1987 Power Play XLT-185 - floors, stringers, and upholstery

zool

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Removing ghosting is tricky, its a balance of taking off enough to level the gel, while leaving enough to remove the scratches/swirls, then leaving a decent base at the end.

I try to start with the highest grit possible 500 grit is great if it gets it done.
 

todhunter

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Sep 15, 2020
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Removing ghosting is tricky, its a balance of taking off enough to level the gel, while leaving enough to remove the scratches/swirls, then leaving a decent base at the end.

I try to start with the highest grit possible 500 grit is great if it gets it done.
I did burn through in one spot, ugh. And going from 500 to 1000 to compound wasn't enough steps to remove the orbital sanding marks. Yesterday I did the entire port side in 1000, 1200, and 1500, and it's still not perfect. I think with a close look you're going to see the occasional orbital sanding mark. Hopefully I'm the only one that knows they're there. Next weekend I'll go 2000 then hopefully onto compounds.

Any idea where I'm going wrong? Cheap Amazon sand paper? Should I be using a long board and hand sanding the higher steps instead of using an orbital sander? Body work has never been my thing...
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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if you switch to Aquabuff, you should only need to wetsand to about 800 grit, then compound with Aquabuff, then finish off with FinessIT


however, 500 grit to 1000 to 1200 to 1500 should not see marks unless the paper gummed up and you are dragging a gel-booger. I did mine with a pneumatic DA and used dry 240, 360 and 400, then wet above 400 to minimize the gumming. I stopped at 1000 and used aquabuff.
 

zool

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I did burn through in one spot, ugh. And going from 500 to 1000 to compound wasn't enough steps to remove the orbital sanding marks. Yesterday I did the entire port side in 1000, 1200, and 1500, and it's still not perfect. I think with a close look you're going to see the occasional orbital sanding mark. Hopefully I'm the only one that knows they're there. Next weekend I'll go 2000 then hopefully onto compounds.

Any idea where I'm going wrong? Cheap Amazon sand paper? Should I be using a long board and hand sanding the higher steps instead of using an orbital sander? Body work has never been my thing...
I do all my wet sanding by hand, with 3m paper over a scotch brite. I use a machine for compound and polish.
 

todhunter

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Yeah, I've been using Dura-Gold brand wet sanding discs from Amazon. I've never been a body guy, so maybe I'm not keeping the paper wet enough and I'm getting a booger drag over my work area (approx 2x2 ft at a time)? Or maybe the quality of the sand paper I'm using is too poor? I'm using a hand spray bottle with water and a drop of dish soap to wet the area and the sand paper. I use the orbital sander and re-wet the area and rinse the paper with the spray bottle when I feel the sander bog down / drag. Sometimes this is on the first pass, especially if the sanding disc is brand new. Am I waiting too long to re-wet/rinse? If there's lots of slurry on the work area, I'm wiping it off with a micro-fiber towel and rinsing/wringing that out when it gets loaded with the slurry.

I'm using Aqua-Buff 1000 followed by Aqua-Buff 2000 on wool pad / rotarty buffer on a low-ish speed (2-3 out of 6) with some (10 lb?) pressure applied to the buffer. Separate pads for the 1000 and 2000. In some of the areas where I did 500 & 1000 grit passes, I went ahead and test-buffed and could still see some of the sanding scratches, which is why I went back and did 1200 and 1500 over the entire area.

As said, I'm not a body guy, so I'll probably just live with what I've got if I can't get the sanding marks all the way out. 99.9% of folks won't know they're there, but I'm all about learning to be better.

Any recommendations on a specific wax after I finish buffing, and how to apply that wax (buffer/wool or foam pad, or by hand?)?
 

todhunter

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zool

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For the wax, buff on by hand using a micro-fiber, then buff off by hand with a micro-fiber?
Yup, wax-on, wax-off...... :] I use cleaner and compound with an orbital. You can machine the wax, But I think it wastes too much.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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You are not using enough water

Think soaker hose.

I have used a waterbug sander in the past (has a hose pickup)

However having a spray nozzle on mist over your shoulder and spraying on your work surface works

The water is a lubricant and rinse agent at the same time

And yes, you get wet
 

Reserector_

Chief Petty Officer" & 2021 Splash of the Year Win
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I carry a bucket of water with a drizzle of Dawn dish soap in it for lube and as a whetting agent.
 

sphelps

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Nov 16, 2011
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Wow ! Just read through your restoration Tod ! I've been missing out LOL!
Outstanding work and probably some of the best structural fab and glass work think I've seen here ! Thanks for adding such a great restoration thread to the forum !
 

todhunter

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72 degrees today - wow. I intended to do more wet sanding and buffing, but once I got the boat pulled into the garage, I decided to tackle other things.

First I had to enlarge my radio cut-out. I guess I didn't spec it big enough. After that I installed the radio, wired it (including runs for the speakers), and also got all my courtesy lighting installed and wired. I went with some warm white LED strips that are rated IP65. I've got a strip under the dash, one under each gunwale, one small one in each cubby, and one on each side of the engine bay. Haven't tested it in the dark yet, but I think it's going to be just enough light. This completes my wiring on the boat.

Last, I did some troubleshooting on my trim system. On my test run, the trim up button wasn't working. Trim down and trailer buttons work fine. I took apart all the connections at the trim pump solenoids and cleaned then reassembled. Still no trim up. That makes me think it's between the pump and the button. I'll do some more investigation as time permits.

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todhunter

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That dash is GORGEOUS!!
Thanks Mark!

I got a few hours in with the buffer this morning, as it was mid-60's. I got down the entire port side of the boat with Aqua-Buff 1000 and just got started with Aqua-Buff 2000 before I called it quits for the day. It's not perfect - still some orbital sanding swirls that are visible, but it's good enough for me. Just glad that "EVENTUS" is no more, lol. Hoping to finish the Aqua-Buff 2000 on the port side tomorrow.

I also installed the vinyl logos on the port and stern of the boat because I couldn't wait to see how they looked. It did not disappoint!

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todhunter

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Sep 15, 2020
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Finished buffing the port side today and installed the registration numbers. Still have yet to wet sand and buff the entire starboard side. Not perfect by any means - if you get close you can really see the sanding swirls in a few spots, but I'm just going to live with them. Considering it's my first wet sand / buff job, I'm happy with the shine. The last picture shows where I got too heavy-handed with the sander in one spot, right on a corner, and started to burn through the white gelcoat.

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todhunter

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Sep 15, 2020
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Upholstery guy came by yesterday and brought his tools with him to make the sun pad and the port side panel fit the boat. I totally forgot to take pictures of the process, but the upholstery work should be done with the exception of me getting it installed in the boat.

While the boat was out in the sunlight, I snagged a few pictures of the "good side". Still several hours of wet sanding and buffing to do on the starboard. The trailer also desperately needs a wash, but I'm going to hold off until all the wet sanding is done.

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