buffing gelcoat

PC 7424



dewalt 849

Chris, I know what a DA is- Ive got a PC 7424 DA polisher on my xmas list. I didnt realize that most DA sanders were pneumatic.

The 7424 will be for the car- I bought a Dewalt 849 (rotary) last spring for the boat, and I love it.

It is a known fact that gelcoat oxidizes and fades. Sanding is the only way to remove the oxidized and faded surface of the gelcoat. Even Correct Craft recognizes this fact and thus applies gelcoat thicker than most boat buildiers for precisely this reason (to allow restoring color and shine by sanding or other means of surface removal).

you can do it the hard way if you want, doing it by hand is the wrong way IMHO.

All your doing is removing more of the gel-kote and making it thinned and thinner, the color is already there the shine is what is missing.

If you going to wet sand it don't waiste your time with the smaller grit stuff because all it does is rough up the surface, Get a DA use 1000 grit then follow with 1500 grit paper and you'll spend a couple of hours wet sanding instead of days.

Kurt, from what Ive read a lot of marine finishing products are the same as automotive and just re-labeled. I did a LOT of research on what products to use, both on boat forums and detailing sites (autopia). I got great results with these products.

As far as time goes, Id say I spent about 40 hrs on my deck. That includes all the surface above the rub rail (even the interior surfaces). I wetsanded the entire thing 5 times (320, 400, 600, 1000, 1000), then I hit it with the products I mentioned (twice on the super duty compound and finesse-it II polish) and waxed it. Wetsanding was the least fun and went the slowest. It sounds like you dont need to be that aggressive. Only go as aggressive as you need- try the finesse-it first, and if you need more grit work progressively towards the super duty. I would be very surprised if you got that far and decided you want to wet sand.

For pads, I bought Lake Country pads from the same website I mentioned (great prices on these as well). I will update this post with the part numbers when I get my list in front of me.

Kurt, gel coat is much easier to deal with than paint. Its harder and much thicker, so you have to be a little more aggressive- but you dont have the risk of burning it or going through the clear coat like you do with automotive paint.

I did wet sand the entire top deck- a total of 5 times. Its exhausting and time consuming. Unless you have scratches you want to remove, have serious oxidation, or want to bring old color back (like I did) then I dont recommend wet sanding. All of the shine can be brought back with a good rotary buffer and the materials I listed above (and good pads).

I wouldnt bother with the glaze because you really dont need it. The surface looked incredible after the finesse-it II. The glaze went on best by hand, but I didnt notice any improvement. It was also a pain in the a$$ to work with in 95 degree heat since it kept drying on me.

Here is a pic of the deck after I hit it with the finesse it II for the first time (I did it twice):

88 Nautique wrote: Does anybody know where to buy: 3M Imperial Compound 3M Perfect It III Machine Glaze 3M Micro Finish I cannot find it in my small town and I'm having trouble finding it online as well. This sounds like a good combination to use on my new (to me) 88 Nautique. The 3M website is so confusing and when you go to the "buy it now" section of the site, those products are not offered. 3M has a horrible web site if you ask me. Thanks....

The best place for 3M stuff online is here:

Smart Shoppers Inc.

Their prices on the quart sizes are comparable to the pint prices elsewhere.

You didnt ask for it, but Ill give you my recommendation anyways. I got great results using these products:

3M super duty rubbing compound
3M imperial microfinishing compound
3M finesse-it II finishing material (polish)

I used the perfect-it III glaze after that, but I dont think Id do it again. I was extremely impressed with the super duty compound and the finess-it II stuff- the microfinishing compound was a good step in between. You may not need to go as strong as the super duty, but my deck really shines. I got a great deal on all the pads I used from this place as well- let me know if you need recommendations on those.

Does anybody know where to buy:
3M Imperial Compound
3M Perfect It III Machine Glaze
3M Micro Finish
I cannot find it in my small town and I'm having trouble finding it online as well. This sounds like a good combination to use on my new (to me) 88 Nautique. The 3M website is so confusing and when you go to the "buy it now" section of the site, those products are not offered. 3M has a horrible web site if you ask me. Thanks....

There are pads for compounding and pads for finishing. 3M has a good selection.I think the foam ones are easiest to work with...very forgiving and you can get contours...can use the edges.
Agree with TRBenj...remove by hand with soft towel.

When you use a buffer, do you use one pad for application and another for taking off? Of do you put on by hand and then buff off? Or what?

Any comments on PoliGlow?

I dug up some old threads, and some people seemed stoked about it.

My 95 is very dull right where TRBenj has the sweet shine. I get real nervous abour wet sanding, power buffers, etc. I've seen some bad work over the years and don't want my sweet 95 to be one of them.

Suggestions.

For oxidized gel, try 3M "Imperial Compound and Finishing Material" it starts out as a fast cut compound (able to remove 800 grit scratches) them breaks down to polish. Follow up with 3M "Perfect It III" machine glaze.

You'll need a high speed rotary buffer for this. I used a $30.00 Harbor freight model , it worked well.

Good info TRBenj. I went with a more aggressive rubbing compound on the other side of the boat. The Turtle Wax compound was just too light. I suppose I want to apply the new decals that I bought after I polish, but before I wax (?). Seems like it would make more sense to apply the decals to a non-waxed surface.

something with teflon like 3M or Starbrite polish should be a good finisher and last a little longer than old fashioned wax.