I want to buff your boat!

[capt. meares]

Hoping to find a c brat in western Oregon or sw Washington who wouldn't mind letting me watch and learn all the ins and outs of gel coat maintenance, buffing - waxing, and cosmetic minor repairs. I have read countless forums, books, and viewed many youtube diy videos on the subject, but have not been getting the best results. If any one plans on putting in a day of work on their boat, I would love to help.

Thank you all.

[gulfcoast john]

Capt M,
Gelcoat is usually only 10 times thicker than car paint. If you had a 1988 Buick sitting out on the back 40 for 30 years, would you be complaining about the paint not holding up?
With weather (including UV damage, which my boat has a LOT of) and age, the gelcoat oxidizes to the point that it is no longer there except as a chalky porous useless thick dull film. At that point, you should consider a pro Awl-Grip paint job and never wax again. I am one of the only fans of Poli-Glo in this situation and have had good results. I get a shiny boat, even though the purists insist it's cheating. I admit they're right, but I like a shiny boat and I'll cheat to get one. It's a lot of work removing 50 coats of old wax with wet sanding (400, 600, 800, 1200, 1800, 2000g then 3M Finess). Depending on how much per hour you value your time, a pro job of wet sanding and Awl-Grip might be a better/cheaper choice.
I hope some Brat Up There steps up.
If not, my bet is a pro paint job could get you many, many years of shiny boat delight at a cost of a fraction of a new boat and no one would know the difference from 5 feet away.
Good Luck!
John

[thataway]

A lot will depend on how well waxed the boat has been along the way--has it been covered or under shelter?

What buffer are you using? What pad, what compounds? Then what wax?

It may help to start with what you have been doing--and maybe even photos of your boat as it is now.

Awl grip is not cheap.

[Sunbeam]

Since you've done a fair bit of web reading, you may have run across this, but...

Maine Sail is an anal type (sailor who posts on sailing forums) who likes his gelcoat (and likes it shiny ). I had already buffed out a few boats going by word-of-mouth how to at boatyards (pre-Internet), and used what is basically his method with good results. But he is very specific and really puts a fine point on it, if you like that sort of thing (I do!). I changed a few of my compounds and bought a new buffer after reading his how-to.

In Ye Old Days I used to rent a big metal heavy-duty Milwaukee buffer. I never once found a "homeowner" buffer that would touch the job. The Milwaukee did great, but oh my aching shoulders. By the end of the day I swear that thing weighed fifty pounds (and of course I always seem to end up with "lapstrake" boats just for extra joy).

But starting a few years ago, after reading Maine Sail's tutorial, I bought the Makita he recommends. It works as well (or better) than the Milwaukee and is significantly lighter (as least going by memory from the Milwaukee).

Sometimes there isn't enough gelcoat to work with, but most of the time there is (I find that most boats haven't been buffed out over and over - it's too much work!). You can always try in the old "inconspicuous location." Back on my first time, I just wasn't getting it. Friend came over, grabbed the big buffer, and "laid into it" MUCH more than I'd been doing. Voila, shiny!

Note that if you search you can find various versions of this tutorial. Maine Sail participates in a number of forums, and has written about it at various times.

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/52772-tips-compound-polish-wax.html

[redbaronace]

My goodness, that offer sounds almost too good to be true. Hopefully someone nearby to you jumps on it.

[Pandion]

Sunbeam, how do you polish the parts that are obstructed by the trailer bed?

[Sunbeam]

The only part of my boat that is obstructed by trailer parts is the bottom gelcoat, which never sees the sun to speak of (thus can't oxidize). There may be a tiny bit of topsides just inside the fenders, but the Makita wheel would slip in there IIRC. This may vary if you have more elaborate side guides, but perhaps they can be removed or the boat slid aft slightly (?).

Previous boats that I've done have been on stands, and so I was able to move them one at a time and get underneath them. So that part was easy. Never mind the fact that these were keel boats so the whole thing had to be done on ladders and platforms just to reach up to the topsides

[capt. meares]

Thank you all for the input. To answer some of your questions....
My boat looks to have been very well cared for over the years. I am pretty confident it has spent the majority of its life indoors. When I bought the boat, it looked to have been professionally detailed. For its age the gel coat is in fairly good condition.

After buying the boat, I have kept it indoors. The only weather and sun it sees is when I am out using it. After about 6 months, I first noticed a tiny bit of ever so slight oxidation on the surface. I experimented with different buffers and products with not the best results. That's when I started to really dive into the topic of fiberglass gel coat maintenance. After all my research and reading thousands of customer reviews, I was skeptically sold on these three products to solve all my concerns....

XMT 360." Cleans, seals, and polishes in one simple step".
Porter Cable Variable speed polisher
Lake County brand tangerine foam polishing pads

Since my gel coat wasn't too far gone, I thought I could get away with just this to maintain what I had. It has helped slow the oxidation process, but it is slowly but surely getting worse. I was wrong.

I am very new to all of this, and I am a hands on learner. I know there are c-brats out there who have this routine down to a science. I get very overwhelmed trying to figure out so many things about the process and all the steps by just reading. Then there is the nightmare of trying to match my gel coat color, that's a whole different thread.

Like I said, this is all new to me. I did not grow up in boat country. I have the rest of my life to learn. I sometimes hear salty dogs talk about how easy it all is, but I am yet to experience anything easy about it.

Anyone need some help next week?

[Pandion]

I will be attempting to buff my boat out on Saturday, July 2, or Sunday the 3rd--or both days, needs be--using the instructions Sunbeam suggested, on the link above. I have never performed this operation before, but I do own a Makita variable speed buffer, and the instructions look fairly straightforward to me. (I say this now.)

If you feel like driving that far north (Everett) to participate in my experiment, I'd be happy to have you join me. No promises that you would learn anything useful--except, maybe what NOT to do.

[capt. meares]

Pandion, I don't think my personal message went though. I am hoping to find someone who is close enough to where I can drive there, put in a days work, and drive back the same day. If I get no other offers, I may take you up on yours.

Thanks

[Pandion]

You're welcome to stay with us if you like.

[Pandion]

Terry, i sent you a PM yesterday. Please reply here if that's not working for you.