Thread:

Gelcoat Buffing...

Hi everyone,, just picked up a new boat a week ago and am in love with the style and look of this 1982 Eliminator



The crew was ready to go as we docked in the street

Last night I started to attemp the first pass in an attempt to revive some of the shine on the what appears to be original gelcoat. I used a variable speed dewalt buffer, cotton pad, and some moderatley abrasive buffing compound.

Plenty of places came out beautiful, but others are still a bit cloudy, I've done a few cars before but that has always been more of a base coat clear coat finish and never gel. I know it is quite a bit thicker than clear for the most part, and went over a few spots a bit more but still have considerable cloudiness in the shine.

I wouldn't be opposed to a BUNCH of wetsanding and starting over to get a consistent shine, but would rather not if it really isn't going to gain much improvement.

Has anyone else seen areas that are tougher to buff than others? Any advice on potential tricks to help out?

Thanks in advance..

Steve...

What brand of product are you using? Its really hard to beat the 3M stuff.

Hi Redneckcharlie

I started with the cotton pad (white fiber) and the Meguiars Mirror Glaze Dimond Cut Compound 2.0 It claims to have a Heavy Cutting rating of 10 out of 10. I've used this before when buffing the cars out and it will smooth out wetsanding marks from about 1000 grit and smoother with no real problems.


For giggles,,, I then went over with a black buffing foam pad and a 3M Imperial Hand Glaze which contained no silicone or wax...

After that went over the bow with a decent wax,, sorry ran out of the material and the container went off with the recycle bin this morning so I don't have the manufacturer name on that one..


The wierd part is that it is only in certain sections that when you look at the boat from an angle I can see a haze..

heeeheeheeee Purple Haze

I wish the boat was purple! But gotta live with the old school brown for at least this summer till I tear the boat apart and redo it

I will have to try tomorrow and see if the haze is less noticable when wet.. Raining like crazy here today after work so I didn't get a chance to go out and mess with it... Supposed to turn nice again tomorrow so I have my fingers crossed..

after a few years , i took it to few different guys and they said it wouldnt come back It was to far gone. So a friend of mine showed me a little trick , pretty tempary but it works and you have to do it almost everytime you wash it . WAIT for ittt...... here it comes . PLEDGE furniture polsh , it adds the moisture the gelcoat needs. I also tried carnubal wax but its a lot more work. PLEDGE ,just spray and wipe and with a lemony sent toooooo..

Welcome to the site, 2000 wet sand papar, 3M Perfect-it, and a good buffer, and cutting pad. Use a little dish soap in the water.

Thanks bajadad, great site and a TON of information! ! !

So I went out and pulled the cover off the boat today,, (rain finally stopped!) and thought I was looking at a bunch of dust and crap that is powdering off the cover. It seems to have gotten worse not better after the buffing....


I was washing my car anyway so I went over the bow of the boat at the same time and now the majority of the top is a chalky white! WHAT THE HECK

It really does look like a bajillion (to use a term coined from my 12 year old) little scratches all over the place. Some spots are great and shiney like I expected the whole thing to be, the others are horribly white.. Not good on a brown boat!

I think the 2000 is in order and your 3M Perfect It! That combined with a case of pledge should bring back something I am hoping! !

At any rate it has to get better,, the plan was not to tear the boat down until the winter and then start with my evil graphics scheme

Thanks for the pledge update!

I do plan on regelling the boat over the winter. Been doing some reading up on the whole paint versus gel solutions, plenty plenty to learn about that now too.

It looks alright with this color scheme, but kind of clashes with the purple 57 Chevy Wagon tow vehichle.. Purple wagon, black roof, with silver metal flake flames pulling a brown scalloped boat,, I'm thinking circus train going down the road

Originally Posted by steve_g

Thanks for the pledge update!

I do plan on regelling the boat over the winter. Been doing some reading up on the whole paint versus gel solutions, plenty plenty to learn about that now too.

It looks alright with this color scheme, but kind of clashes with the purple 57 Chevy Wagon tow vehichle.. Purple wagon, black roof, with silver metal flake flames pulling a brown scalloped boat,, I'm thinking circus train going down the road

That's ok we're all circus midgets......

First off not an expert by any means, with that said I had done cars before and always had good results, when I bought a boat that wasn't in the best of shape, so I did same stuff I had alwas done, didn't come out as nicely as I would have liked, try again, and again. Then got told need to not use car products and to use only RV and Marine compounds, polishes and waxes. Way better results.

Thanks NdaWind...

We are heading out to a picnic this afternoon, maybe I can convice the family to swing past Bass Pro or another marine supply store on the way home.....


I'm going to try a small section of this with the 2000 grit and see if it helps, can't do much more damage than is already on there

I'll try to take some pictures and toss them up here to show the before and afters..

The boat doesn't look that bad, quick scuff, buff away. I found my boat by the Mexico border, SoCal it sat in the sun for about ten yrs 115 degree summers...... here it is now.