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Author Topic: gel coat in tight spaces  (Read 5294 times)

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Offline Center Stage Auto Detailing

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gel coat in tight spaces
« on: October 01, 2016, 09:44:38 PM »
Haven't posted in a long long time.  I check in once in a while though.  Even moved to Oklahoma.  lol

Now to my quandary.  I just bought a used boat.  It has some oxidation on the gel coat from being 18 years old.
So far, I've used Meg's #49 and Meg's #45 on it.  I tried using the DA with a cutting pad and it did nothing.  It took a rotary and PFW pad to cut through it.

My problem is how to cut through it in all the little nooks and craneys that the rotary can't get in to.  I tried using the #49 by hand, but it didn't do much of anything.
I'm hoping to not have to go all the way to wet sanding.  That has always scared the crap out of me.

Here's an example of what's been done so far.
Before


After Rotary, pfw, and Meg's oxidation remover


After DA, meg's cutting pad, and Meg's Gel Coat Polish


« Last Edit: October 01, 2016, 09:59:50 PM by Center Stage Auto Detailing »

Offline Too Stroked

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Re: gel coat in tight spaces
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2016, 10:49:53 AM »
CSAD,

First of all, it’s good to hear from you again! Second, nice to see you’ve found a boat to have some fun in. Since I work at a marina, I should be able to help you. I will note that I do virtually none of our fiberglass / gelcoat work because we have a guy that comes in and does a pretty decent job for us. I have worked with him (he had me do his truck since he doesn’t do paint) and pretty well know his techniques though.

First of all, most gelcoat is pretty darn thick when compared to paint. That allows one to really go aggressive on correction with little worry about burning through it. Some high performance boats (like Skaters) have really thin gelcoat though since it actually weighs more than paint. This is also helpful because most aggressive gelcoat restoration products depend on generating a good deal of heat (through friction) to really work well.

I’ll get right to the big problem with gel before I get into how to restore it. Heavily oxidized gelcoat can be brought back to a pretty decent shine. That said, in all of my years of working on boats, I’ve found that once it’s shot, it’s really shot. What that means is that although you can “bring it back,” it will return to its oxidized state pretty quickly even with a good follow up LSP. The only real lasting cure is to re-gel or re-paint the surface.

So what does our guy use? He uses 3M Imperial Compound, a wool pad (lots of them) and a rotary buffer cranked up pretty well. Although I’ve heard of a number of other products that other people have used with success (such as Fountain of Youth Vibra Cut Compound), our guy swears by the 3M stuff and it does seem to work pretty well for him. According to him, one of the keys is keeping the surface fairly well covered / lubricated with the product. You also need to keep the pad moving, but don’t let the surface dry out. Pretty much like working with paint except the part about using lots of product. What does he do in tight areas? Basically he tilts the buffer / pad to get as many areas as he can. He also removes as much bolted / screwed on stuff as he can before he starts. The limited number to areas he still can’t get he does by hand with small pieces of cotton towels. And yes, these areas are a pain.

I will note that wet sanding is a very viable option when you have lots of oxidation. Not only is the gel generally thick enough to tolerate the sanding and follow up buffing, but if the oxidation is really bad, it’s actually a lot faster.

As for LSPs, it’s kind of like products for cars & trucks. Our guy uses Meguire’s Flagship Marine Wax exclusively and it seems to work pretty well for our customers. From what I’ve seen though, the really oxidized boats that he’s worked on pretty much look just as bad the following spring. Like I said, once it’s gone, it’s really gone. Hope that helps.

Tom

Offline Center Stage Auto Detailing

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Re: gel coat in tight spaces
« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2016, 09:30:23 PM »
Thanks.  The spot in that picture is the worst place on the boat.  Mostly the stuff is just on the top of the gunwales.  If it doesn't stick it's no biggie.  I'll just see how things progress.

Here is what it looks like right now.  Other than the top edges it's not too far gone yet.


Offline Too Stroked

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Re: gel coat in tight spaces
« Reply #3 on: October 03, 2016, 06:05:26 PM »
Nice looking boat. Love the 2.5 liter Merc / Mariner motors too. (Got one on mine.)

Offline Rollingrock

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Re: gel coat in tight spaces
« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2016, 11:45:13 PM »
CSAD,

First of all, it’s good to hear from you again! Second, nice to see you’ve found a boat to have some fun in. Since I work at a marina, I should be able to help you. I will note that I do virtually none of our fiberglass / gelcoat work because we have a guy that comes in and does a pretty decent job for us. I have worked with him (he had me do his truck since he doesn’t do paint) and pretty well know his techniques though.

First of all, most gelcoat is pretty darn thick when compared to paint. That allows one to really go aggressive on correction with little worry about burning through it. Some high performance boats (like Skaters) have really thin gelcoat though since it actually weighs more than paint. This is also helpful because most aggressive gelcoat restoration products depend on generating a good deal of heat (through friction) to really work well.

I’ll get right to the big problem with gel before I get into how to restore it. Heavily oxidized gelcoat can be brought back to a pretty decent shine. That said, in all of my years of working on boats, I’ve found that once it’s shot, it’s really shot. What that means is that although you can “bring it back,” it will return to its oxidized state pretty quickly even with a good follow up LSP. The only real lasting cure is to re-gel or re-paint the surface.

So what does our guy use? He uses 3M Imperial Compound, a wool pad (lots of them) and a rotary buffer cranked up pretty well. Although I’ve heard of a number of other products that other people have used with success (such as Fountain of Youth Vibra Cut Compound), our guy swears by the 3M stuff and it does seem to work pretty well for him. According to him, one of the keys is keeping the surface fairly well covered / lubricated with the product. You also need to keep the pad moving, but don’t let the surface dry out. Pretty much like working with paint except the part about using lots of product. What does he do in tight areas? Basically he tilts the buffer / pad to get as many areas as he can. He also removes as much bolted / screwed on stuff as he can before he starts. The limited number to areas he still can’t get he does by hand with small pieces of cotton towels. And yes, these areas are a pain.

I will note that wet sanding is a very viable option when you have lots of oxidation. Not only is the gel generally thick enough to tolerate the sanding and follow up buffing, but if the oxidation is really bad, it’s actually a lot faster.

As for LSPs, it’s kind of like products for cars & trucks. Our guy uses Meguire’s Flagship Marine Wax exclusively and it seems to work pretty well for our customers. From what I’ve seen though, the really oxidized boats that he’s worked on pretty much look just as bad the following spring. Like I said, once it’s gone, it’s really gone. Hope that helps.

Tom

Now that is a great post Tom!   thanks for taking the time to post that. 

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