New-to-me boat question.

[tazman7]

I got a new-to-me boat this past weekend and i have decided that I am going to remove the old decals on the side of the boat and replace them with the newer style Supra decals. And before I put on the new decals I would like to give the boat a really nice shine to it, plus it is spring time and I would like to do it before it gets really hot outside.

So today I took the heat gun and some elbow grease and tried getting all of the stickers off the side of the boat. Not sure if you will be able to tell from the pics but its almost like there is a wax buildup along all of the edges of the stickers and there is a little color difference too. So I thought well, im going to try wetsanding it with 1500 grit sandpaper and getting out the pc and try to polish it...well from what I could tell I need to go up to like a 2000 grit sandpaper or get a little heavier cutting pad to remove the marring from the sandpaper.

I only have a pc right now, no rotary so this is all I have to work with.

What process would you use to shine this boat up? It does have some oxidation and I know that it can look alot better.





After sticker removal, if you look close to the bottom of the teat you can see the 'ghost stripes"


Before sticker removal


wax buildup

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

First,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!


Sometimes after you remove a decal of a surface where it's been for a long time, there will be an imprint in the surface where the decal used to be. Sometimes you can remove this imprint and sometimes you can't, it depends upon how deep or even raised the imprint is on the surface.

Here's an aggressive compound you can use by hand or machine which will hopefully remove the defect and also restore the original color of the gel-coat.


One-Step Compound

This aggressive, yet safe, one-step compound will clean and restore gloss to the gel coat surface in one step. Removes moderate-heavy oxidation, scratches, stains and tough water spots on all fiberglass and painted gel coat marine or RV surfaces. Restores color and leaves a rich gloss on the treated surface. Incredible results by hand or machine.

M6732 ..........32 oz. (946 ml) $31.49




After compounding you'll want to polish and wax the gel-coat and for that we would recommend these two products.


Boat Polish

Flagship Premium Marine Wax


Nice looking boat by the way, wish we would have never sold ours....

[tazman7]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

Thank you for the quick advice! So you dont think that I should bother wetsanding it?

When I did wetsand the little test area it took the line right off... worked nicely, Im just worried about not being able to remove the marring with a pc.

Also what pads do you recommend with those products?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

Meguiar's always teaches people to use the least aggressive product to get the job done, so it's possible that the M67 compound could remove the lines without wet-sanding, but you won't know until you try.

The compound can be applied by hand and you can apply quite a bit of pressure using just your hand. You could also try using it with your DA Polisher and a foam cutting pad as gel-coats are a lot more forgiving than clear coat paints. (We don't recommend using our foam cutting pad with DA Polishers when working on clear coats).

Sanding is another option but removing the sanding marks completely will usually require a rotary buffer. You can try removing the sanding marks by hand or with the DA Polisher because again, Gel-Coat finishes can be a little easier and more forgiving to work on as compared to automotive clear coat paints.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

After you remove the lines from where the decals were, if you don't want to do a multi-step process of compounding, polishing and waxing over the entire hull then you can use a strong cleaner/wax which will do all three steps in one step.

M50 Cleaner/Wax

This can be applied by hand or machine.

[Ticman]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

Tazman7,

I use #67 on boats all the time. It's the best product for gelcoat I have ever seen. It can be used with a DA and it works quite well. Mike has listed the exact combo I use almost everytime I detail a boat. 67 then 45 then Flagship wax. Great combo!! You will be pleased!!!

Tic

[tazman7]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

Well..looks like im placing an order then.... thanks guys.

[tazman7]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

What pads do you use for these products ticman?

[tazman7]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

Another quick question. I called a local meguiars dealer to see what his prices would be compared to buying online...they are pretty close to the price of autodetailingsolutions.com pricing.
BUT- he cannot get the M67 in just a single bottle for some reason, he would have to order a whole case to get it. And they do not want to do that because they never sell marine products around here (not to many lakes)

is there something that is equal to the m67 that I can substitute it for in a 16oz version?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

is there something that is equal to the m67 that I can substitute it for in a 16oz version?

Is this a PBE store, as in a Paint Body and Equipment store?

Or is this a Hard Parts store, that would be like an Autozone, Pep Boys, Kragen, etc.

[tazman7]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

pbe store

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

pbe store

Gel -coat reacts pretty good our automotive line of products except that we don't have any product even remotely close to the aggressiveness of the M67 that you ca use with a DA Polisher.

You might try some M80 Speed Glaze with a W-7006 on the 5.-0 Speed setting and only tackle small sections at a time when working on the imprint lines.

If this doesn't work to remove the lines it will work to remove the oxidation and really bring out the full richness of color in the gel-coat, so you might want to use it over the hull even if it doesn't work to remove these lines or ridges left by where the decals were placed.

M01 Medium Cut Cleaner and M04 Heavy Cut Cleaner are a very aggressive paint cleaners that you could give a try, these products are not formulated for or intended to be used on car paints using a cutting pad on a DA Polisher, the official recommendation for these two products are to use them with a rotary buffer ONLY and only on automotive paints.

Because you're working on Gel-Coat you can usually get away with more aggressive products and you could test one of the above products with a foam cutting pad. The best thing to do would be to test it out by only working a small area and then wipe off the residue and make sure it's giving you appearance results you can accept.

Best thing to do would be to actually get the right tool for the job.

[tazman7]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

Well i stopped by my favorite store tonight..Gander Mountain!!

Went looking for deer hunting stuff and came across some meguiars products in their boating section.

Picked up some Flagship Wax, M45 polish, and some M49 Oxidation remover. They didnt carry the M67 like I was looking for but I picked up the M49 because it was the last one they had and I thought I would ask on here if that would work? If not I can take it back...I need to order some new pads off the internet anyways. I will probably order some M67 anyways just because you guys told me to get it.

Thanks for your help!!!

[Ticman]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

Well i stopped by my favorite store tonight..Gander Mountain!!

Went looking for deer hunting stuff and came across some meguiars products in their boating section.

Picked up some Flagship Wax, M45 polish, and some M49 Oxidation remover. They didnt carry the M67 like I was looking for but I picked up the M49 because it was the last one they had and I thought I would ask on here if that would work? If not I can take it back...I need to order some new pads off the internet anyways. I will probably order some M67 anyways just because you guys told me to get it.

Thanks for your help!!!

The M49 will work just fine. I have used it a few times as well.
I would try the M49 with a 8006 polishing pad first. If you keep the working area small say around 12 to 18 inches square the 8006 / M49 might work just fine. If you need a little more bite then try the 7006 but remember it's a process and you may still need to go back over it with the 8006 polishing pad. Always keep your pad as clean as you can.

Once you have the oxidation removed then you can follow up with another 8006 pad and M45. With the 45 you can increase the size of you area and work a little faster. It's a pure polish and it will really bring the shine out.

Then the Flagship wax to seal it all up and you done. Oh, post some after pictures when your done.

Tic

[Mike Phillips]

Re: New-to-me boat question.

Bolded the key points...

The M49 will work just fine. I have used it a few times as well.
I would try the M49 with a 8006 polishing pad first.

If you keep the working area small say around 12 to 18 inches square the 8006 / M49 might work just fine.

If you need a little more bite then try the 7006 but remember it's a process and you may still need to go back over it with the 8006 polishing pad. Always keep your pad as clean as you can.

Once you have the oxidation removed then you can follow up with another 8006 pad and M45. With the 45 you can increase the size of you area and work a little faster. It's a pure polish and it will really bring the shine out.

Then the Flagship wax to seal it all up and you done. Oh, post some after pictures when your done.

Tic

Very good recommendation for what our new member could find locally.

The M49 is actually a very aggressive oxidation remover, simply shake a bottle of this product up and then pour some out and feel it between your fingers, you'll see what we mean. Works well as a glass polish too.

Here's a couple of threads you should read through before attempting to buff out your boat.


Tips & Techniques for using the G110, G100, G220 and the PC Dual Action Polisher
(These are all similar tools)

Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line


Cleaning Your Pad On The Fly


Best of luck to you... now get to work!