Customer wants me to do his boat. Help!!

[05gpgtp]

I have a customer that asked me to do his boat. He has a 2006 SeaDoo Sporster. It is 15'5"

I have never worked with gel coat or done a boat like this. What steps do I need to do to accomplish a nice finish. I have not seen the boat yet, so I don't know exactly what it needs. I'm going to try and see it this weekend if possible after my other detail.

Also he wants just the exterior (sides and bottom) done. Nothing on the interior. Can anyone help to recommend the process and or steps, brushes to use, type of polisher, cleaners????

Also I have no idea what to charge to do this, since I don't do boats, he's agreed to purchase the cleaners, well I'll buy them and he'll pay me for those on top of the price to do it.

Is it better to charge per hour or charger per foot? If i work on it for 10 hours at $35, then that's $250.00. If I do it per fot, then we're talking $308 ish at $25.00 per foot.

I appreciate any help.

 

[Calendyr]

I am sure Mike will be able to give you some advice tomorrow.

I have never done boats but I fairly certain you will need a rotary buffer to work on one. If memory serve they use something called Gelcoat on boats and it's very hard to polish with a DA. When I say hard I mean close to impossible.

Again, Mike has done videos about boat restorations, so I am sure he can give you a few pointers. In the meantime you might want to check Youtube out for his (or other's) videos regarding boat polishing.

 

[Justin at Final Inspection]

I would look into Autogeeks Marine polishes (Marine 31 Products). I will be doing a review on there Heavy cut cleaner wax, mildew remover, mildew guard. PM Nick@Autogeek as he just helped choose products for my father-in-laws 36' Intrepid.

Yes, Ideally you would want to use a rotary buffer. Usually with a heavy cutting pad or wool pad as the gelcoat can be a bear to correct. The few boats I have done I charge by the foot to do the hull. Usually around 25-30$ a foot. Don't be afraid to charge because it's not easy work.

 

[Chaotic29]

I just did my dads 32' Trophy fishing boat.
I used megs m105 on a megs microfiber cutting disc.
Then followed with megs m205 on a lake country flat white pad with my griot garage polisher.
And finally sealed it with Sonax PNS.
It took me 30 hours to restore the hammered, heavy oxidized blue gel coat. It worked good and looks awesome now.

 

[North26]

Is the boat in water? On blocks? Trailered? How are you going to adjust the boat to buff around the trailer/blocks?

Without the interior you would be robbing the guy charging $25 per foot. The Seadoo is a small boat. The only reason some boats can command $25+ per foot, like Smokinss did with the 36ft Intrepid, is because of their depth, the seadoo is just a larger jetski. Boats like these: bass boats, fish and ski, etc.. it is way too much to charge anymore than $15-$20.

The sides are only about 3ft deep and you should only buff to the natural water line/where the exterior color stops. The easiest thing to do would be to remove as much brightwork as you can, phillips head will work.

As for products Megs 49 for the compound, then collinite, 303 aerospace, and a quality brightwork polish/enhancer. You cannot be gentile with gel coat, you have to be aggressive. Use a rotary with wool if you are comfortable. If not a DA with the most aggressive pad available, I have heard the orange peel denim pads work decently.

 

[05gpgtp]

I don't have a rotary and not going to buy one just for this. As far as what needs done, I'm going to go look at it tonight and take pictures. I've looked at them before and know they're small.

Also it is on a trailer in his garage.Last time I did an aluminum bass boat, I jacked up the center with my jack and placed 2x6's under that area to buff the area over the trailer boards.

If I can't do it, I can't do it. He's good either way, but I also don't want to pass up a job.

As far as products to use, I'm looking at either Meguiars or Marine 31 only.

 

[05gpgtp]

Is it better to charge per hour or charger per foot? If i work on it for 10 hours at $35, then that's $250.00. If I do it per fot, then we're talking $308 ish at $25.00 per foot.

I appreciate any help.

meant to say $25 per foot

But I will charge less if that seems more fair. I'm all about treating my customers right.

 

[05gpgtp]

ok so I went to look at the seadoo tonight. It's actually in really good shape. Only been in fresh water when used and always put back on trailer when done. So it hasn't sat in water for long periods. It looks to me that I could do a cleaner/wax one step on it. He's fine with the waterline up. I will still do the hull and bottom as much as I can but he wasn't too worried about that. Which one-step would you recommend? I don't think Meg's has a 1 step for Marine. I haven't looked into Marine 31 yet, but I do know pinnacle (from Mike's video) has a 1 step. OR again should I do a separate polish and separate wax. (I don't mind the work)

I already told the customer it'd be $20 per foot, but if I'm doing a one step, maybe surprise him with a lower amount when he comes to pick it up. He's already agreed to the $20. Also wants me to do a little top side cleaning but nothing with inside areas.

I've booked him for later in the year after he gets done playing with it on summer. He said he'll only be in a lake setting and not nasty rivers. There also is no algae or build up on the hull.

Thank you for any other info you can provide. I do intend on using my Meg's DA, just depends on what cleaner I use and what pad to use?

I have the Meg's burgundy soft buff 2.0 7" pad, Lakeside orange CCS pads, and Meg's MF pads.

 

[custmsprty]

That doesn't sound nearly enough, especially if you have to invest in new products to complete the job.

 

[05gpgtp]

Customer is paying for the product and keeping the remaining.

 

[05gpgtp]

Still looking for help with this project. It's scheduled for October but I want to get everything I need now.The picture is the color combo and what it looks like, but not the customers boat.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I'd say you're lucky.

Too often when someone is looking to get their boat detailed it's because it NEEDS to be detailed and by the word "needs" I mean it looks like this...

Holograms in gel-coat
The below picture is a full size section cropped out of the above resized picture. The lines you see running back and forth across where the flash from my camera is lighting up the side of the hull are holograms from a rotary buffer.

Holograms in gel-coat
The below picture is a full size section cropped out of the above resized picture. The lines you see running back and forth across where the flash from my camera is lighting up the side of the hull are holograms from a rotary buffer.

These graphics that spell out Shearwater are a soft form of plastic that feels like rubber. If you run a buffing pad on a rotary buffer over them you will harm them and even disfigure them.

All of the gel-coat in and around these graphics will have to be addressed very carefully.

Water Spot Stains & Oxidation
Not only is the entire hull filled with holograms from the misuse of a rotary buffer, (the normal practice by most boat detailers), the gel-coat is also oxidized and covered with water spot stains.

So having someone bring you a boat that I would consider in good condition is a blessing.

If this were mine to detail I would keep it simple, as in

KISS = Keep it Simple Simon

Simply use a quality cleaner/wax with your Porter Cable and some foam cutting and polishing pads.

Take a look at the before and after difference for this boat detailing project. We used a light cleaner/wax with a variety of tools and pads as the boat had some pretty bad oxidation.

Pictures: 16' Key Largo Center Console Boat Detailing Class with Marine 31

I think you could easily get away using the same product and stick with foam pads on your PC and do a great job.

Marine 31 All-In-One Gel Coat Polish & Wax - 16 ounce

Lake Country Thin Foam Pads


Gel-coat tends to like harder, sharper foam pads than softer foam pads for any polishing work so test both a "polishing foam pad" and if that's working go with it. If not test a foam cutting pad.

An AIO or Cleaner/Wax is a great maintenance wax for boats simply because they will tend to oxidize and also get staining on the hull from whatever is in or floating on the water. A pure wax, that is a non-cleaning wax doesn't have enough umph to provide any cleaning power but a LIGHT cleaner/wax is perfect for maintenance purposes.



:xyxthumbs:

 

[05gpgtp]

Thanks Mike. This guy bought it from a gentleman who really took care of the boat. He always removed it from the water (which was fresh water) and trailered it back home when finished. I mentioned to the new owner I thought all he needed was a AIO product as well. So at least we're on the same page there.

I have a Meg's G110V DA. With this still work with the pads? OR do I need to "borrow" a high speed to do it?

 

[05gpgtp]

Note I already have Lake Country CCS 5.5" orange, white and black pads. Would those work or should I still go with the ones you recommended above?

One more thing, would adding Marine 31 Gel Coat Carnauba Wax and Sealant add to the gloss on top of the AIO or is it not necessary?

 

[05gpgtp]

Getting ready to order what I need. Also forgot to add my ccs pads are 6.5 not 5.5. Do should I still order the flat lc pads and should I add the wax and sealant on top of the aio product?