Has all my time been wasted? Sand, Buff, Polish.

A

akaweed

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2008
RO Number
30588
Messages
24
Fellow boaters, need some advice/council. I have a 1999 Carver 356, bought a year ago in Florida. Badly oxidized! I have been working for almost a month of late restoring the gel. Wet sand 800,1000,1500, compound w/3M superduty, compound with 3M 6060, Buff Magic, all with circular & wool pad, then 2-3 coats pro polish applied with rand. orbital & removed by hand. It seems to be coming back very well, not new but shines up very nice. Here are my concerns.

Biggest: Pro polish is beading water like crazy, but the stains (spider droppings, water, etc.) seem to be going right through. The spider droppings clean off easily, but the stain is still there & not easily removed. Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong?

Also: I have had several "detailers" tell me that the gel may be too far gone & that I may see the shine fade quickly. Is this for real? I assure you that in my eyes, it is shining up well, and I have not gone through the gel anywhere I have done, the Pro polish just doesn't seem to be working... This boat is now covered, in freshwater, and my biggest concern is dirt & grime (spider stains) in the dock & UV protection.

I am about 50% done with this project, I really want to protect all my hard work (lots & lots of really hard work)... At first I thought I was not getting all the oxidation off, as I had several areas that exhibited mold growth a few days later (with Pro Polish). Since, I have gone a little deeper and have had no mold growth.

Any thoughts/comments/suggestions. This is easily the most labor intensive project I have ever undertaken, I wish I had the money to pay someone to do it for me (I had estimates of $10K+). I really want to do anything I can to protect my work & the remaining gel.

Scott
 
There are some products out there with PTEF in it that might help repel the stains. It's got teflon in it and it works very well. Starbrite from West Marine has it in it. It takes a couple of coats, but it works very well.
 
I used Pro polish last year and it looked good but didn't last very long this year at the suggestion of other members I used Rejax and so far I'm very happy. Cleaning is very easy task nothing seems to stick to the finish.

As for wasting your time only you can be the judge, If you are happy with the results than you are not wasting your time.

I had a 1990 30' boat that the paint was pretty far gone every year I spent days if not weeks compounding and waxing and it looked great for about half the summer and then I would touch up mid season and repeat the next year. I did finally break down and repaint two color sections I should have gone for three but I tried to save some money. I still see the boat on a regular basis and it still looks great even the section I didn't paint which tells me the hard work payed off for me and I suspect it will for you as well.
 
quote:
Originally posted by akaweed

Also: I have had several "detailers" tell me that the gel may be too far gone & that I may see the shine fade quickly. Is this for real?
Click to expand...

I think it is for real but it doesn't mean your boat falls into that category. My 1992 boat is stored on a trailer and the guy next to bought a 1993 last year. His boat shined very good last year. This year there is a big difference. His is cloudy but still has some shine. I think if he compounded, the shine would not only come back but would last longer than the last buffing. Since your boat did oxidize, it is imperative to keep it protected with wax or something like Pro Polish. The amount of labor to bring the shine back should be considerably less next year; no need to sand.
 
Thanks all for the advice. I am trying both RejeX & StarBrite. We'll see if these have any better performance. I fear that I am not getting all of the oxidation off, regardless of the shine factor, and that the polymers just don't like the porous surface. I will continue to battle...
 
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