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Well, I was over at a friend's house last week when his parents asked me to detail their boat.
So, to make things a little more interesting, this was my first boat detail. And, the Marine Line is difficult to obtain without placing an order.
The boat is a 21ft 1988 Donzi Ragazza with a gelcoat white and red two-tone paint scheme. The trailer was a solid red single stage with peeling decals. The owners requested that I leave the decals alone. Fortunately, I didn't have to clean the cover.
Products used:
-GC Wash - two bucket
-Aggressive Clay
-M105, M84, and M85
-Solo Heavy and Light Cut wool pads on the Makita
-M80
-NXT 2.0
Process - aka Trial and Error:
First off was the frame. The red single stage was laid down on a rough steel frame and hadn't faired well. M105 and a Solo Light Cut Wool pad removed the oxidation. This was followed up with M80 and a W8006 polishing pad.
Here is where the fun begins...
The hull had plenty of serious rotary swirls. It was almost as if the previous detailer had taken a dry cutting pad and attempted to polish the paint. Holograms are fairly easy to remove, but this was bad. Plus, there were swirls imbedded in there, too. This is a great example of why you should never buff dry and use a clean pad.
Another view:
I started out using M105 and a Solo Light Cut wool pad. This worked alright, but something else was needed. It was quickly apparent that the paint was hard as nails. Next was M84 and a Solo Light Cut wool pad. This worked much better, but after a few passes in one area, something more aggressive was need.
I decided that...
...we're gonna need a bigger hammer.
Finally, after two hours of testing polishes, compounds and pads, I found a combination that would remove the marks!!! The M85 and Solo Heavy Cut Wool pad worked great. It just goes to show you that the 'older' style compounds still work well. Then, M80 further refined the surface, while NXT 2.0 added the protection.
The red area had water run off the cover which stained the paint. Once again, M85 and a Solo Heavy Cut Wool pad removed the staining while M80 finished the surface
Here are the afters:
The fenders polished out pretty well.
Remember all the rotary markings? Where did they go?
The staining near the lettering took a couple passes, but it was eventually removed.
My favorite reflection shot:
Overall, that was a long day... Believe me, it's hard to keep the rotary flat on those weird hull angles. I started at eight and finished the exterior twelve hours later (two hours later, I finished the interior). Oh yeah...my thumbs decided to swell up later on...
The results were impressive, but I'm not sure if I would do something like this again.
So, to make things a little more interesting, this was my first boat detail. And, the Marine Line is difficult to obtain without placing an order.
The boat is a 21ft 1988 Donzi Ragazza with a gelcoat white and red two-tone paint scheme. The trailer was a solid red single stage with peeling decals. The owners requested that I leave the decals alone. Fortunately, I didn't have to clean the cover.
Products used:
-GC Wash - two bucket
-Aggressive Clay
-M105, M84, and M85
-Solo Heavy and Light Cut wool pads on the Makita
-M80
-NXT 2.0
Process - aka Trial and Error:
First off was the frame. The red single stage was laid down on a rough steel frame and hadn't faired well. M105 and a Solo Light Cut Wool pad removed the oxidation. This was followed up with M80 and a W8006 polishing pad.
Here is where the fun begins...
The hull had plenty of serious rotary swirls. It was almost as if the previous detailer had taken a dry cutting pad and attempted to polish the paint. Holograms are fairly easy to remove, but this was bad. Plus, there were swirls imbedded in there, too. This is a great example of why you should never buff dry and use a clean pad.
Another view:
I started out using M105 and a Solo Light Cut wool pad. This worked alright, but something else was needed. It was quickly apparent that the paint was hard as nails. Next was M84 and a Solo Light Cut wool pad. This worked much better, but after a few passes in one area, something more aggressive was need.
I decided that...
...we're gonna need a bigger hammer.
Finally, after two hours of testing polishes, compounds and pads, I found a combination that would remove the marks!!! The M85 and Solo Heavy Cut Wool pad worked great. It just goes to show you that the 'older' style compounds still work well. Then, M80 further refined the surface, while NXT 2.0 added the protection.
The red area had water run off the cover which stained the paint. Once again, M85 and a Solo Heavy Cut Wool pad removed the staining while M80 finished the surface
Here are the afters:
The fenders polished out pretty well.
Remember all the rotary markings? Where did they go?
The staining near the lettering took a couple passes, but it was eventually removed.
My favorite reflection shot:
Overall, that was a long day... Believe me, it's hard to keep the rotary flat on those weird hull angles. I started at eight and finished the exterior twelve hours later (two hours later, I finished the interior). Oh yeah...my thumbs decided to swell up later on...
The results were impressive, but I'm not sure if I would do something like this again.
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