Did some sanding and buffing on my gelcoat this weekend

[slow96z]

I pulled my boat out of storage this weekend to clean it up, determined to get the gel-coat right this time. I have tried several of the "quick fix" ideas (like waxing, floor acrylic) and none of them had any staying power. This time I decided I was going to sand it down as far as I needed to and if it burned through so be it. I started with 100 grit on a machine, but ended up making more progress by hand. The 100 grit is what took the longest by a huge margin. Once the 100 grit knocked off the dead gel-coat I moved to 220 grit dry, then wet-sanded with 400, 600, 800, 1000 and finally 2000 and high speed machine buff with Maguire's heavy cut compound. I'm in about 18 hours and only have one side done- this is going to be a LOOOOOONG haul. I think it's going to be worth it in the end.

before:


After:


Justin

 

[Fastatv]

Lots and lots of elbow grease for sure, but she now has some "bling" again. Nice job!

 

[Woodonglass]

WOW that's REAL aggressive sanding. Most people start off with 400 grit and work up to 2000. You must have some THICK gelcoat!!! It's looking really nice though!!!

 

[Tnstratofam]

The results show from your hard work. Looks good. Pics of the whole boat finished if you wouldn't mind. Just to show what an oxidized boat can look like when done right.

 

[btravlin2]

Yeah, kind of stunned that you started with 100 grit! Good thing the gelcoat was thick enough to take it. 220 3M wet/dry would be about the lowest I've ever started with......and gently. On minor oxidation I'd start with 400, or maybe 600.

But it looks great. I got tendonitis in my right forearm running a buffer, so I know how hard that job is.

 

[slow96z]

I'd love to post some completed pics, but I only got half of the exterior done and still have the other half, as well as the full interior to do. I'm also going to have to do the upholstery again, though this time I'm making a cover first. It's going to be a bit.....

I originally did start with a less aggressive grit paper. In fact, I started with a 400 grit to try to smooth it down and when I saw the off white color come through (after a long time, on a machine) I actually thought I had burned through the gel coat. The I realized that the area under my stickers and under the seats were that color so I knew I was on the right path. The 400 wasn't going to get it and the 220 as a start didn't do much better. I threw caution to the wind and hit it hard with the 100 and that's about the only thing that made any real progress - and even that was slow. This stuff was in BAD shape from years of neglect in the Florida sun before I got it. I am pretty impressed with how thick the gel coat is (was).

 

[Tnstratofam]

I think the results pretty much speak for themselves. The finish looks smooth as silk, and almost wet. Please post the finished product when you are done. One question. Did you already remove the stickers and stripes, or sand through them as you went?

 

[slow96z]

I had removed the stickers a long time ago when a friend with a sign company was going to wrap the boat. Turned out he was good to remove what I had on there but was all talk about wrapping it so I was stuck with a stripped and pretty ugly boat. I'll definitely post progress pics.