Boat detailing must haves

MikeN

MikeN

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Hey fellow geekers. I was recently contacted about detailing a boat for someone (not my 1st one) and just wanted too see what you all find to be a "must have" product/products to make the job come out that much better. This job could branch out into a few others as well as some account work so I really want to hit a home run on it.

Thanks in advance

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I usually have old wooden boats so I don't have any experience trying to bring back fiberglass, but on vinyl seats and interior pieces you can't beat Spray 9 cleaner and 303 Aerospace to finish it off.
 
Good subject to adress . Its almost spring time and I have costumers asking for boat detailing also.

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Collinite 850 Metal Wax is a must for the stainless.
 
A strong back and a good ladder!

What are the details about the boat?
 
Mike gave me great advice. Meg's 50, it is a cleaner/wax. It worked great on a boat I just did.
 
Must haves are very personal and user specific and therefore are variable from person to person. So, here's a list of quality products that you can take your pick from. Doesn't hurt to have many of them available.

Rotary...is the work horse on gel-coat, but doable with a DA with much added elbow grease. (Most will own a dual action polisher also.)


Wool cutting pads
Wool polishing pads
Foam cutting pads
Foam polishing pads
Pad spur
Foam pad cleaning brush

Assortment of tapes, if you like, or just pick one.
3M original blue painters tape
3M green automotive tape
3M yellow vynil #471

Assortment of products of your choice.

3M super duty
3M Imperial Compound and Finishing Glaze
3M Finesse-It II and/or Perfect-It Finishing Polish

Meguiar's M91
Meguiar's M67
Meguiar's M45

Buff Magic White and Pink
Buff Magic Pro Polish and sealant

Collinite 925
Collinite 920
Collinite 885
Collinite 850
Collinite 845

3M Marine paste wax

Meguiar's Flagship Cleaner wax (Tad stronger than M50)
Meguiar's Flagship Wax

Deck wax=Woody Wax

There are numerous products on the market that could fill this list, but these are some that I've used as well as others that I know are used by professional boat "people" on the Great Lakes.
 
Meguiar's 67 one step marine/rv compound. Aggressive enough to remove very heavy oxidation with an orange pad on a d/a. High-tech enough to finish in one step.

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Thanks for all the tips. Really helpful. All I know is that the boat is a 25 footer, I'm hoping to go view it in the next week or 2 so I can formulate a game plan

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MikeN said:
Thanks for all the tips. Really helpful. All I know is that the boat is a 25 footer, I'm hoping to go view it in the next week or 2 so I can formulate a game plan

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Be sure to double check that it is indeed gelcoat and not a basecoat/clearcoat

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Most fiberglass boats are gelcoat. Aluminum boats are aluminum.:buffing:

I don't think there are not many basecoat/clearcoat boats an average person can afford.


Derrick
 
I've worked on more than 1 base/clear, so just check to see if the owner knows. A good way to check is by taking some rubbing compound on a towel and seeing if color from the gelcoat comes off when you rub the compound on the the spot of color.

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Whatsvtec said:
Be sure to double check that it is indeed gelcoat and not a basecoat/clearcoat

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What's the difference in the detailing process?
 
Gelcoat is color infused topcoating to the fiberglass, it is very hard and requires aggressive diminishing compounds to be used. Base/clear is much more thin and must be treated like a car.


Also, a polish like m67 will add oils to the fiberglass, enhancing gloss by conditioning the gelcoat.
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Whatsvtec said:
Gelcoat is color infused topcoating to the fiberglass, it is very hard and requires aggressive diminishing compounds to be used. Base/clear is much more thin and must be treated like a car.


Also, a polish like m67 will add oils to the fiberglass, enhancing gloss by conditioning the gelcoat.
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Thank you!! Is the base/clear something that would primarily be found on higher end stuff?

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Yup, high end boats, bass boats and re-paints are most common to have base/clear.

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