The Miracle of Polishing Compound!
Printed From: CorrectCraftFan.com
Category: Repairs and Maintenance
Forum Name: Boat Maintenance
Forum Discription: Discuss maintenance of your Correct Craft
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9477
Printed Date: November-15-2024 at 9:22pm
Topic: The Miracle of Polishing Compound!
Posted By: davidg
Subject: The Miracle of Polishing Compound!
Date Posted: January-25-2008 at 3:56pm
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I have been working on polishing the '76 Southwind for the past week. The gelcoat is really coming back to life. It was BADLY oxidized. This is just after one pass, and a quick follow-up pass in each area with polishing compound (Wizards Turbo Cut)which was ~$18/bottle. The freezing temperatures don't seem to effect the quality at all.
I plan to follow this up with 3M Finesse-It finishing compound, and then wax down the road....after I paint the stripes. As we say down in Indiana where I hail from....Shining like a dime in a billy goats hind end! 
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Replies:
Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: January-25-2008 at 4:05pm
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Davidg, looking good! I too like this kind of work because you see results pretty quickly. Looks like you might have to break out the sandpaper if you want to get rid of the ghosting from the old registration letters. Dont forget to clean the hull really well after polishing and before painting or waxing- I like to do a quick wipedown with an acetone rag. The residue left by the polish will keep anything else from sticking properly.
Keep up the good work! ------------- |
Posted By: davidg
Date Posted: January-25-2008 at 5:37pm
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TRB;
Thanks for the encouragement and all your advice on the different compounds. You set me straight as far as the steps, and types of compounds to use at each step. Much appreciated. On that shadowing, what type of sandpaper would you suggest? Also, wet sand or dry sand? I am assuming wet sand. Thanks! Dave |
Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: January-25-2008 at 5:43pm
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Yup, definitely wetsand. Check and see what level of grit your compound can remove (I know 3M Super Duty can remove 1000 grit scratches) and start there. If that isnt aggressive enough, work backwards until you get results. Then work your way back up to 1000 (or whatever your compound will take out) in increments of ~200. Ive seen some ghosting taken out with 1000 grit, other times it has taken 320.
If you can find a Meguires, 3M or other high quality wet/dry paper in the required grits, let me know where you find it! I resorted to using some cheap stuff that I found at Home Depot or Autozone. The stuff I used worked just fine, but a better paper would have a more uniform grit and will result in fewer fine scratches when youre all done. ------------- |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: January-25-2008 at 9:32pm
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Dave, Make sure you post the results of wet sanding out the shadow. I'm very interested because I have had problems with getting them out by wet sanding. I've found that the shadow under the decals is the virgin color and the rest of the gel is aged darker. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Gary S
Date Posted: January-25-2008 at 9:59pm
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Tim,the last time I bought 3m paper was at my local Farm & Fleet,but it has been a couple of years.If you don't mind mail order you could try here-
http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=3M2MF&Category_Code=SM I have bought my fresh air system from them and some other misc and was happy with their service ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1711&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1966&yrend=1970" rel="nofollow - 69 Mustang HM SS 95 Nautique Super Sport |
Posted By: davidg
Date Posted: January-25-2008 at 11:33pm
Well, slowly but surely the boat is getting polished. I worked on the numbers area this evening. Its very strange. There are bright white areas, and very yellowed areas, all criss-crossed together depending on what letter was over what area which had or hadn't been exposed to the sun. I am anal about having things nice, but, I am not sure I really want to go to the trouble of wet sanding this area down. Not sure it will really get much better than it is now. We will see. I may just put the new numbers over this area and call it a day. Here are some pictures.
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Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: January-26-2008 at 12:54am
Pete, Ive found it can be done- but you may have to be pretty aggressive. I restored the deck on my '90 to match the virgin gel under an original warning decal. I also helped Brad restore the fade on the stern of his '86 to match what was underneath the decals. Both required going down to 320 grit. 
Gary, thats what Im looking for- except they dont carry anything more aggressive than 1000. The Super Duty compound removes 1000 grit scratches, so I havent had much use for the finer grits. Since I havent been able to find any, it may not even be available from 3M or Meguires. Thanks for the link, though. ------------- |
8122pbrainard wrote:Posted By: Gary S
Date Posted: January-26-2008 at 1:50am
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Tim,I missunderstood you I thought you were looking for the finer grit.How about this
http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=3Mwords&Category_Code=SM ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1711&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1966&yrend=1970" rel="nofollow - 69 Mustang HM SS 95 Nautique Super Sport |
Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: January-26-2008 at 1:59am
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Gary, thats the stuff. Now only if it werent so darn expensive! Ill have to look up to see how the P grit converts to the regular scale- I know its not quite the same. ------------- |
Posted By: davidg
Date Posted: January-27-2008 at 11:07pm
Here are some shots of the side of the Southwind after 3M Finesse II finish compound. Man, it is really shining now. Check out the reflection of my red/white truck next to it.
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