Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | This past summer, I inquired here as to products to use for getting cover related hazing off my gunnel cap gel coat, and I ended up using some of the products mentioned with pretty good results. One thing I did end up going with upon a friends recomendation, was a high speed drill which reached speeds a bit higher than the buffers I had at my disposal. I was able to get the speed and results, that I would have had to spend hundreds to get from a buffer. One needs to be careful though, as to not 'burn' the gel with too much pressure and heat. Now, i did use my slightly slower buffer to use the compound swirl mark eliminating finishing glaze/compound, then a hand wax, and the end result was a bit better than expected, considering I thought I would never get rid of the dulling that had taken place. I started with 3M fiberglass color and gloss restorer, followed by Finnesse it II compound/glave, followed by either Maquires premium marine wax(black bottle), or Maquires 100% Carnuba wax(blue bottle). I maintain it with a daily(or whenever used) mist of Bass Boat Saver(very nice product), whiped off, protecting the above procedures. Then, about once every 20-25 times on the water, another quick wax.
One thing I would do differently next time, and I plan to do this off season to try to dial in my job a bit better, is use slightly different products. I am going to work on a friends boat, so it will be neat to compare. My boat was not really scratched up and did not have much color loss. I used the color/gloss restorer, which contained very abrasive compounds, which did add scratches to my gunnel surface, that I still haven't completely taken off, as the Finnesse it II did not cut quite enough to finish the job, though the glaze in it does mask it for quite a while especially if a good wax used. I would, next time, start with a slightly less abrasive compound up front like the 3M perfect -it II compound, followed by the Finnesse it I. then, there are a couple products being recomended by the Bass and Walleye boat guys, Pro-Tec glaze(supposedly protects from envoronment for up to 6 months) , and some of Skeeters products. The pad used makes a difference too, though I have just used a basic wool buffing pad for all products so far, then a foam wax applicator for the wax. Good luck and please report back.
http://bassboatsaver.com/
http://www.levineautoparts.com/3mperiirubco.html
http://www.protecproducts.com/faq.html
https://larsensa.hostinggreatlakes.com/appieshop/
Edited by Reef Hawg 10/24/2009 7:54 PM
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Location: Des Moines IA | I used elbow grease, 3M restorer and wax, then a coat of McGuiar's Quik Wax over the top of that. The boat is 7 years old and has some deeper scratches I would like to try and get out with a power buffer. All in all it looks pretty good, just seems like a lot of work by hand. I do need a less abrasive compound for the rest of the boat though, thanks for the suggestions. I'll try the power buffer once I'm done fishing for the year, and see how it goes. |
