http://rides.webshots.com/album/561348175yADjFQ?vhost=rides
Several folks have asked what I did on the gelcoat so here it is:
1. Scrubbed boat with long plastic bristle brush and soapy water.
2. Removed pinstriping and decals by peeling it up and what I couldnt peel off used an "eraser" wheel attached to my drill.
3. Scraped out/removed as much caulking/sealant as I could from the whole exterior of the boat.
4. Scrubbed boat with long plastic bristle brush and soapy water.
5. Used a 7" Variable Speed polisher/sander with 3M Gelcoat Restorer and Wax. Here is a great/cheap polisher: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92623 The "foam pad" that came with it disintigrated after a few minutes so I picked up one from a local car parts store. It held up very nicely and got me through the whole boat. I used a plastic paint scraper to "spur" the pad every few minutes to basically (lightly) scrape off the crud from the pad. Just turned it upside down, turned it on, and lightly pressed the scraper against the pad (while crud flung off). Start off with slower speed until you get the hang of it (else you can burn through your gelcoat). I used setting 3 (of 4) on the polished linked above. I would remove the haze by hand with terry cloth towel after every couple of feet.
6. Washed boat again with boat soap, nice washing mit, and toweled it dry (not a plastic bristle brush anymore).
7. Then taped off everything and applied new clear caulking (from Home Depot) with the bacterial something-or-other built-in and 3M Marine sealant (3M 4200/4300) for around the portal windows (white).
8. Then applied new pinstriping/decals that I bought online. Greatlakesskipper.com for the pinstriping and signspecialist.com for the bayliner decal.
9. Then used my rotary buffer to apply a coat of 3M Marine Wax and hand buffed it off with terry cloth towel.
10. Finally applied 303 Aerospace UV protectant (40 SPF) to the whole boat. I used paper towels to apply and wiped dry with terry cloth towel.
As far as the seats go...which were terribly soiled/stained (I somehow missed taking pictures of them). I used "magic erasers" foam pads and Spray Nine cleaner. It took some doing but they eventually came clean. A few days later, I put on a generous coating of leather restorer moisturizer and again one day later and wiped dry. That softened them back up. Finally a coating of 303 Aerospace UV Protectant to keep them looking as good as they do now.
I still have to lay the new piece of indoor/outdoor carpet that I bought at Home Depot.
Good luck with your projects!!
Sully
Several folks have asked what I did on the gelcoat so here it is:
1. Scrubbed boat with long plastic bristle brush and soapy water.
2. Removed pinstriping and decals by peeling it up and what I couldnt peel off used an "eraser" wheel attached to my drill.
3. Scraped out/removed as much caulking/sealant as I could from the whole exterior of the boat.
4. Scrubbed boat with long plastic bristle brush and soapy water.
5. Used a 7" Variable Speed polisher/sander with 3M Gelcoat Restorer and Wax. Here is a great/cheap polisher: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92623 The "foam pad" that came with it disintigrated after a few minutes so I picked up one from a local car parts store. It held up very nicely and got me through the whole boat. I used a plastic paint scraper to "spur" the pad every few minutes to basically (lightly) scrape off the crud from the pad. Just turned it upside down, turned it on, and lightly pressed the scraper against the pad (while crud flung off). Start off with slower speed until you get the hang of it (else you can burn through your gelcoat). I used setting 3 (of 4) on the polished linked above. I would remove the haze by hand with terry cloth towel after every couple of feet.
6. Washed boat again with boat soap, nice washing mit, and toweled it dry (not a plastic bristle brush anymore).
7. Then taped off everything and applied new clear caulking (from Home Depot) with the bacterial something-or-other built-in and 3M Marine sealant (3M 4200/4300) for around the portal windows (white).
8. Then applied new pinstriping/decals that I bought online. Greatlakesskipper.com for the pinstriping and signspecialist.com for the bayliner decal.
9. Then used my rotary buffer to apply a coat of 3M Marine Wax and hand buffed it off with terry cloth towel.
10. Finally applied 303 Aerospace UV protectant (40 SPF) to the whole boat. I used paper towels to apply and wiped dry with terry cloth towel.
As far as the seats go...which were terribly soiled/stained (I somehow missed taking pictures of them). I used "magic erasers" foam pads and Spray Nine cleaner. It took some doing but they eventually came clean. A few days later, I put on a generous coating of leather restorer moisturizer and again one day later and wiped dry. That softened them back up. Finally a coating of 303 Aerospace UV Protectant to keep them looking as good as they do now.
I still have to lay the new piece of indoor/outdoor carpet that I bought at Home Depot.
Good luck with your projects!!
Sully
