New to Boat Detailing - Polishing with a GG6?

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CC268

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Hey guys,

My buddy picked up a nice Malibu 20MXZ. It is in great shape already and doesn't need any major correction work. Can boats be polished with a GG6? I have all the flat LC pads (yellow, orange, white, black, blue) and just about every polish you can think of from Menzerna 3500, M205, HD Speed, HD Polish, Pinnacle Cleansing Lotion, etc...and plenty of sealants. Can these products be used on a boat or is this totally different than car detailing?
 
It's easier to polish,clean gel coat with the da than it is to correct. I see you listed only polish compounds but don't overlook a stronger cutting compound instead, gel coat tends to be harder than clear coat. Same rules apply do your test spots and I don't use marine specific compounds.
 
Meguairs marine line is good for boats, gel coat is tough as nails
 
I have very successfully used a GG6 with Griot's FAST MF pads and Megs #67 One Step Compound... http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-one-step-marine-compound.html. Work slowly in small areas and it works great! Clean off your pads after EVERY section too!

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I have used a PC on our MasterCrafts with no problem. I use LC CCS 5.5" pads. I have used 3M Gelcoat Restorer and Wax, Collinite Fiberglass Cleaner and have experimented with some XMT compounds and swirl removers (#3, and #1, along with XMT360). I always top with either Collinite Fiberglass Boat Wax or 845.

It's nice if the gelcoat is in great shape to begin with, but it is very resilient stuff and can really come back, even if it is heavily oxidized.
 
Wow thanks a lot guys...I have all the LC Flat Pads so I'm not going to go out and buy more pads at this point, but I will have to look at getting a boat specific compound and polish I guess. I have a ton of product already so I thought I could maybe use something I already had.
 
I listed most of the polishes I have in the first post...could any of those be used?
 
CC268 said:
I listed most of the polishes I have in the first post...could any of those be used?
Click to expand...


The polishes and cleaner/waxes you listed are on the medium to light cut side of aggressiveness.

If the oxidation isn't too bad they will work. If the oxidation is severe then you're going to need a more aggressive product plus an aggressive pad.


You posted this,

CC268 said:
My buddy picked up a nice Malibu 20MXZ. It is in great shape already and doesn't need any major correction work.
Click to expand...

Lucky for your friend.


CC268 said:
Can boats be polished with a GG6?
Click to expand...

Yes. And the better the condition the easier it will be with this category of tool.



CC268 said:
I have all the flat LC pads (yellow, orange, white, black, blue)
Click to expand...

Stick with the yellow and orange pads with cleaner/waxes and the polishing and waxing pads for NON cleaning cleaner/waxes




CC268 said:
and just about every polish you can think of from

Menzerna 3500 - Medium cut polish
M205, - Light cut Polish
HD Speed - Light to medium cut cleaner/wax
HD Polish - Light cut polish
Pinnacle Cleansing Lotion - NO CUT at all. This is a paint cleaner for prepping like new paint for car wax.
Click to expand...


The most important tidbit of help I can offer is to START by doing some TESTING.

Dial in a process that makes one small section look GREAT!

If you can make one small section look great then the same process will work over the rest of the boat.

Don't make the mistake of buffing out an entire boat without testing first only to find out what you "did" didn't work.


:)
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
The polishes and cleaner/waxes you listed are on the medium to light cut side of aggressiveness.

If the oxidation isn't too bad they will work. If the oxidation is severe then you're going to need a more aggressive product plus an aggressive pad.


You posted this,



Lucky for your friend.




Yes. And the better the condition the easier it will be with this category of tool.





Stick with the yellow and orange pads with cleaner/waxes and the polishing and waxing pads for NON cleaning cleaner/waxes







The most important tidbit of help I can offer is to START by doing some TESTING.

Dial in a process that makes one small section look GREAT!

If you can make one small section look great then the same process will work over the rest of the boat.

Don't make the mistake of buffing out an entire boat without testing first only to find out what you "did" didn't work.


:)
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot! This boat has no oxidation whatsoever, so we would be polishing it simply to "perfect" it and then protect it. If I was working on a boat with bad oxidation I would probably want to by myself a Flex 3401...

I was thinking about going with the Marine 31 Captain’s One-Step Compound & Polish, but that would be overly aggressive for this boat and it sounds like I have products that will do the job anyways. I figure a good coat of Collinite 845 would do the trick for the LSP.
 
Just a thought.marine 31 gelcoat and color restore.If it's in great condition auto products will suffice.
 
GSKR said:
Just a thought.marine 31 gelcoat and color restore.If it's in great condition auto products will suffice.
Click to expand...

Yea...I've heard actually good things about HD Speed on boats and that may be a good AIO solution.
 
The downside to HD is the durability is just not there,maybe top it with a good sealant.Double the work but it will be done right and you will be happy.
 
GSKR said:
The downside to HD is the durability is just not there,maybe top it with a good sealant.Double the work but it will be done right and you will be happy.
Click to expand...

Yea HD Speed with Collinite 845 seems like a good combo
 
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