1976 Tom Boy Boat, 1976 40 HP Johnson Outboard and who knows what Trailer

[Pusher]

VERRRYYY Nice work GM!!!! I love the shine. I can see the haze you're talking about but that will buff out no problem.

Could you just hand buff the whole hull? I'm sure polyuerethane is very different but we'd just use Finess to buff the final coat.

 

[Patfromny]

Great job GM. Looks great. Looks like all the hours of prep paid off big time. She looks perfect.

Lol!

You might want to check with your paint shop before you wax. My local guys recommended 30 days before wax. Color sanding and buffing is no issue, I think wax had to do with the paint off-gassing. I think the concern was the wax sealing up the surface and not allowing total curing. Which doesn't make a lot of sense with a catalyzed paint....but you might check. Maybe an old wise tale.

my body shop told me the same Arch. So, to be safe, I waited two years lol. Amazing how certain tasks go to the bottom of the to do list. I hate waxing and buffing.

 

[gm280]

I guess I need to explain my idea a little better.

I am not going to be waxing the hull at all. My plan is a few days, maybe even a week, to cure and then 2000 grit wet sand followed by 3M polishing compound with a Makita variable speed buffer set to around 1400 RPMs. That is how I did cars before and they look pretty good. But there is no wax what so ever going on the hull at this time. Just the usual wet sand and buff that most body shops do with their paint finishes.

I hope that explains it better. The wet sand removes the dust and things like that before buffing. Is the hull perfect? Of course not, not even close! But it is nice enough that you have to get really close to see any issues. But I am hoping that moving on the water a few hundred yards away will make it look okay. :facepalm:

I have yet to make anything perfect. That is my initial goal each time, but I have yet to achieve it. If I had a totally clean paint room to do the painting finishes in, I am sure it would look nice. But in a breezeway with the pollen flowing non-stop, it is what it is

However, I do appreciate all the nice reviews from you guys. I am sure other iboaters working on their project boat probably feel as well, that is what keeps me going when the project gets ho-hum after working on it for so long. Thanks!

 

[Tnstratofam]

I have yet to make anything perfect.

Um looks perfect to me!:nod:

I think it turned out Awesome! :encouragement:

 

[Patfromny]

I agree, it looks unbelievable.

 

[gm280]

Thanks so much guys. I honestly do like the compliments.

Yesterday it poured here for most of the day..and again last night as well. So I guess I picked the best day to clear coat the hull after all. Today they are only calling for mid to upper 50's. Which sounds more like our winter temps then near summer. But who knows with the weather anymore.

If the week end looks nice, I might do the wet sand and buff. It doesn't really take long. Probably about a few hours. The buffing is the easiest part. You just apply some 3M polishing compound, which is merely like a 10000 grit media, and then polish the finish with the low speed buffer. And it instantly comes to life with a nice clean shine. May not show up on pictures, but you can see the difference up close. After that it is finished on the paint work and ready to flip back over for carpet, seats, finish wiring and such. Not finished yet, but getting there.

I know it seems like it never ends because it literally has been years since i started it. But life gets into the way so many time. And it was suppose to be a hobby refurbish, and that it was.

Funny, I am looking to refurbish a Bass Boat next. I know,... :faceplam:

 

[Pusher]

Make that two facepalms!

This two-boat-itis sets in somethin fierce.

 

[gm280]

Make that two facepalms!

This two-boat-itis sets in somethin fierce.

Oh, I haven't even picked out a Bass Boat yet. It is just that I really enjoyed my Bass Boat I had years ago. I fished that boat hard but it was like show room condition when I sold it. Never ever had it out in the weather and it was immaculate the day it sold. Everything looked and functioned like new.

So I am toying with the idea of refurbish some older design Bass Boat after this little tri-hull project is finished.

Of course the house gets refurbished before that as well. So we will see.

 

[Pusher]

Yeah, I'm hoping to move to a new house with a pole barn for the next project.... Which would mean a year of getting the new house just right. I'll tell ya what, redoing a boat a year after marriage is slow going.

 

[gm280]

Well this afternoon I did the 2000 grit wet sand. It now is waiting for the buffing and then ready to flip back over. Basically at this stage there is no flaws going to be sanded out or fixed. It merely removes the nits (whatever words fits) and such things that landed on the surface while it was still tacky. Pollen in this case was the most things removed wet sanding. You could slide your hand across the finish and feel little particles in the finish. After wet sanding, it was smooth again. However, now it has a hazy look that the buffing stage will remove and a nice shine will be left...I hope!.


You can see the hazy look from the 2000 grit wet sand. But that will disappear once the buffing is complete.

Another angle.

And one more shot. It look precarious but it will look nice afterwards....I hope!

I will post that after pictures so you all can see the finish.

 

[archbuilder]

It will be nice and slick GM, looking forward to the shine!

 

[jbuote]

Yes, it's going to look amazing! You probably won't even want to put it in the water when you're done!! :laugh:
​Seriously though... Nice work GM!!

 

[gm280]

Ha thanks guys. Hope to see the final today, if everything works out right.

It really doesn't seem like 2000 grit is doing much until it drys and you can see the results. 2000 grit feel much like a sheet of regular tablet writing paper. And with the water flowing, you really can't tell much other then the surface gets really smooth. Those little nits and nubs sand off really quickly.

The slow speed buffing brings the shine out really nice. Well at least that is how it worked on other things I've painted. Hope it does this time as well.

 

[gm280]

Okay a little more update material. Well I did wet sand as previously stated, and today I did the buffing. And a few things cropped up. But nothing that can't be remedied.

The areas that wet sand good came out looking pretty good after the buff. But there were a few areas that are going to need another round of wet sanding to remove a lot of orange peel issues. So a little more with those areas and then another buff for those areas and I am calling finished.

I started out with 3M Ultrafine number 3 polishing compound 39062. And the blue foam pad on a Makita buffer set to 1500 RPMs per the 3M instructions. And it was amazing to see that shine pop through. But like I said, a few areas received some over-spray and need additional wet sanding yet. I also realized I didn't have enough polishing media to do the entire hull.

So when we went out for lunch, I dropped by the PPG auto paint store and bought some more. But I bought one step gritter, 3M Ultrafine number 2 (39061), Instead of 3M Ultrafine number 3 (39062), Works pretty much the same way, just a little more cutting ability.


This area was just buffed and really looks nice. The junk on the right upper side is some splatted compound. It does that when buffing.

Here is one side after the buff. Not too bad. I only wish the entire hull looked as good. But sadly there is more work to do yet.

Here is a closer shot of the side so you can see the different color and how they came out. Again, I only wish the entire hull look like this.

This is a interesting shot. It shows the side that has just been buffed and the transom that hasn't been touched yet. You can obviously see the different.

Here is the bow area. It came out nice as well. Still has some partials to brush off, but not too bad.

And this is the other side buffed.

And I am showing this shot so you all can see an area that still needs additional wet sanding. Not all that junk is orange peel. Most of it is from partials that sling around when buffing. But it still needs work. So after my arms rest for a while, I will be back at it. But the arms are screaming "I need a long break". And I think I will listen to them.

Until next time, you all have a great day.

 

[sphelps]

Wow gm !!! She is turning out as expected !!! incredibly nice !!! :hail:

 

[Dlp78]

I did some reading on your thread today and might I say it looks really nice

 

[Pusher]

When you're done you'll be able to use the hull as a mirror and the fish will pack around your boat out of sheer vanity

Quality work GM. My brother and I did some touch up polishing on a twin beech aircraft once and that still took days. Your attention to detail is really shining through

 

[archbuilder]

Looks great, 3M makes the best compounds!

 

[gm280]

Thanks again guys. I do appreciate the kind words!

The only reason I list everything I use is so others will know what products they could use or substitute as well. So many times I see things others have done and have to ask what they used and how. So I try to give detail for that reason. I will admit, I offer too much detail most of the time. But that is my reasoning for that.

After doing some more wet sanding, It should look good enough for the fishies...I hope. I mean I need all the help I can get when it comes to fishing. :facepalm:

The reason I have to re-wet sand some areas is because when you spray anything on a tri-hull, you have two valleys to cover, and of course three peaks.And when you are spraying one peak or valley, over-spray settles on the other valley. The only way you can control that some what, is by reducing the fan pattern (and I didn't) or add reducer to the mix. But I didn't add any reducer either because I've sprayed clear coats lots of times, and had no need for any reducer. The clear coat actually settled on the adjacent area and was pretty much curing already, hence orange peel. So hopefully another wet-sanding should remedy that issue, followed by buffing.

All this to get the fishies to come close enough for me to try and catch them. I have heard that if they do like your boat, they will come by just for a ride. Okay, one can always hope can't they?

 

[kcassells]

Please note to all your legion of followers.....'CAUTION"

Sun Glasses Required to view your pics! Looks Great!