Improving gelcoat

5

58LesPaul

New member
Joined
Jul 29, 2016
Messages
192
Reaction score
0
I'm getting an older boat, 2003, and the gelcoat looks pretty good but want to take it to the next level. Can I do it with a GG6 and Griots fast correcting cream and polish or do I have to get a rotary and gelcoat compound/polish?


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
If you can post pictures of the boat that would greatly help. Even on boats with no oxidation but do have water spots the Rupes blue pad and Marine31 captains one step make it come out great!

With the Captains compound breaking down more after each pass it helps to refine the surface.


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
58LesPaul said:
I'm getting an older boat, 2003, and the gelcoat looks pretty good but want to take it to the next level.

Can I do it with a GG6 and Griots fast correcting cream and polish or do I have to get a rotary and gelcoat compound/polish?
Click to expand...


If it looks good and feel smooth then the GG6 with a foam cutting pad and the Fast Correcting Cream and the Perfecting Cream should handle it easily.

You might not even need the Fast Correcting Cream. I'd suggest testing foam cutting and polishing pads, gel-coats don't seem to like soft foam pads for any type of correction work. They're good for machine application of a finishing sealant like the Griot's Finishing Sealant though.


Cool boat.


:)
 
Update, after using an orange cutting pad and Fast Cutting Cream it brought out a lot of shine but as you might be able to tell in the picture, the valleys are still dull. Will a MF pad get that or do I have to wet sand?



Also, are there any attachments that I can get that will go on this air tool for using like a 2" or 3" pad? I have a lot of small areas I need to get a polisher to and don't want to have to buy a small one.

 
I accidentally deleted the bottom photo from photobucket and now it doesn't show up on the app, so I'll post it again since I can't edit

 
I posted this in the boat and marine board but didn't get an answer so I thought I would try here.

I used my GG6 with orange LC pad and GG Quick Correcting Cream and shined the gelcoat up quite a bit, but when you get at an angle you can see light spots here and there. Will a MF pad with a difference compound get those light spots or will I need to wet sand?


 
Those look like low spots that the pad/product isn't reaching. Is the gel coat as rough as the pics make it out to be?
 
No, it feels rather smooth. Do you think a MF pad will take care of it? Do I need a different compound?

Thanks
 
So I assume this is orange peel and my compound is not getting to the low spots? Was it sprayed with the orange peel or does it develop over time?
 
Very few smaller (high production) boats have smooth gel coat. It's quite thin, and not cost effective for the company to wet sand it perfectly smooth.
 
So what grit should I wet sand with? Is there specific sandpaper for wet sanding? Am I gonna have start with 800 then go to 2000 and 3000, or what do you all think?
 
Gonna have to defer to the experts here, man. I'm a marine mechanic, not a 'glass guy. But, I've seen our 'glass guys sand, spray new gel coat, then use a fast-drying blue dye to see where & how much to sand to get it completely flat in each grit stage.

Seeing as how your boat appears black in the pics......... Hmmmm. Not sure of the next step here. But, I'll bet Mike knows. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top