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Gelcoat Wet Sanding Advice Needed

11YearItch

11YearItch

Member
This thread is aimed at anyone that has experience wet sanding boat gelcoat. The dark blue closed bow on the 1988 Checkmate I purchased last summer has some faded and chalky areas so I have decided to wet sand it before buffing and waxing it. I am using 800, 1000, and 2000 grit paper and now after much sanding the bow, when wet, looks great with sprinkles appearing where I didn't know they even existed before. My dilemma is that after the bow becomes dry again the sprinkles no longer are visible and some areas appear somewhat faded and chalky again.

My question now is how do I know when to stop wet sanding and move on to buffing? I don't want to sand through the gelcoat but at the same time I want to get rid of the faded and chalky areas. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
 
Just keep in mind that even if you store it out of the sun it will oxidize rather quickly again. My Liner is stored in a car port and with a cover on it but after doing a preseason full sand and buff it starts to go south by the end of the season.

John
 
Rob B said:
I agree with Keith, starting buffing using a heavy compound and a wool pad. Take a look at this link and see if this helps you:http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21226
Click to expand...
Rob, the article you linked me to was just what I needed, but sooner. Wouldn't you know the blue bottle Meguiars compound cleaner that the article advises not to use is what I had purchased. Fortunately I haven't started buffing yet so before proceeding will get either the Meguiars tan bottle stuff or the 3M Marine Super Duty Rubbing Compound that is recommended.
Thanks for your help.
 
atc250r said:
Just keep in mind that even if you store it out of the sun it will oxidize rather quickly again. My Liner is stored in a car port and with a cover on it but after doing a preseason full sand and buff it starts to go south by the end of the season.

John
Click to expand...

This is not what I wanted to hear but it is what I thought might be the case. It will be worse for my boat because it sits in the water all summer with only a cockpit cover. Thanks for your input.
 
11YearItch said:
Rob, I can only hope the results of my gel coat restoration efforts are as good as yours. Your black 170 looks great.
Click to expand...

Thanks!! That was lots of sanding, the gel coat was shot as you can see in the pictures. The best advice I can give is take your time and do each step thoroughly.
 
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Maybe pick up a semi custom cover from a place like Wholesale Marine and put it over the entire boat and cockpit cover to keep sun off it a little?
 
Because of the temp outside is good enough to buff and clean, I will start also with my foredeck in a week time.
Little scared of sanding, hope it goes well.
 
senator-holland said:
Because of the temp outside is good enough to buff and clean, I will start also with my foredeck in a week time.
Little scared of sanding, hope it goes well.
Click to expand...

I too was concerned about sanding so started with 800 grit sandpaper instead of the recommended 600 grit. So far everything seems okay. The real test will come in a few days when I start the buffing. Good luck on your project.
 
I start sanding today. Not in the sun. No beer. Just hard work.
Sanding paper of that ultra fine grit is hard to get overhere.
Have to go in half an hour to a prof painters shop to get it.
 
Its drying white up after the 1200 sanding.

Do i have to remove the white sanding stuff before i start with the 3M stuff?
 
Anybody know any of the miracle waxes/protectants that actually work better than good wax?

We get ship shape TV down here and he's always pitching something that he swears by. Problem is it only shows "just after buffed" finish that would have looked good w/water on it.

Yrs back I had a really nice, multi dark/colored Stratos cuddy that I did the whole sand/buff/polish to and it looked like new when new.
I remember having a beer on it , 1st time out on a hot summer day and you could see EVERY water spot become permanent mark once the sun dried it.
I finally gave up.

The Starliner I just bought, has some minor fading too so this all hits home for me.
i even wondered about re-clearing it. Any of you paint/body guys know if any of the clear coats has much UV protection in it??
I had a race boat cleared yrs ago and the guy screwed up and used the wrong clear coat and it was as bad as nothing at all for protection!
 
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