When I got my old beater, A 2-spd buffer was recommended by the marina
where I got it ... very chalky ... or there were detailing people that
would do the work for about $1200. The thing is, all the fittings/rails
need to be removed, as well as the old vinyl striping and so on. I
thought what the heck, I'll just use one of those handy dandy
polishers. Well, I didn't get more than maybe a few feet down the hull
before that polisher burnt out. My experience ... for that first
rubbing compond work, remove all the fittings etc, if you're lucky the
striping will be old and dry and can be gently scraped off, and get
yourself a 2-spd buffer ... they're usually on sale 1/2 price
somewhere. Sure, I only got a one time use out of the buffer. Oh yeah,
if you have any aluminum like I do associated with the rub rails (?), I
suggest rub the area close to that by hand else the buffer picks up the
oxidation from the aluminum ... result ... grey rubbing compound :-(

bowgus wrote:
When I got my old beater, A 2-spd buffer was recommended by the marina
where I got it ... very chalky ... or there were detailing people that
would do the work for about $1200. The thing is, all the fittings/rails
need to be removed, as well as the old vinyl striping and so on. I
thought what the heck, I'll just use one of those handy dandy
polishers. Well, I didn't get more than maybe a few feet down the hull
before that polisher burnt out. My experience ... for that first
rubbing compond work, remove all the fittings etc, if you're lucky the
striping will be old and dry and can be gently scraped off, and get
yourself a 2-spd buffer ... they're usually on sale 1/2 price
somewhere. Sure, I only got a one time use out of the buffer. Oh yeah,
if you have any aluminum like I do associated with the rub rails (?), I
suggest rub the area close to that by hand else the buffer picks up the
oxidation from the aluminum ... result ... grey rubbing compound :-(

I will use my hands to polish the area near the fittings and the
aluminum stripes. Thanks a lot.

One thing that I don't understand is the part about not polishing the
vinyl color stripes. Are you referring to the large color
banner/stripe all around many boats for decoration purpose? Did you
get around it using hand polishing instead of the power tool? I was
thinking of polishing the color banner just like the gelcoat. This is
good that you have warned me against this. I appreciate your warning.

I cannot believe that the detailing guys would ask you to remove all
the hardware fittings. If the hardware fittings were mounted on the
boat using something like 3M 5200, we would have a hard time removing
them, right? Is this a common practice? I am asking this just for my
curiosity. I cannot afford $1200 to make my old boat beautiful (that
boat doesn't cost much more than that anyway).

Jay Chan

jeez guys, you're removing oxidation, not 3 coats of gelcoat. tell ya what.
go to an automotive paint store, get a yellow polishing pad. a bottle of 3m
finesse-2. very low abrasive and try it. hell your not going to learn any
younger. start on a nice flat surface and see how it works. it aint rocket
science, just pay attention to what you see. if you can see lightning and
hear thunder, you can polish a boat. just pay attention

I suppose if you've got all season to do the job ... and what size boat
did you do?

"bowgus" wrote in message
ups.com...
I suppose if you've got all season to do the job ... and what size boat
did you do?
i did a 20' open bow. i used a good machine compound with a cutting pad. i
then used finesse and a polish pad, and my friend waxed it himself. the
reason i suggested a polish pad and finesse, is everybody seems to have
their panties in a wad over burning the gelcoat.yo wont do it with finesse
and a polish pad, and its actually a lot harder to burn than people might
think and for that matter , i burn paint sometimes myself and ive been
doing this kind of stuff for 30 years. if you're that all fired scared of
trying something new, get back in your crib and put your thumb back in your
mouth because you damn sure dont belong in a boat , out on the water, where
a wave might splash you and actually get you all wet.