i have a 84 grady that i compounded with meguirs one step compound brought it back to life. so i then polished wit meg. hight gloss polish to get a shine worked but a little bochy followed by meg. flagship wax and showed more spots. should i try anything els or is it just old. read some stuff on wet sanding is this a option? search ? once i search and read a old post cant get back to searched post with out expired page shows up. how do i get back?
gelcoat polishing need advice
- Thread starter rcgtsport
- Start date
Polish first with this........http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... at+Cleaner
Follow with this..........http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... t+Wax+925+
You will be happy with the results and it lasts.
Dennis
Follow with this..........http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... t+Wax+925+
You will be happy with the results and it lasts.
Dennis
>by Wrestling Coach » Apr Sun 21, 2013 11:23 pm<
>Polish first with this........http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... at+Cleaner<
>Follow with this..........http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... t+Wax+925+<
>You will be happy with the results and it lasts.<
>Dennis<
I just did the same thing only I used 3M finesse It first. Long process going over the boat three times, but it really made my 1998 Sailfish look great. Collinite makes great products, but one suggestion: don't let the wax fully dry before you remove it. It get's pretty hard to remove when it's completely dry.
>Polish first with this........http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... at+Cleaner<
>Follow with this..........http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... t+Wax+925+<
>You will be happy with the results and it lasts.<
>Dennis<
I just did the same thing only I used 3M finesse It first. Long process going over the boat three times, but it really made my 1998 Sailfish look great. Collinite makes great products, but one suggestion: don't let the wax fully dry before you remove it. It get's pretty hard to remove when it's completely dry.
Winged Pig said:
You are absolutely correct. Wax only small areas at a time. Use sparingly and do not let it stand too long or you will have arms like Popeye before you're done.
Dennis
Previous owner of my boat recommends collinite paste wax. That stuff is a lot of work! Does anyone use the newer technology spray on polymers "synthetic wax" or Starbrite with PTEF? The guys over at THT seems to have food fights over the best wax. I can see needing something that lasts (collinite) if my boat was out in the open on a lift, but mine is covered and under a 31'x12' steel canopy and is mostly fresh water. It does get hit with sun on the sides though. But I'm looking for easy and fast to apply
Many folks swear by the Starbrite with PTFE but I had terrible results with it and stopped trying to get it to work. I went back to Gary's wax.It is a cleaner/wax. You can apply fairly large areas as directed and let dry to a haze. If you don't wait long enough, it is very difficult to remove (very sticky) and if you let it sit too long (way too long) it is also hard to remove and polish. Wax is best applied not in direct sunlight since that 'bakes' it on. The secret if there is one, is to keep changing rags as you remove it. I also remove it with a buffer and a wool pad.Having an extra pad or two is helpful since the pads will gum up as they get used. Depending on the condition of the surface, I may use the buffer with a wax application pad to apply it also.zimm said:
I was a maguires man before somebody here mentioned collinites. That stuff is the bomb! I like maguires stuff too, but the Fleet Wax lasts a long time. My topside finish on cabin part was dulling some and I used some 3M Finess ( I am not spelling this right) and did so lightly which brought out the shine and then I topped with collinites. It is worth the extra labor in my opinion.
I would be hesitant to sand anything though. Maybe work the rubbing compound a tad more in the dull areas? The problem is gelcoat is a thin layer and it only can take so much rubbing and buffing, but I suspect you already know this. You could try what Dennis suggests and see if it works.
I would be hesitant to sand anything though. Maybe work the rubbing compound a tad more in the dull areas? The problem is gelcoat is a thin layer and it only can take so much rubbing and buffing, but I suspect you already know this. You could try what Dennis suggests and see if it works.
Parthery
GreatGrady Captain
My Spring regimen last year was 3M Super Duty, followed by Collinite, followed by Star Brite with PTEF.
This year, I'm going back to the tried and true...Collinite Cleaner followed by Fleetwax.
Everyone seems to swear by the paste wax but I have used the liquid and gotten good results and it's much easier to work with.
I have a Shurhold buffer and have had good luck with it....
This year, I'm going back to the tried and true...Collinite Cleaner followed by Fleetwax.
Everyone seems to swear by the paste wax but I have used the liquid and gotten good results and it's much easier to work with.
I have a Shurhold buffer and have had good luck with it....
Let me also add this little product I use. I have a 1982 Grady Dual Console 19' Tarpon with a 470 Merc. It was an immaculate boat when I bought it. The gel coat is near perfect but the brown band around the boat just under the rub rail was faded and I could not get it to perk up with polishes etc. So I tried this only to the brown band around the boat. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Flood-Penetr ... XaKj7WG3Lk. It brought back the deep brown color and left a shiny smooth surface. It lasted the entire boating season on the St. Lawrence River in northern New York. The boat is in the water in a slip all season. So if you have a faded area this product helped me bring mine back to life. Just follow the instructions.
Dennis
Dennis
thanks for advice! going to try little more with what i got since stuff is not cheap. looks great at angle has reflecton of house on it, head on not so good. anyone using the dual action buffer saw one at harbor freight sale for like $60 was thinking on trying that out.
rcgtsport said:
I can't comment on the dual action buffer at harbor freight but I will tell you, the results you will get by hand vs a dual action machine (I have a porter cable 7242xp) is night and day difference. You need the speed in the polisher in order to get great results especially if you are bringing back an oxidized hull.
im using reg buffer now with wool pad. want to get foam pad for the polish. boats 24' so waxing by hands as far as ill go. does working in the sun better? someone said it helps. i work in body shop so only used to clearcoats boat are new to me hope to get it in water this year.
rcgtsport said:
A wool pad is good to remove the oxidation with a compound....A Dual Action Random Orbital does more work with less effort and eliminates any chance of scratching or burning through gelcoat. Closed cell foam pads work the best for polish, lake country makes some good ones (The black ones).
Some polishes you can apply in the sun, I have always found in the shade is best. I use Pro Polish which doesn't leave a residue so it is very easy to wipe off with a terry cloth after and do not work more then a 2'x2' section at a time. Often people will use to much polish and while the closed cell foam pads are great if you overload them with polish the results won't be as good.
I have been using 3m products. Compound followed by finesse it. Then using starbright polish as the final step. I have had good results with this system. The shine stays throughout the summer. In the areas under the hardtop around the helm that don't need regular compounding. I have used many products including starbright, rejex, nufinish, collinite liquid wax, maguirs. All with similar results. With the compound I will use the wool pad and a rotary buffer. For everything else i use the DA buffer with lake country pads, makes life so much easier.
I just ordered some Ultima Paint Guard Plus from Autogeek. Users claim it is as good as the best paste waxes with no buffing. Here is a discussion on hit from The Hull Truth: http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-for ... lcoat.html
The following link has another discussion on boat and car polishing and waxing. Reading it convinced me to buy the Ultima Paint Guard plus for my boat and car. http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-for ... t-wax.html