Wow! How to Keep Your Boat Looking Good!

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Pat Anderson

New member
Daydream has suffered, living outdoors uncovered for seven years. We would attack the oxidation on the brow with color restorer, wax it, and it would look OK for a week or two, and then the oxidation would return.

Then yesterday our neighbor Garry Anderson did the brow and stripes with THIS bad boy, a Porter Cable 7424xp Dual Action Polisher:

31zuMhzmWtL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

He used a cutting pad and some Aqua Blue 200 Buffing and Polishing Compound we had that Scott Boysen had given us to try. Now not only is the COLOR back but so is the SHINE! A real mirror-like shine!

Next up, get one of these DA polishers ourselves and go after the dull white areas!
 
Be careful around the tape stripe on the brow with the polisher!

I went around the boat with a compound (2000) last year - it really brought out the shine. A boat builder friend lent me his polisher... my arms were sore when I was done, but the boat looked good. He suggested that I wouldn't need wax on it after that. I tried that, but the water back home left that brownish tint to the hull, which came around much sooner than when I had wax on there. After cleaning the hull before we came up here, I put wax on all around again. The brow is already due for another polishing.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
A good buffer can really make a difference, can't it? I had done most of a fairly oxidized hull with a "homeowner" buffer and - even with good marine products - just wasn't seeing the shine. A boatbuilder friend came by with his Milwaukee "real" buffer and - with the same products... whoah! Shine! The only thing sorry was my shoulders after a couple of days of holding that beast up against the hull. Still, I rented one of the same Milwaukees every time I wanted to do a buff/polish after that.

I've now acquired a (less heavy) Makita 9227 that I'm hoping will do a similar job (haven't tried it yet).

On the wax: I figure that one function of the wax is to provide UV protection, so I would consider it an important step for that reason if not others.
 
Sunbeam":3vb0ckdr said:
I've now acquired a (less heavy) Makita 9227 that I'm hoping will do a similar job (haven't tried it yet).
Click to expand...

I have this buffer and it will do just fine. Your shoulders will be slightly less sore. :cry:
 
OK folks, who's the expert on this stuff? I have read quite a few threads and am looking at procuring a buffer.

I have seen some strong recommendations for the less expensive units from Harbor Freight (such as can be seen at http://www.harborfreight.com/7-inch-variable-speed-polisher-sander-92623.html) which - as per many suggestions I have seen - allows low RPM speeds (it's advertised to run from 200 - 3377 RPM) which jive with posts I have seen that say to use no more then 1200 RPMs.

I also see folks raving about Shurhold's polishers (such as http://shurhold.com/dual-action-polisher#product_reviews). This unit is much more expensive and, contrary to suggestions I see, does not offer the lower RPMs since it's advertised to run at 2500 - 6500 OPM.

I would rather not spend a small fortune on a polisher so best buffer for least amount of money is optimal.

Also, what pads are most recommended for what application? For instance, should I pursue the wool pads, cloth, or even foam?

Any tips on this are appreciated.

Take care,
Dan on C-Renity
 
Dan, I'm watching this with you. I have been doing my boat by hand so far....... and my shoulders, (arms, and back) still get sore, so I'm thinking a good quality buffer would make it less sore because it would take less time. :mrgreen:

Then I need to learn how to use it. Jim, thanks for the tip about the tape trim.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon
 
I just finished two days of waxing and buffing... two days because:

I am getting older and it takes me longer.

Waxing is best done out of the sun; we have a lot of sun in the Tropical Tip. I have to get one side done before the sun gets too high, then do the other side when the sun moves around. Next morning, get the top done before the sun gets too high. Whew!

I have been really pleased with Meguiars Cleaner Wax. Goes on easy, buffs off nice, doesn't yellow. Under normal circumstances, I try to wax Wild Blue twice a year... more often than that on the brow.

Time and effort, but it sure looks nice! 8)

Best wishes,
Jim
 
I've used 3M and Meguiars products in the past, with a (rented) commercial Milwaukee buffer ("homeowner" buffers didn't do it for me). I went "up the scale" through compounding, polishing, and waxing. No particular complaints, but now I've purchased a Makita 9227 and will be trying the Presta products (but still with my favorite Collinite 885 wax as a last step after I've done the job). I found good info here:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-main ... h-wax.html
 
Pat Anderson":14pmch31 said:
Daydream has suffered, living outdoors uncovered for seven years. We would attack the oxidation on the brow with color restorer, wax it, and it would look OK for a week or two, and then the oxidation would return.

Then yesterday our neighbor Garry Anderson did the brow and stripes with THIS bad boy, a Porter Cable 7424xp Dual Action Polisher:

31zuMhzmWtL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

He used a cutting pad and some Aqua Blue 200 Buffing and Polishing Compound we had that Scott Boysen had given us to try. Now not only is the COLOR back but so is the SHINE! A real mirror-like shine!

Next up, get one of these DA polishers ourselves and go after the dull white areas!
Click to expand...

I too have used this very same buffer and find it to do an excellent job. Have pictures in my album.
 
I too have the porter cable polisher,and it is top quality ,the right speeds and not to heavy.also priced fair and built to last,had mine approx 5 years :thup :thup
 
I picked up a cordless W-M polisher with two batteries at Boaters' Exchange in Sidney. Got it for a song, so I am feeling compelled to use it. Creepy!
It seems pretty light, but all of the sore muscles noted here made me remember my short stint working in a tiny boat yard - and grinding the finish off a boat bottom with a very heavy angle grinder, and very limited clearance. What worked for me was rigging up a counterweight (milk jugs of water) for the grinder, connected to the grinder with a piece of small rope. I ran the rope through a pulley, which I then shackled to a halyard. The set up meant that I could adjust the halyard to reach most of the bottom and the counterweight absorbed a lot of the grinder weight. The small rope will rub on the hull in places.
I might not need this with my econo-buffer, the boat hull is shiny - courtesy of the man who did the bottom paint, but I think a tall stepladder holding a pipe across to the boat might provide a place to hang a pulley for getting under the hull. This might be overkill for working on deck and cabin sides. :wink:
 
Sunbeam":1fglhzcx said:
I've used 3M and Meguiars products in the past, with a (rented) commercial Milwaukee buffer ("homeowner" buffers didn't do it for me). I went "up the scale" through compounding, polishing, and waxing. No particular complaints, but now I've purchased a Makita 9227 and will be trying the Presta products (but still with my favorite Collinite 885 wax as a last step after I've done the job). I found good info here:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-main ... h-wax.html
Click to expand...

Sunbeam,

Thanks for that link. As Always, you really came through on that one. Excellent tutorial that I am going to save. Looks like a great project -- beautiful results.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon

January_2010_254.thumb.jpg
 
Sunbeam, Thanks for that link!

I read all of his tutorial and things will never be the same. What a surprise to see the extent of the science, art, and results! I'm in the middle of finishing a spring waxing using standard ignorant techniques before seeing this info.

I think I'll gradually stock pile for a fall attempt at taking a step forward. The author said Presta products are usually only professional distrib., difficult to find. Have you discovered a place to get these products yet?

Tom
PS: RE: different thread. Any findings with the Water Witch yet or other choice?
 
Thats alot of work. I was going to purchase all the products along with the porter cable polisher, but in the end decided that it was too much work.

My boat was chalky and heavily oxidized along with needing name and decals removed from the hull. When new bottom paint, installing keel guards and removal and repair of entire rub rail was factored in, it was just more than I could handle.

Got a great bid for the work including polishing and wax, and I am very happy. Took the pros (2 guys) the better part of 2 days. I had enough other things to fix and get right that I did not want to get worn out and frustrated with waxing a boat for the first time.

It now looks great and hopefully, I can just upkeep it in the future.
 
Redbaronace

Sounds wise to me considering extent of oxidation etc.. Now it will be easier to merge into the compounding/polishing process in the future.

Any particular reason your choosing the Porter Cable?

Tom
 
primative":6lssdu2o said:
Redbaronace

Sounds wise to me considering extent of oxidation etc.. Now it will be easier to merge into the compounding/polishing process in the future.

Any particular reason your choosing the Porter Cable?

Tom
Click to expand...

Tom, I was going to chose the Porter Cable as that model had good reviews. It apparently has a feature built in which prevents a person from burning the paint/gelcoat from applying too much pressure. I would also use whatever unit I purchased for detailing the cars as well so it would need to serve double duty.

The boat detailers said that in the future, I will not need to perform the same hardcore polish on the hull and house if I keep it waxed 2x per year. They mostly detail 80+ foot yachts so mine was a small job.

After seeing how much work went into getting it to the condition they did, Im really happy that I hired it out. I have enough other items requiring my time, that its good to speed up the overall process by hiring some of the tasks out to the pros.

I also got my mascot insulation applied and interior sprayed yesterday and it freshened up the interior considerably. Excited to hopefully put the boat on the water this weekend.
 
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