray well enough to be happy with the unsanded result.

I find the Sunfire easier to work with than the Imron, but that is a matter of opinion. I hear Sickens is really good too, but have never used it.

First painted my old Cig with Imron in 1980, but after 3 coats you could still see the primer underneath. Re did it in 1983 with Sunfire and it still looked great until I sanded it down bare again and started my major re-do in 2000, 17 years of girls dancing on the deck, countless poker runs, 2 seasons of racing, 1 boat parade as the Eifell Tower (I will post a picture of that if I can find it) and much more.

I got a little nostalgic writing this.

Sunfire is simpley easier to spay because of the soilids in the paint (not as thick) witch makes the paint more user friendly.The higher the soilds the more it costs the longer it last.YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! If you are looking to use a scotch brite pad I would highly not recommend kitchen cleaners,these are made for the kitchen not not the paint shop if you are looking for a sanding paste stop by your local paint supplyer and he or she will give you the right one as there are many co. who make sanding paste

I am not sure that is accurate. Sunfire 421, at least as far as my memory goes is no less expensive than Imron. Imron is packaged ready to spray (just add activator). Aside from using retarder to slow it down you have no control of the flash time or spraying characteristics.

Sunfire requires the use of thinners, they come in various temperature ranges.

I have never heard of a sanding paste, but then again I have not done any significant paint work for a few years. The cleanser was recommended to me years ago by a Dupont factory rep when we had a fish eye problem.

I don't own stock in either company, just relating my personal experience.

Seems like some very experienced folks here. Maybe someone can help me out. My boat is only 6 yrs old and the dark maroon will oxidize only days after bufffing and waxing. I keep a full cover on when not in use and it still oxidizes after a few days on the water. I have tried several different wax and polish products and have found that no difference. It always buffs out easily with finesse-it. Are there some good quality products out there to help protect it longer?

Cheitman,
I think your oxidizing problem is the nature of the Gelcoat. I'm sure there are differences in Gelcoat quality as there are in paint.
Dark colored Gelcoat is notorious for fade. Paint will hold up longer than Gelcoat when it comes to UV exposure. Do a search on Gelcoat on this site and you will find all kinds of information.

I painted a couple of wooden tunnel boats back in the mid 80s. they were sponsored by ''Domminos Pizza'' and were done in the classic Domminos red white and blue color scheme. I used sunfire 421 and was very impressed with the outcome. I had some of the red left over so I redid the red stripe on my 1978 Wriedt Stinger jet boat. I see the boat every once in a while and the paint still looks good. I just sanded it down with 180 grit paper,applied SW ultra fill II primer sanded that with 400 grit applied the SW sealer and then the paint. The only way it will chip, if you apply it properly, is if you or someone else chips it! Good luck on your project Roger 1