Gelcoat Polish Question - Removed swirls but also deep gloss? - Pics

Mike Phillips said:
Any update?


:)
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Okay, finally got around to trying this out. The whole pandemic put a halt on a boating trip so I wasn't as motivated. I have had some success but not perfect yet. The blue rupes coarse pad didn't do much with the 3M finesse or 3M restorer. But it did do some good with 3M perfect it medium cut.

I tried the wool too but got a big wooly fiber mess I wasn't ready for (never used wool before). Gonna try the wool again with the Perfect It medium. I think I have some older Marine 31 stuff also that I may try as well. Really don't want to wet sand...that scares me.
 
Wool with perfect didn't do much again....seems the blue coarse pads were better.

Tried the blue coarse with some old Marine 31 Heavy oxidation and cleaner. This worked much better. Still not to the original gloss, but much much better. Will get a better idea tomorrow in the sunlight.
 
Good to hear you got some decent results.

I wet sanded a test area on a heavily oxidised boat recently (like chalk) with the Mirka Abralon pads that Mike recommended. They're really good. I followed up buffing with a wool pad and cutting compound and thought I'd finish it off with the blue Rupes pad and Captains compound, but it dulled the gelcoat again. The same old story of using a foam pad on gelcoat. I had to restore it with the cutting and wool pads again.

Using foam pads on gelcoat is a strange business. I've tried the orbital on both the free spinning and forced rotation modes so it's not that. I'd really like to get to the bottom of this as those blue Rupes look excellent and nice to use and of course, buffing alone brings with it swirl marks which an orbital can get out.
 
Totts said:
Good to hear you got some decent results.

I wet sanded a test area on a heavily oxidised boat recently (like chalk) with the Mirka Abralon pads that Mike recommended. They're really good. I followed up buffing with a wool pad and cutting compound and thought I'd finish it off with the blue Rupes pad and Captains compound, but it dulled the gelcoat again. The same old story of using a foam pad on gelcoat. I had to restore it with the cutting and wool pads again.

Using foam pads on gelcoat is a strange business. I've tried the orbital on both the free spinning and forced rotation modes so it's not that. I'd really like to get to the bottom of this as those blue Rupes look excellent and nice to use and of course, buffing alone brings with it swirl marks which an orbital can get out.
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Still not completely happy as it still doesn't have that hard glassy surface look. May have to try to use the wool pads again with another product, or break down and wet sand and then try the wool. Guess I could try wet sanding beneath my platform where nobody looks.

What wool pads did you use...the rupes blue / white ones?
 
dnadrifterr said:
The blue rupes coarse pad didn't do much with the 3M finesse or 3M restorer.

But it did do some good with 3M perfect it medium cut.
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dnadrifterr said:
Tried the blue coarse with some old Marine 31 Heavy oxidation and cleaner.
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The more posts like yours, and we have a few now, the more I'm going to stick to what I always say,

Abrasive Technology - THE most important factor when it comes to polishing paint


Send me your shipping address and I'll send you a bottle of some GREAT abrasive technology.

[email protected]


:)
 
Would the same process you use on gel coat work just as well on marine paint??
 
I found using Marine31 (compound n polish using wool pad using rotary), followed by Marine31 (polish n wax using Rupes coarse pads on orbital) worked well.keep in mind that I wet sanded last season but not needed this season
 
aplus said:
Would the same process you use on gel coat work just as well on marine paint??
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No, at least not generally speaking.

I cover this in my boat detailing book but it's been discontinued.


The short answer is, "most" marine products for removing oxidation on gel-coats are too aggressive for marine specialty paints like Awlgrip. When it comes to marine specialty paints - you REALLY should contact the boat manufacturer and find out what they recommend.

If you can - find out what kind of paint they use for their brand of boats. Then go to that companies website and see what they recommend for their paint systems.


If you use too aggressive of a product you'll destroy the paint.


Since coming to Autogeek in 2009 I've witnessed numerous people come to the lobby here at Autogeek trying to buy a polish to FIX the damage they did to a marine specialty paint after compounding it. There is no fix except to repaint.



Now if you're talking about a boat that your buddy Jim painted, that's a whole different ballgame.


You need to find and know what type of paint is on the boat.



:)
 
I have a boat I’m doing next week. It’s in good shape no crazy oxidation. I wanna get some pop out of the gel coat. My plan of attack was going to be a foamed wool purple pad from LC w/ Meguiars cleaner wax on my shurhold 3500 DA. Am I aiming in the right direction or should I change something’s up? This is going to be my first boat Detail and I’m trying to knock it out of the park.
 
Thanks for the useful information Mike, I hope you are right on this too.

I have some black gelcoat I am dealing with. Having thrown just about every pad/polish combo I have at it, it just cant get the frosting gone.

Just ordered the blue coarse Rupes pads, Marine 31 One Step compound/polish. and the smaller backing plate for my 3401 VRG.

Let's give this a try. :)



Mike Phillips said:
So here's what I show for REALLY bad or DEEP oxidation.

  2. Machine sand with Mirka Abralon.
  3. Cut out sanding marks with rotary buffer, TRADITIONAL WOOL CUTTING PAD - not the short fiber style you can use an an orbital polisher, using the Captain's Compound.
  4. Removing the holograms left by the fibers in the above step using the RUPES coarse blue foam pad on any orbital polisher and the Captain's compound. I use the BEAST for speed and pure grunt power.
  5. Seal the surface - Wax, Sealant or Ceramic Coating.


It works every time. And I prove it with pictures like this,


Boat Detailing Training - Before & After Pictures - The MOST DOCUMENTED HANDS-ON Boat Detailing Classes - Autogeek - Stuart, Florida





:)
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I also had the issue of the Finesse it being cloudy with an orbital. It never looked like I was expecting it too. I ended up using a Schlegel wool pad with 3M medium cut then the Finesse it. I had to use a rotary at 2200 speed to get the shine I wanted. After the wool pad I used the Schlegel SHL-275C wool pad to buff it out. Make sure you have no oxidation for this 2 step to work.

View attachment 71685
 
This post is long overdue, but I finally got around to doing a substantial part of the boat with the Captain's One Step Compound and Polish. I used the Griots G9 and the blue coarse Rupes pads as recommended by Mike and I gotta say, really good results and very easy. No wool pad. No wet sand. Very simple. Pretty easy to wipe off as well. I am sold. Yes, it is a little expensive, but quite worth it in my opinion. Now if only the water hadn't disappeared in CA.

BTW, really like the Griots G9....such a better experience compared to the PC7424.

Thanks Mike!
 
Just wanted to add that I found somewhere else that Mike is now using the Buff n shine blue coarse pads since Rupes discontinued the old ones in case anyone is wondering.

Also just compared Rupes wool pad and then blue coarse vs just the blue coarse pad. The gelcoat is in pretty good shape so there wasn't much difference. However one could tell there was a bit more depth when using the wool pad first. Just purchased some of the captains coating as well and will be finishing it with that...hoping it will last a while being the boat is stored dry and only used in freshwater. Time will tell.
 
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