Boat Polishing / Gel coat

Discussion in 'Compounds, Polishes, Paint Cleaners, and Glazes' started by Loffgren, May 13, 2008.

  1. Loffgren

    Loffgren Virgin Detailer

    Ok so i have the Flex tool, looking for recommendations on polishes and color of pad to use (boat is black)Thanks!
     
  2. Nica

    Nica Banned

    Ooh good luck with the Gel Coat, I've read it's quite hard to polish...now that's just what I've read. There are a few members here that have polished out boats maybe they will share some info. Look forward to feed back from others on this one.
     
  3. reefer_bob

    reefer_bob Obsessive Detailer

    Based on Virtuals recent post:

    http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f47/windy-mirage-25-boat-3508.html

    While the gel coat may be tough, I'd say the flex, coupled with either SIP/IP or PG depending on your swirls, and the LC pads should be a good combination?

    I understand that Gel Coat is different from paint, but it's still a surface that you can level out and burnish. I would be careful not to generate too much heat

    Is any of this thinkiing flawed?
     
  4. Reflect

    Reflect DB Forum Supporter

    I think Collinite makes a gel coat prep.
     
  5. yukonon22

    yukonon22 Wax on..Wax off

    I have a 38 boat i recently polished out i uesed the 3m products. not sure the names but i can check(most abrasive they sell) with a wool and finished it up. On black you need a good finishing polish cause it will dull from abrasives. Heads on the the buffer it hard on it with so much surface to cover i burnt out my makita.
     
  6. Nica

    Nica Banned

    Wow really Makita burnt out, that's the first time i've heard of a Makita getting burned up. Must have been some serious polishing going on, is your Makita dead? Or just overheat?
     
  7. Duratys

    Duratys Welcome to Detailing

    I didnt know 3M had Gel-coat products. Where did you get them from?
     
  8. 911Fanatic

    911Fanatic DB Pro Supporter

    Both of these were left in the water last summer for 6 weeks. Both were thick with calcium deposits - the black part of the hulls were white. Both were washed down with Meguiars hard Water Spot Remover ( not available for sale in Canada but available from Autogeek. Highly recommended.) and a microfibre scrub pad from Classic Motoring. The hulls were then polished with SIP on an Orange CCS and finished with 106FF on a green CCS. Lots of hours. Just a note- the first side of the Seadoo took 4-5 hours to polish the calcium off. The other side using Megs HWSR and polishing took half that.

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    I'm not a boat expert but I do a few every year so if you have any more questions, feel free.
     
  9. MWAUTOPRO

    MWAUTOPRO Jedi Nuba

    From my own experience (4 boats so not much) I found it was best to make it simple, the best results I have ever gotten came from using V Polish with different polishers/pads.

    I went over it with an EDGE Green Wool pad first to remove oxidation, then with yellow meguiars polishing pads and the rotary or green edge foam pads and the cyclo, and then finished off with the porter cable with a white ccs pad.*

    I would not want to do the bulk of the cutting with a flex on a boat though. Having a rotary is a very good thiong for a boat.

    * I dont get along with ccs pads btw, it was what I had
     

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