A coworker wants me to detail his 17FT boat. I have never detailed a boat and would like some input on what's different about it (besides the fact that is massive compared to a vehicle). He just wants a basic clean up. He mentioned that is not oxidized, but the hull needs the typical cleaning. Should I take this challenge or run away? I going to see the boat this weekend.
depends on the type of boat, if its a bass boat flat top those are pretty easy,, also is the hull aluminum? I have never detailed a boat per say, I own one but its a party boat LOL......... so its pretty much hose it off, if I wanted to be a nerd I could polish out the pontoons, but the pontoons themselves are almost 25 feet long, plus there are two of them.
I have worked on fiberglass panels before, not much different other than most are not cleared in the same manner that auto finishes are. But they wax the same if thats all your doing, a gallon of zep orange, bottle of collinite 845, leather vinyl protectant, brushes and a vacuum and your good to go.
Sup G! Shouldn't be too hard, I'm working on one on Monday that's 18ft, wash&wax so I'll be able to tell you how it goes and the time put into it. I gave it an inspection though, should only be a 3 hour job or so. I'm expecting it to be easier than a car actually, no tires to deal with, bugs, embedded stuff, etc. I plan on washing it then following up with 845 on a D/A. Interior includes minor metal work w/ P21S polishing soap, 303 aerospace on the seats, and 845 on the flat exposed surfaces. Going to do a quick once-over on the plastic screens too, APC for everything else. I quoted him $10-12 a foot, so about 60-65/hr if everything goes according to plan. I'll get back to you on how everything goes!
http://www.ewboats.com/170_center_console_5.html This is the boat ... He doesn't want anything fancy.
Id do it, its not hard, most of the surfaces will be pretty easy to clean up........just wear white soled shoes, or barefoot lol
He wants it mobile ... I rather do it my driveway. I might say yes, even though I should be doing housework. Tried to barter my intermediate detailing skills and got shafted big time.
Gianni, gelcoat can be time consuming but you just need to treat it as you would paint, with a bit more hardness. A DA for lightly oxidized stuff will be fine, if its AWFUL you absolutely will need to cut it with a rotary. For cleaning hulls you may need something like muriatic acid or hull cleaner to clean the yellowing and scum from it. The transom areas (Where the motor sits) can be kinda gross, typically might need some hand polishing, but otherwise isn't usually so bad. You may end up wanting to polish the engine cover too. If you are doing this you will be scrubbing and hosing the inside out, but then polishing the top side of the boat as well on the non tread surfaces. Its time consuming but you can command a good dollar for it. If you want some help just reply back. Youre basically detailing an upside down RV, with water film on it.
amazing roll off is a great product for multiple areas of the boat. also cant beat the collonite marine waxes. take the challenge, it cant hurt as a learning experience....just dont do a ton of work for free!
I can't see the picture but here's some limited experience. Sometimes the vinyl graphics need a VRT, sometimes that can be a PITA. What I found helpful was to use a water blade and a wash pole from Target, made the washing and drying stage go by a lot quicker. The prep/polish layer Collinite can be a bit finicky but the 845 works really well. If you don't need to use the prep, don't. It can cause uneven spots if you aren't as tedious as polishing a car. A lot of the time there are really bad water stains on the glass so bring steel wool and water spot remover/vinegar/possibly even acid. Polishing soap works great, do all of that before you wash so you can just wash the residue away. I'd add if I can remember anything else.
Thanks for all the replies guys!! I'll keep you guys posted. BTW ... do you guys charge the same amount per hr when doing boats/rv's?
There's a reason the owner doesn't want to do this (insert evil laugh), I'll do a boat but I'll charge a bit more than a car, do one and you'll know why. If it's really dull gelcoat, Shurbuff compound, rotary and lots of wool pads will be your new best friends. Interiors aren't that bad, sure you'll find some water that's been sitting in the cooler/storage since last year and you'll gag a bit, but, it's ok, wear gloves!
A year or two ago, I did my father's boat. It was a pain in the pooper because it's so time-consuming but the boat was in the driveway at the time, so I did it over a couple of days. Pre-washed with P21S TAW (through foam gun) and then washed it up like a car. Because it's a boat, everything can be washed as normal but I remember doing the center console area (where the electronics are) with ONR. You don't wax the deck of the boat (just wash) so that saves a lot of surface area. For the hull, I did Klasse AIO with a Porter Cable and a LC White Polishing Pad. Had my younger brother follow my K-AIO application with a second PC7424 with microfiber bonnet to buff off the Klasse. Then I applied a nice coat of 845 the same way. If your customer isn't willing to pay for anything fancy, then I recommend using the same process. The hull came out looking GREAT. I just did Optimum Car Wax on the outboard motors. The rear of the boat and the top sides were done with K-AIO and Colli 845 but by hand, same with the center console. Metals were polished up with Opt Metal Polish and CG Metal Wax. Vinyl seats were cleaned and protected with Lexol Vinylex. It was my father's boat, but for what it's worth, I was given $500 for all that for a 28 foot boat. I just asked my father and he said that was appropriate for this process of what boaters call a "clean and shine." A large boat would go for $800.
