78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

[86 Stingray]

What would be the proper proceedure tohelp restore the surface?

 

[Bondo]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

What would be the proper proceedure tohelp restore the surface?

Ayuh,.... Sand, fair, sand, prime, sand, 'n Paint it.....

Welcome Aboard,...

I'll move this down to the drydock for ya....

 

[cyclops2]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

A LITTLE polish should bring the 2 toned blue right back to factory colors.

Have you even tried to buff the chalky surface & polish it ?
Is it going to be a total restoration or a.... just make it shiny ? You can make it shiny with probably varying color levels.

We have one body person that can turn field weathering into Holy Cow. It takes him about 2 days a boat. Yes, he does use colorants.

 

[86 Stingray]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

I have tried using #240 sand paper litely and cleaning of the dust. Then used a fiberglass restorer product. This smoothed the roughness and gave the surface a slick finish. I was just trying a small area. I am wanting to learn to do it right the first time. Grandfather taught me to measure twice, cut once. Trying to gather good info. to do a good job for my son. We plan on restoring this boat and installing an 85 Evinrude 115 Hp.

 

[Numlaar]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

It really depends on how far gone the gel is, the metal flake finishes are a bit trickier...

The proper way to bring back a heavily oxidized/worn finish is a 3-step process:
1. compound (to remove oxidation)
2. polish (bring back shine)
3. wax. (seal and protect)

The compounding part is where the "tricky" part comes in, you can get some pretty heavy grits which will cut quite a bit, if you aren't careful, it can strip it down to the fiberglass underneath.

For really bad finishes, you have to replace compounding with sanding. You should wet sand with an extremely fine grit (800+), (240 is way too rough in my opinion). I start with 800, then do 1000, then 2000.
Wet sand slowly to get it smooth, and just to cut enough of the gel to get the color back.

Gel coat is extremely thin! So work slowly, and don't oversand. If the gelcoat is thick enough to bring back the color, and retain a smooth finish, you can then polish it and wax it to get the shine back.

If it is too thin, or too far gone, then sadly, you are looking at either painting it, or re-gel.

Hope that helps!

 

[cyclops2]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

ALWAYS experiment on the most out of sight areas....Behind the O B or I / O. Then move out slowly. TOO fine is a lot better than a little to rough. You are dealing with a 40 ?? year old finish. Enjoy the learning curve.

 

[86 Stingray]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

This is why I joined. I appreciate all of the input and advice. It will be another project that my son and I can learn from. The first was a donated Ford Ranger, when he was 15, that he refered to as a resurection. Thanks and I will be posting pictures as the project progresses.

 

[Numlaar]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

This is why I joined. I appreciate all of the input and advice. It will be another project that my son and I can learn from. The first was a donated Ford Ranger, when he was 15, that he refered to as a resurection. Thanks and I will be posting pictures as the project progresses.

No Problem,

When I get a chance, I will post a side-by-side before and after pic of the wetsand/polish/wax process so you can see the difference! (it really does work).

Sadly, the gelcoat on the metal flake finish boat I had was too far gone, and the process wouldnt work

Wish you the best of luck!

 

[cyclops2]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

I almost forgot............

NEVER EVER take the screws out of the long rubbing / sealing strip that is used to HOLD THE BOAT TOGETHER !!!!!!!!!!!!!

You will destroy the shape & need 10 people to have a slight chance of putting the strip back on the 2 .....1/2s of the boat.
I was part of that party time, 1 time. I quit after to many pinched skins.
It was a big mistake to let the chrome band to come apart.

 

[86 Stingray]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

I tried wet sanding according to your instructions and it did remove the roughness of the oxidation. I then tried using a rubbing compound, made by Turtle wax. Something that I had on the shelf. As I applied it with an applicator pad, I noticed that it felt like the surface was snagging the pad. Would this be the metal flakes protruding thru the surface? The surface felt smooth to the touch. Also, the color will probably never come back to the original blue metalflake, but it will be fine if I can get it smooth and protected. Looking for more advice.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

stingray..Is that an HPV-175???
great looking & riding boats-we had one when I was a teen--a 115hp will work , but a 150hp would be alot better.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

I noticed that it felt like the surface was snagging the pad. Would this be the metal flakes protruding thru the surface? The surface felt smooth to the touch. Also, the color will probably never come back to the original blue metalflake, but it will be fine if I can get it smooth and protected. Looking for more advice.

Ayuh,.... Sand, fair, sand, prime, sand, 'n Paint it.....

 

[86 Stingray]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

Yes it is an HPV 175. I have a 115 on a rotted out deck boat and it is free. But, I will except 150 HP donations. I will be going thru the 115 eventually and looking for info. for increasing HP.

 

[oops!]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

Ayuh,.... Sand, fair, sand, prime, sand, 'n Paint it.....

I don't understand.......exactly what are you trying to say here ????

lol.

To the op.....

If the flakes are sticking thru the gellcoat.....you will have to do the above......no way out.

if the clear gellcoat is colored......the above is still correct...

Even if you do manage to half sand the protruding flakes.....you will have a botchy job, as the dust will collect on either side of the damaged flake.

It is for this reason, I dont like flake on a boat.....it looks great for a while....but after a few years....

 

[BigLee324]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

if just polishing is not working you might consider rubbing compound the buff then polish, it has a little grit to it and will pull off oxidation. try on hidden area

 

[86 Stingray]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

Thanks for your inputs. I know that the original deep metalflake blue can never be obtained. I have discovered that the fading of the blue has left the color to be more like a silver/blue. If sanding, buffing and polishing will give a good smooth surface, then I can live with that. I will wax it and keep it covered away from the sun. If the smoothness does not happen and I am happy with the color, could I just have a clear coat sprayed on top of the cleaned surface?

 

[scottn83]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

I have used the mcguires gel coat restore kit with a good random orbital polisher, worked well for me. i also have the metal flake on the up part of my boat it was rough to the touch. The upper flake section smoothed out but the clear over the flack is really thin. It doesnt really look new but it looks ok. Here are a couple pics. first two are before and after on the flake part and the next two. Here is a link for a more details
and some other pics
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=512577

 

[dorelse]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

I don't understand.......exactly what are you trying to say here ????

lol.

To the op.....

If the flakes are sticking thru the gellcoat.....you will have to do the above......no way out.

if the clear gellcoat is colored......the above is still correct...

Even if you do manage to half sand the protruding flakes.....you will have a botchy job, as the dust will collect on either side of the damaged flake.

It is for this reason, I dont like flake on a boat.....it looks great for a while....but after a few years....

Ok, I'll disagree to a point...it depends on what he's trying to accomplish as an end result.

If he wants factory new...I 100% agree with you...you have to start over.

However...my Glastron Carlson CVZ-18 was in exactly the same condition. Here are before & after pictures, and the process I used to bring it back. It'll never be factory perfect without serious coin...but it is possible.

For the record, I could run my hand on the finish and would have metal flakes on my hands...it was sandpaper and very rough. Tore a foam pad up before I started over with sandpaper.

Before:

I could pull flake off with tape...it was baked...and shot...

 

[dorelse]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

Then rolled up my sleeves and started sanding. Here's what I did. DO NOT over sand!!! You have to be careful if you decide to follow my steps!

I started with 125 Grit on my little weak B&D Mouse sander...light & quick sanded just until it was smooth to the touch. Didn't take much at all.

Then using my sanding block, 600 Grit, with 600 grit again with my hand to hit any spots the block couldn't get to.

Then 1000 Grit by hand (no block), then 2000 Grit (no block) to get everything to a slight shine...

Then Meguire's OneStep Compound (has a slight fine grit) by hand to get the spots the buffer can't, then with the buffer...

Then Meguire's Polish with the buffer, then a 2nd coat by hand.

After 125 & 600 Grit:

After Heavy Cut & Final Polish...Shiney!

Now...is it perfect...Nope...but its a HUGE improvement...with about $100 spent (including $30 cheapo Harbor Freight buffer) and really sore arms!

Before:

After...you can see the TV reflecting off the surface!

You'll never be able to undo the fading on the parts that weren't covered...but...the parts that are covered...are covered! So you won't see them once you reattach the hardware...but...I'd call it 'serviceable'...not perfect...but very much improved.

Now...its takes more effort to keep it that shiney, but, metal flake can be brought back...to a point.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: 78 Glastron bass boat has rough surface due to sun damage.

If you are trying to polish, you need a powered polisher. It sounded like you were trying to do this by hand.