Oxidized gelcoat that is shiny?

[AsLan7]

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Just a little more insight into the difference between wet sand and buffing

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Nice quick vid contribution L14.

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[jhnmdahl]

I feel like the first video was cheating a bit by using an 8" buffing pad against a 5" random orbit sander. A bigger sander might fare better, saving a smaller one for corners if needed.

If a large area needs to have significant oxidation removed, I like the idea of a large, flat backing on a sander to prevent waves or ripples you can get from going over something many times with heavy cut compound on a buffer. Maybe something like:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-1-2- ... /203162049

Then there's the linear stroke sanders they use for flattening or final shaping on cars. May work here, and be a little easier to handle when sanding an entire boat hull?

https://www.zoro.com/ingersoll-rand-air ... /G2477036/

[Lockey14s]

I feel like the first video was cheating a bit by using an 8" buffing pad against a 5" random orbit sander. A bigger sander might fare better, saving a smaller one for corners if needed.

If a large area needs to have significant oxidation removed, I like the idea of a large, flat backing on a sander to prevent waves or ripples you can get from going over something many times with heavy cut compound on a buffer. Maybe something like:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-1-2- ... /203162049

Then there's the linear stroke sanders they use for flattening or final shaping on cars. May work here, and be a little easier to handle when sanding an entire boat hull?

https://www.zoro.com/ingersoll-rand-air ... /G2477036/

A dual action orbital is the go to for wet sanding, I’ve never heard of anyone using those other styles for sanding gel coat. Maybe if you have done repairs and need to get it back down to a flat surface then those can come in handy, but for removing oxidation it’s just too aggressive.

I’m not a pro on sanding gel coat, so I do it wet and use the mirka abralon pads which have a small layer of foam in it. You can actually dry sand gel coat and it’s a lot faster and cheaper on pads, just riskier. Drake has some great videos on both kinds of sanding and goes through the steps, as well as going over the machines and different pads he uses

[Titaniumboy]

I follow Drake on YouTube also. He seems to be a likable fellow with a lot of energy. He is fun to watch.

But I don’t trust him on gelcoat. He never shows his results in the sun where it really matters. Anything will look shiny in the shade.

[Lockey14s]

I follow Drake on YouTube also. He seems to be a likable fellow with a lot of energy. He is fun to watch.

But I don’t trust him on gelcoat. He never shows his results in the sun where it really matters. Anything will look shiny in the shade.

Lol this guy really hates sand paper. But he’s obviously got a nice technique nailed down. When I wanted to learn how to detail I went with tried and true methods because I knew they would work and it was on my personal stuff, I’m not out to save time and make money. I’ve watched a lot of drakes videos as well as many others to compile my knowledge. Then I put it to the test, I actually restored a couple different levels of neglected gel coat. So I have my personal method just like every other detailer lol. Have you tried buffing your boat using his method?

[Lockey14s]

I did just buy a bottle of super duty 05954 to give it a shot though! I’m very curious

[jhnmdahl]

Lockey, I've heard of the Flex dual action polishers for cars, and they do seem ideal, especially for non-pros or on cars where burning through too much clear coat is a risk. Seems like less of a risk on gelcoat if you pick the right grit, since your real goal is to remove some of the surface layer.

I suppose it comes down to whether your technique, equipment, and grit have a greater risk of a wavy finish or going too deep.

[Titaniumboy]

Lol this guy really hates sand paper. But he’s obviously got a nice technique nailed down. When I wanted to learn how to detail I went with tried and true methods because I knew they would work and it was on my personal stuff, I’m not out to save time and make money. I’ve watched a lot of drakes videos as well as many others to compile my knowledge. Then I put it to the test, I actually restored a couple different levels of neglected gel coat. So I have my personal method just like every other detailer lol. Have you tried buffing your boat using his method?

I hear you about not caring about saving time or making money if I am working on my own stuff. To be honest I would be completely thrilled to get to a shine level that Drake acheives. But now that I am aware that shine can vary dramatically between being seen in the shade as compared to being seen in the sun, I am curious to see if I can replicate Lee’s results.

I have not tried Lee’s method yet, but I finally have all the 3M compounds and wool pads and Dewalt polisher collected together. I am hoping to get my boat compounded in June sometime.

My 240 is probably going to be really easy to get back to the factory shine despite me applying wax very infrequently during the last 15 years. The boat has spent its entire life in a covered building so only has seen sunshine while accruing its 270 hours.

My real test is going to try bringing the metalflake gelcoat on my 1977 18 ft Beachcraft closed bow runabout back to life. This is the second time I have owned this boat, amd the gelcoat on the bow and gunwales was already heavily oxidized by 1993 when I purchased it the first time. Luckily I (and the guy I sold it to in 2002) have kept it under cover ever since so hope springs eternal. It is very possible that the metalflake gelcoat is simply too far gone to save.

I am seriously toying with the idea of going up to Lee’s place in Chelan WA to have him show me what he does. If I go I would maybe bring along the Beachcraft and see if we can do anything with the metalflake gelcoat.

Some 3M executives went to see Lee in Chelan a couple of weeks ago to see how he does what he does.





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[Titaniumboy]

I’m still waiting for him to finish up the green Cobalt that started this thread, but in the meantime for your viewing pleasure...

[Kate]

Product and technique for removing oxidation are also a function of how embedded the oxidation is. Mine was a stage-3 cancer.

I tried countless products (including a commercial-grade compound). The oxidation just laughed. Switched to 1500g wet, then 1000g, then 600g. The oxidation just giggled. Then attacked it with 400g on a palm sander. Finally, the oxidation wept beautiful tears.

[Lockey14s]

Product and technique for removing oxidation are also a function of how embedded the oxidation is. Mine was a stage-3 cancer.

I tried countless products (including a commercial-grade compound). The oxidation just laughed. Switched to 1500g wet, then 1000g, then 600g. The oxidation just giggled. Then attacked it with 400g on a palm sander. Finally, the oxidation wept beautiful tears.

Kate, the older gel coat is very tricky… not sure if it’s just dehydrated due to age or what. I am having a hard time getting the grittiness out of the yellow section. Wet sanding up to 3k seems to work the best right now

[Titaniumboy]

Product and technique for removing oxidation are also a function of how embedded the oxidation is. Mine was a stage-3 cancer.

I tried countless products (including a commercial-grade compound). The oxidation just laughed. Switched to 1500g wet, then 1000g, then 600g. The oxidation just giggled. Then attacked it with 400g on a palm sander. Finally, the oxidation wept beautiful tears.

Wow, that sounds like you went through quite the ordeal. Do you have Before and After pics? What is the year and model?

[Titaniumboy]

I am having a hard time getting the grittiness out of the yellow section. Wet sanding up to 3k seems to work the best right now

You can still feel the grittiness after 3000 grit and compounding? That sounds weird. Could it be that the gelcoat is so old at this point that the pores have become large enough to feel by hand?

Maybe you could post some close-up pictures or video here. You could also ask Lee about this in his YT channel. He seems really responsive to questions posed in the YT comments. Tell him you came over from the Cobalt Chat forum. I’ve been trying to get him to join up here but so far no joy.

[Kate]

Tboy:

Sorry, no pics.

'85 Condesa.

[jhnmdahl]

I'm still convinced sometimes you just need to sand to get useful, lasting results.

Kate's boat is posted on this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=3334