Wet sanding and clearing question

[Boz]

I have an 89 HST with Bruiser color scheme (black w/ blue metal flake) I want to bring the finish back to show room and have seen a number of guys on this board that have had great success w/ a wet sand a clear. I polished the hell out of her this spring w/ a 3m product, 3 stage system but now it a little dull again. Are there any tricks i should hear about before I have this done? So you know, I will not be attempting this myself; I can barely hammer a nail into a board; especially if it's windy.:eek:

[Racemore]

Did you wet sand before you buffed it out?If you have a good amount of original clear then you need to wet sand as much perosity out as you can first.Then when you compound it out the elements dont get in the finish as easily.Still if you leave it in the sun alot without waxing regular it will haze again depending on the quality af the finsh.Keep it covered and waxed and it should maintain the finish for years of average use.:cool:

If the clear is thin prep the surface carefully and completely with 320-400 gt. and clean with acetone or laquer thinner and spray a high quality clear.Make it thick so orangepeel and trash,runs,etc can be sanded out leaving enough clear to work with because it will scratch aolt easier than the resin.I use finishing resin and Duratec for harder than new results.There is another thread on this with more detail.;) :cool:

[Boz]

should I start with before compunding. I will compound it, wax it, and then polish it to finish I'm guessing??

[Racemore]

Depending on the amount of oxidation.Being clear over metalflake i would work on a spot that is the worst for haze and start with 1200-1500.I perfer a circular motion(some differ)pick a area and wetsand untill the paper gets free.When you start sanding it will cut the porous surface and you will feel the resistance.As you sand it will become easier and smoother,you will feel the areas you were sanding and where you didn't so try to be consistant.To much water will not cut good,use just enough to make the paper cut but not stick.Then compound with the heavy untill you see it has cut the sanding marks out.then to a med.3M and meguiars both make a swirl remover,3M-finess,Meg-#9 swril remover.That latter is available at discount or autozone.Once completed you will see if it is good or needs more,I think if you take you time you will like it,from there do the rest of the boat.Do the whole boat with each step and when your done wax it with Meguiars Carnuba paste wax twice.Quickwaxes go away quickly and the more time you spend the better it will look and last.It's not easy.If I do a boat like your HST it would be between $250 to$450 depending on the condition.2nd,buy a cover for it and it will save a repeat.About twice a season buff it with #9 and wax it and It will stay like new,keep it covered as much as possible.:cool:

PS when sanding make sure you have no sand in your tap water,you will feel and hear a grain of sand makin a scratching sound that 1200 won't get out,keep it clean and tell us how you do.:) You can do it,if the winds not blowing:rolleyes: :D

[Boz]

I can't thank you enough for spending your time typing all of that out. I'm printing this out and will give it a shot. I'll take before and after shots and shoot them off to you. I'm poking around here for a heated garage or a shop that will let me rent space for a month or so as I'd like to pick away at it.
Thanks again Racemore, much appreciated:D :D :D

[leonard G larner]

I've got all the shop space we need to clean that unit up, if it will fit in my shop we can do it here, if not I have full access to my buddy's shop on pembina hwy. it's huge, lots of room for sanding and getting polished in there..

and don't sell your self short, just put down the BEER before you go hammering anyone (or thing)

[Boz]

thats' awesome news! I would love to take you up on that shop thing; let me know more. As far as the beer thing, perhaps if I stopped drinking rye and switched to beer, my equilibrium might improve. Then again, it's likely not "what" I'm drininkg but the god damn quantity. Should have met you earlier:cool:

[Racemore]

Sounds good Boz.If you work under floresent lights they will show the sanding marks very well in the glare.If you get it slick in that light it will blind you outside.There are cases that I have started with 600 gt to 1000 to 1200 to compound but I don't think you will need to go that far.I have a porfolio of glass work that I have done and I'm going to get the pic's scanned and post a few projects that will lend ideas for gelcoat resto,multi color spatter finish,nonskid finish and rebuilds.Good luck.Gota get the boat ready,probably be 80deg Sunday.:cool:

[Techno]

If you already buffed the finish previously and it looked good, now it's oxydized. You could try the wax system from http://zainobros.com/ It will be similar to waxing the boat 3 times. I did a test patch on mine and thats why I repeat this every time I see the sweat work method.

Cost is about $55 for what you will need. Read it if interested, the clay bar may not be needed. Something like 3 products needed.

If it doesn't work then do it the hard way and wax it with this stuff It will be a big improvement. If it does work you saved alot of work.


If you are sanding Clear coat keep in mind it can be sanded through so be carefull
If the search funtion works check out the other posts, I keep pushing this stuff so much I should get it for free.

[Racemore]

Hey Boz,If your boat has been coated with clear urathane the use 2000 to wetsand but it is unlikely that you would compound it and it would haze back up very quickly.Generaly it is when the oxidation wasn't removed to begin with.Been waiting for Technot to post the For Lightweights Only 123 easy as can be oxidation cover up compound.:rolleyes: :D Lets just call it the Watergate Method.It will Cover Up the problem and in a cooler climate it may hang a bit but but down here in the heat of the summer it might stain the girls bathing suits and we can't have that.:D :cool:

[Techno]

No. that ones transmission fluid. Brings the paint right back and stays glossy for weeks!
I mention this way since if it don't work you still use the wax for the full blown method. If it does work it's the simpler way and doesn't affect the CC thickness. For a boat or custom finish I would rather use that zaino stuff even if you don't have an oxidise problem.

Color sand, Compound, Machine buff does work and is work! I'll have to do it on my new paint but it's not something I would do if it wasn't needed.
If you don't have a buffer a cheap one is at harbor frieght and is probably worth the elbow lubricant it will save. Sweat doesn't help the polishing at all. A buffer is really needed over trying to do this by hand.

[Racemore]

:D Your alright by me.Just pokin a little fun.:cool:

[sho305]

Once a friend of mine was selling an old faded car. Made the mistake of mentioning WD40....there it was all shiny in the front yard for sale. Rain takes it off after a while, and it smells funny too....

You guys got it, if you have oxidization I have never seen anything take it off but sandpaper and compound, and keep it off. I have used original soft scrub to buff on old gelcoat with success.

Wax will work as a preventative as it blocks uv radiation, but if the paint has broken down, then you need to remove the bad stuff.

[Outboards Unlimited]

If you do a good job with your wet sanding ( not getting too deep) and the guy sprays the clear coat will ( no runs etc..) their is vertually no way you can loose. Just remember that the sun is enemy # 1 and you should have a gorgeous boat for years and years.

[Boz]

the shop for some work on this. There are a couple of great ideas here and I'll likely go the wetsand to compound aprroach followed by polishing etc. The only problem I'm faced w/ know is storing my boat in a place that allows me to pull it out when I want to work on it. It's snowy here now. It might be easier to shelf it for the winter and get back to it in the spring. Knowing myself though, I'd rather do it now than procrastinate until the spring time. If I can get King Lenny to help me at that time, it should only take a couple of weekends. Good thing beer is cheap here;) :D
I'll post picutres of it though. I don't have any to post right now though. Thanks for all of you help Racemore, Techno, Outboard Un LTD, sho305, Lenny. :cool: :cool:

[Racemore]

There are other post that concern clear coat on metalflake and the use of urathane.It has come a long way in the last 20 yrs.The advantage to clear resin is durability.You don't walk all over a urathane with out scratching it but you can always sand and topcoat it to keep the new finish and you have to wetsand and buff to keep it up.If you have a boat that has little hardware to remove then having to reclear isn't to bad.If you have windsheilds,handrails,cleats,lights,air vents,fuel fills and anything else I missed I would reclear with Finishing resin and Duratec especialy if you live and play in a sandy enviroment.Not being able to walk on the deck is a bitch.Still when it comes to a perfect finish wetsanding and buffing is a MUST.All 1st quality paint jobs are wet sanded and buffed.To maintain Molds for a 1st Cass product they do too.1st rate boats get buffed before rigged.After all that work keeping it waxed and covered should come easier.:cool:

[Boz]

How do i get rid of cracks in the gel near the front of the boat. It apperas as though the previous owner may have "bumped" into a dock or two. There not horrible but i really want to get this thing looking good. Hell, when your ugly, you might as well look cool!!:cool: :D

[Racemore]

The problem with stress cracks is you have to v them out to fill them or they will repell the clear.If you have a thick clear layer then if you etch down them and open them slightly you can use an artist brush and brush clear in to them and fill them in.Coat them till they are a little higher than the rest and lightly block sand the m down flush and buff.A little painstaking but it will look good.:cool:

[Boz]

It appears I have my work somewhat cut out for me. After reading all of the tips and tricks one can do w/ an outboard, clear coat, interor, guages, etc etc, it's a damn good thing i like Kraft Dinner. This can be a costly sport but one thing is for sure......it's a cool F%$#^& hobby and you get to meet a schwack of cool people. Thanks for all your help Racemore, I hope to make it down to an event with some fellow Canucks. There is about 4 or 5 of our from our town that have become avid S & F'ers. :cool: :D ;)

[Racemore]

Cool Boz but if ya come down here you probably won't go back.:D :cool:

[Boz]

I had those thoughts while I was in Amsterdam for two weeks in May for a vacation.:eek: WOW:D ;) What a trip that was. A little different life style over there.
It sure opened my eyes and made me want to travel more. I'm sure 80 degrees in the winter is better than -20 here. Not to mention the talent i'm sure you get to see :mad: :(

[Racemore]

Amsterdam:eek: I'd like to take that trip.:p

Going down to 40 here this week,highs in the 60's.Not too bad.:cool:

[Boz]

My girlfriends parents have a condo in florida and spend three months there or so every year starting in mid January. I'll have to find out where it is. This will be my fourth year having a chance to go. We never have although Jane went the first year i knew her. I'll find out the location and you can tell me how far it is from your neck of the woods.

[bulldogdaddy]

hey boz,spend alot of time in the coffee shop:p ,or were you window shopping,lmao,don't feel bad,my cracks go down into the metalflake,gotta go all the way down and do the whole thing over again!been drooling over house of kolors website alot!can't wait to see how much their paint is. racemore,how long have you lived in jax.?the boat i own was built there but is no longer in existance,borum,know anything about the company?

[Boz]

Funny you mention that; spent a little time in a place of your name sake; The Bulldog. YIKES! what a hoot that was:D I spent time in The Hague and took in an NFL Europe game between the Amsterdam Admirals and the.............................ummmmmm.. can't remeber but they had a wicked tailgate party hosted by MTV prior to the game. One fo the coaches on the Amsterdam team used to be our head coach here for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers; that was weird seeing him on stage at the party.:eek: After speaking to Racemore, it appears as though I have some work to do on my HST but after reading you post, i guess I'm not alone.:) Whe summer hits though, it's all good:cool:

[bulldogdaddy]

when summer hits,lmaorof,i hope i'm halfway there when it gets here but just gotta keep on trying and not get to anxious,gotta do it right!got some pics of your boat?

[Boz]

I'll bet you like hail claims and having to make the assesment for either an insured or a company. I don't have any pics but will get some in the next couple of weeks; then someone will have to help me post em'. Are yours somewhere; how bout' yours Racemore? I think I saw a picture of yours Racemore, a couple of days ago. It was a beach shot taken w/ a lovely lady:cool: (atleast i think that was yours)

[bulldogdaddy]

go to the general boating section,and its under,it's here,take a look and tell me what you think,had the same hull when i was 17 and can't wait to get it wet again,haven't owned a boat since then,boo f-in hoo,and usually don't make any hail claims,we work on big commerical jobs,balt. convention center,ravens stadium, but the way the economy's been,more than happy to do a snowball stand right now,lol.

[Racemore]

BDD,My family setteled here in 1865,roofers from New York,imigrants from Ireland.Borum boats were built about 1 mile from our Alltel Stadium.My father new John Borum and bought a boat in the late 50's and put a MK78A on it.He used to endurance ski using a special boat that John and Carl supplied.Several of my friends have had a fiberglass 18' jet boat built by them before they closed down.Good ski boats but they had fords:rolleyes: The shop was in a section of the old Ford Motor plant under the Mathews bridge.The wooden boats were so sweet.works of art.:cool:

Boz,yes that is my boat in the avatar and posted in the tech forum under engine heights?

[Boz]

That's the one I was thinking of Racemore. That's a nice ride:cool: Must be nice living in a climate where you can use your boat 12 months of the year. It's been great chattin' with ya.:D

[Outboards Unlimited]

The best way I have gotten rid of stress cracks is to use a dual action sander to remove all of the gelcoat in an area about 2x the cracked area, and then re gel from the glass out. This is very expensive, and hard to do for an individual. But is looks great. I have done this type work for customers on gel work before and they dont like the bill but love the results.

[Racemore]

His stress cracks are in the clear over metalflake.:cool:

[Boz]

Racemore, you beat me too it. :) :cool:

[Outboards Unlimited]

I sure thought that I read that the GELCOAT was stressed, not a clear coat. But thats cool. good luck

[Outboards Unlimited]

on your We're on a role and I forgot to ask post you sayed the Gel is cracked.

[Boz]

The best thing for me to do is to post pictures. i should be able to do that next week:D :cool:

[sho305]

My Checkmate has that too, just under the water line. The clear/flake mixture looks kinda thick, and has cracked. You can see lines running through it. Does not appear to go into the matting at all. Some tiny pieces have come out in one spot to bottom of gelcoat. I assume the tinted clear the flake is in is gelcoat clear. It looks like broken glass up close. Replace only I think.