Polishing out a black Lavey Craft

[1nebel0]

226591Wanted to share with all what I did to polish my Black Lavey out that has been totally negelcted by the previous owner. I was going to wet sand 1200,1500,2000 but decided to try what the supply house said. I used McQuire's 85 which is a new product. It is the most abrasive product they make..It doesn't feel like sand which the 3m product is. I can tell you that it did a fantastic job. I then used the boat polish with my cyclo polisher and finished with wax.. Looks like a new boat without having to do the job by hand, or trying to get scratches and swirls out...

[MUFC777]

How long did it take you?

[1nebel0]

I have one side left to do and I need to take the windshield off to do the badly faded dash... The front and one side took 3 hours for tlhe complete process. A far cry from wetsanding trust me...I can't believe how well the products worked.. I am used to using 3m products but the harsh compound would have left me much more work to get the scratches out...Hope this helps .........Steve

[1nebel0]

Here is the pic before...It looked worse in person than this..compare it to the top posted pic..night and day....226747

[sammythebull]

looks great you put the bling back into that thing

[1nebel0]

Thanks Sammy...I have used many products but this one really work well on black....no swirls, no hand sanding, just buff, polish, wax..Yeah Baby...

[1fastg3]

is the McQuire's 85 Buffed in ? Or by hand ? Looks great

[1nebel0]

Thanks... you could never get out the dull black I had by hand.. I used my new Makita and it worked perfect.. You could really just use this product and go right to the wax... No swirls produced with this product..Can't wait to hear from others that will try this product over 3m.. I am sold!

[Dave Strong]

The big test is how the shine holds up, the dk blue on my Cougar would start to get cloudy after 2 -3 weeks. Looks great let us know if it holds up, sure would be nice not to wet sand.


Dave

[1nebel0]

Hey Dave,

Will do.. I bought this boat to replace my 19ft Daytona the wife want me to sell I too have a Bridgeport EFI on it..Just too fast for her so I will have to settle for a 200h.p fishing motor.... I am going to finish the boat tomorrow and will post complete set of pics... Steve

[MARCSOTO]

i wanna know how its holding up..... i used poly-ox on my boat to hold me a yeat till i jet a new paint job on my euro. i want to know if this is better... thanks

[1nebel0]

Well the boat has not died back however it has not been out given our crappy weather... The true test will be in the summer so all will have to wait.. Buffing is so much easier than wet sanding for sure.. I don't know what Poly-ox is but this 85# Mcquirers is great stuff and not gritty which doesnt' put fine scratches in the gel... much better than the abrasive 3m product.........

[scrmn3]

Now use Zymol Marina Boat Wax on her and she want fade back.

www.zymol.com (http://www.zymol.com)

Best wax I have ever used by far.

228447

[Dave Strong]

Now use Zymol Marina Boat Wax on her and she want fade back.

www.zymol.com (http://www.zymol.com)

Best wax I have ever used by far.

228447


:iagree::iagree:


Dave

[mistah_max]

226591Wanted to share with all what I did to polish my Black Lavey out that has been totally negelcted by the previous owner. I was going to wet sand 1200,1500,2000 but decided to try what the supply house said. I used McQuire's 85 which is a new product. It is the most abrasive product they make..It doesn't feel like sand which the 3m product is. I can tell you that it did a fantastic job. I then used the boat polish with my cyclo polisher and finished with wax.. Looks like a new boat without having to do the job by hand, or trying to get scratches and swirls out...



is this what you used??
http://www.superiorcarcare.net/meguiars-mirror-glaze-85-diamond-cut-compound-2-0.html

[1nebel0]

That would be the one... I have a garage full of compounds and nothing has given the shine and ease that this did.. I was always a 3m guy but their compounds are aggressive and Finesse isn't strong enough on a black boat faded out like this one was....Try it and post it....

[1nebel0]

Well the boat is done and rigged and still shinning...hope others have tried Mcquires 85 for rubbing out their boats instead of wet sanding.. will post pics this weekend coming from the lake...now I just need help propping it...took it out today and a stock 23 Mer prop doesn't cut it...I had the motor trimmed so far out it looked like a jet boat going down the river....

[1nebel0]

Who said California the sun always shines...this memorial weekend looks to be a cold one...I still will be taking this boat out... I had so many compliments last Sunday on it's maiden voyage.. I will get the upholstory done this winter as I don't want to be without the boat..hard to imagine that this boat sat out it's whole life uncovered...This was a custom boat from Lavey with factory bezels etc...Everybody that saw it at the dock said that it stood out given the color schemes.. I will shoot shots of it in the water and on the trailer for all to see..Black sure doesn't forgive you in regards to showing everything spec of dirt...this boat belongs in the hands of an anal boater that can wipe it down before, during and after use... I am getting too lazy in my old age(58 today!!!)

[Dave Strong]

Really looking forward to seeing pics of how it is holding up, I take you haven't left it outside since the polish?


Dave

[1nebel0]

It is sitting in outside storage under an awning..The only boat I have in covered is my 19ft Daytona that I am stalling on selling...While the Lavey will be fast, it won't touch the EFI Bridgeport on the Daytona...the wife is asking when I am listing it...

[whipper]

Im going to try this product thanks for all the follow up also. Its the follow up the is the great thing about this thread with products like that!! The only part of my hull that NEEDS it is the black wind screen. Though I can wax it and it looks great the shine only last a couple of days!! The black is oxidized. Ill try this on there and remeber this thread to report back also. If I find it simple enough my black expadition could use a good buff also. Thanks again for reporting about this new product. Got a recent pic? Its been 4 months now that is pretty long for the shine to hold on the deck. Also is the deck Gel or Paint? Will it work on gel?

[1nebel0]

Ok, as promised I said I would post after Memorial Day...Well we were basicly rained out with horrible weather...I never got the boat out so will have to wait since this next weekend it is supposed to rain...If we are not in a drought in Nor California we now have winter that won't go away..This is so unusual but it's mother nature...Do not use this product on clear coat...you will burn through the thin coat of clear..This is made for Gel coat which all boats are made of unless someone painted your boat.. I have had boats painted with clear but it always starts to peal...Gel coat is forgiving as you could not have buffed back the black had it been cleared...This is the most aggressive McQuire's makes and I used my brand new Makita buffer to get it done... I finished it with my cyclo orbital but really wasn't necessary... I will shoot some pics this weeked anyway and post.. I wanted to shoot pics in the water given the color scheme...

[Ron V]

Good info on the Meguiar's. I used 3M Imperial on my boat a couple of years back and it was amazing too. It's a step above the other 3M stuff. It has a swirl preventer in it and worked great with an electric buffer. Boat looked like a beater when I started and it brought it back up to almost new with no swirls. My dash and part of my top deck are black so I can appreciate what you're dealing with.

[1nebel0]

The 3m product is a good one.. I used to use their aggressive compound that feel like sand is mixed in on my boats...While it brought them back, you would have to use other 3m products to get the scratches out. I was going to wet sand in three stages and the guy at the paint store said why waste so much time and energy as he has used the 85#....Sure glad I listened as really just this product and a quick wax did the job..The dash is really tough with the gauges installed to buff out so that will be next winter as I don;t have a lot of spare time given my job and comute plus the number of boats I am trying to keep going...We have rain forecasted for this weekend again so hope to get out soon and shoot some more pics...I almost past on the boat given the horrible condition it was in..hard to believe that it sat outside unprotected...

[1nebel0]

Well a California update...We have had rain all weekend in Nor Cal including today...This coming weekend should be getting nicer so I will take the pics promised....We should be in the 90's from here on out but that doesn't seem to be the case....stay tuned........

[jimbob8]

Say it works great on black. Anybody use it on white or blue? Have a mostly white with blue ally would like to look awesomer for a rally. Thanks, Jim

[1nebel0]

Ok.... I took out the Daytona with the Bridgeport this last weekend so the Lavey played second fiddle... Going to take the Daytona out to Camp Far West on Saturday to play with the big boys with their blown alcohol v-drives and everything in between .. I only have 240h.p but it's two stroke power so I will eat the jet boat guys for lunch...Check it out next week on you tube as there are always people filming... On Sunday I will be out with the Lavey on Sunday and post a number of pics to show the shine is still there....Can't believe how many views this post has recieved...has anyone else tried the 85# product? I can only imagine it would work wonders on Reds and Blues without leaving the harsh sanding scratches wet sanding would create along with the long process of getting them out.

[props4u2]

What kind of buffing pad do you use, wool or foam? White, yellow, black etc...?

[1nebel0]

White wool pad...they now make a 105# product..just bought a quart to try on some of my other boats...

[1nebel0]

237194Here is the boat from this weekend for those that want to know if it still looks good...237191237193237192

[Fassster]

Those colours are amazing on a boat. I'm having a Cougar 21 painted in the same colours next week, House of Kolor paint. Tis helps me to picture how its gonna turn out. Very nice resto.

[elbowcarey]

Hey looks good............. I just restored a 78 jetmate and painted it black you can see it under jet boats and v-drives, how does yours hold up against water spots? I just painted mine so I am suppose to wait for a while before waxing so I just was wondering if yours needs to be cleaned real good after each use or does the wax help it bead off? Thanks Craig

[1nebel0]

Water spotting is a problem that is very easily taken care off...two micro towels and 5 minutes with instant detailer and the boat looks freshly waxed...Any of the instant detailer's work since they dry so quick.. Get the yellow towels at Costco..can' beat the price......

[blacktruck]

Great looking boat, love that color scheme. Sounds like a great product, definitely easier than wet sanding. I really want to try my porter cable random orbit, which I got for my car, on the boat.

[pyro]

The random orbit is good for applying and removing wax, but the rotary works much better for polishing stages.

[1nebel0]

Random won't do it as Pyro says...you need to use a rotary to go through the stages to final when you can then use your random...Good Luck.........

[blacktruck]

Random will do light polishing, but you're right, it won't do a deep polish restore like his. Mine's not bad, just needs a refresh.


Random won't do it as Pyro says...you need to use a rotary to go through the stages to final when you can then use your random...Good Luck.........

[1nebel0]

You will be good to go....just got out of hospital losing a kidney and then had to go back in and get a stent.. I am ready for the spring to let it rip....take good care....

[RED ALERT]

White wool pad...they now make a 105# product..just bought a quart to try on some of my other boats...
Used the 105 on the black wings and console of my allison and it did a fantastic job.I thought for sure It would need wet sanding, but it brought it back. Used a makita rotary and white wool pad and went straight to wax when done.

[stv92]

I love the product
Buff with 85
Polish
Finish with a good wax

31 ft x 3 mercs (Red) awesomecat
Big boat and not fun to do :(

Takes me a full week, twice a year.
The 85 works great, brings back to a deep red :)

Wax often because the fading will come back.

Price is cheap compared to others,
One of the best products for gelcoats.
Never tried on clearcoat??

But in the end, fading'will come back if you don't polish and wax regularly.

My 2cents':)

[TUNNEL T]

Came out awrsome , ive done my share of crappy boats i use mequiars diamond cut for my high speed buffer for cutting and then switchto my cyclo dual headed polisher using mequiars yellow wax !!! Quick detailer definately helps keep things shiny!!!
By the way 3m owns the mequiars name and just kept it for all the car guys ..... TUNNEL T

[hydr0_scrm2]

Great thread! I may end up trying some Meguiar's 85 on my windscreen. Thanks!