Tools and Compound to Wax/Polish

[eder10986]

I see Larry’s post on ceramic coating and it’s something I’d consider in the future, however, I have zero experience with polishing, buffing, compounds or tools.

Personally I’m a dewalt fan and have a bunch of 20v tools and was thinking of getting their variable speed polisher which then confused me further because it has different speeds etc.

This is my current goal:

Have tool(s) to occasionally wax and polish hull
Have compounds or solutions appropriate for the task
Instructions on how to do it.

Once I get comfortable then next season I might dive in further and ceramic coat.

Be kind. Remember. Besides wax on wax off I have zero experience with this [emoji23]

Thanks!


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[larry_arizona]

My brother just got that DeWalt DA polisher, I am teaching him how to polish his truck and ceramic coat it.

I will let you know how the polisher works.


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[j.mo]

I’d recommend a gear driven orbital, flex 3401. I love mine.
Next, jump over to the autogeek forum. Lots of good info there.

3rd, come back and revisit this thread and we will get the ball rolling.


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[RC_Hinojosa]

I was just speaking with John about this. He's the owner of Hula Boat Care and he personally likes the Makita 9227C. I plan on ordering one this weekend so I can surface prep and then do a few silica coatings.

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[larry_arizona]

https://youtu.be/Tiz2WpCI4sY

Cordless is nice, however I have no issue with a corded unit.

If I was a pro, I would consider a flex or rupes as they are powerful yet smooth and it greatly reduces fatigue.

I would also consider rupes pneumatic as they are so light weight and that would make a big difference running 8 hours a day.

I do not recommend any rotary as a beginner. You can wreck a paint job in a hurry with a rotary. Took me a decent learning curve to run a rotary.

DA’s and compounds have come a long way that rotaries are not really required. Pretty hard to screw up with a DA.


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[eder10986]

Thanks for the advice so far. Looks like I’m staying away from rotary.

Larry I’m curious about your thoughts on the dewalt. At a $220 price point and me as a beginner it could be something easy to use and I have a ton of batteries.

What compounds do y’all use, or what are the “steps”?


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[larry_arizona]

I have done a lot of research on compounds and pads for gelcoat.

A few to consider in no particular order.

Gyeon marine step 1
Gyeon marine step 2
Rupes DA course
Rupes DA fine
Menzerna 400
Menzerna marine one step
3D one step

I didn’t list the 3m and Meguiars marine compounds due to the dust they create, they work great, just super messy.

Modern compounds work great with DA’s

As far as pads.

I watched Mike Phillips (auto geek) detail a boat and he recommends using the Rupes coarse blue pads for the highest finish gloss on gelcoat. He swears the sharp pads work better than the fine yellow pads.

I have tried blue and yellow so far on my boat and I will say blue does finish a little better.


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[Jimm]

The first time I ever polished anything was last fall when I did the boat. It seems like something that can be as overly complicated or easy as you want it to be. I just wanted to get her shiny and get the lake funk off. Anything more than that and I would need hands on instructions or pay someone to do it.
I got a corded VS Dewalt and ordered the kit from Hula that had 3 pads and 3 compounds, spent 3 days do a little at a time. At the end, I was happy with what I accomplished. Was it perfect? Nah. But it looked good to put up for the winter and I know more than I did. The Hula products were great and are very user friendly. Maybe not the highest end compounds but that wasn't what I wasnlooking for.

[eder10986]

That’s great Jim. That’s sort of what I’m after. Boat has some gunk on hull from the runoff of the cover and some surface scratches id like to get rid of.

You can see them in this pic if you zoom In.

Don’t mind the water....we had just had rains for like a month and and it was all runoff
29508


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[j.mo]

I have done a lot of research on compounds and pads for gelcoat.

A few to consider in no particular order.

Gyeon marine step 1
Gyeon marine step 2
Rupes DA course
Rupes DA fine
Menzerna 400
Menzerna marine one step
3D one step

I didn’t list the 3m and Meguiars marine compounds due to the dust they create, they work great, just super messy.

Modern compounds work great with DA’s

As far as pads.

I watched Mike Phillips (auto geek) detail a boat and he recommends using the Rupes coarse blue pads for the highest finish gloss on gelcoat. He swears the sharp pads work better than the fine yellow pads.

I have tried blue and yellow so far on my boat and I will say blue does finish a little better.


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What compound do you think would be best for my boat Larry? It has no oxidation and by no means is in bad shape, but I’d like to get it closer to my standards.
I don’t really want to spend $60 per bottle, (but boy do I like me some menzerna)
3D one step? Does it have enough cut for gel coat? I’ve had marine 31 heavy and fine cut in my cabinet for some time. But I think the heavy cut is gone and I’m not too impressed with it.


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[larry_arizona]

It does suck that Gyeon marine is only sold in quarts, but if your boat is fairly clean and you are fixing Mars and scuffs, I would use Rupes DA fine with a Rupes coarse blue pad.

3D one hybrid is also a great option.


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[j.mo]

It does suck that Gyeon marine is only sold in quarts, but if your boat is fairly clean and you are fixing Mars and scuffs, I would use Rupes DA fine with a Rupes coarse blue pad.

3D one hybrid is also a great option.


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What pad would you recommend for deeper scratches? How aggressive is the blue pad?


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[larry_arizona]

What pad would you recommend for deeper scratches? How aggressive is the blue pad?


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On gelcoat, blue is not super aggressive like it is on paint.

If you can feel the scratch, I would opt to wet sand it smooth with 1000,1500 and 2000 and then polish with blue pad and medium cut polish


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[j.mo]

On gelcoat, blue is not super aggressive like it is on paint.

If you can feel the scratch, I would opt to wet sand it smooth with 1000,1500 and 2000 and then polish with blue pad and medium cut polish


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I think I’m in for it this weekend.
The boat is in pretty good shape other than where the PO beached it [emoji2959][emoji35]
I can never wrap my mind around people that do that.
So I’m in for some wet sanding on the bottom in the bow area


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[larry_arizona]

I think I’m in for it this weekend.
The boat is in pretty good shape other than where the PO beached it [emoji2959][emoji35]
I can never wrap my mind around people that do that.
So I’m in for some wet sanding on the bottom in the bow area


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Obviously if the scratches are deep, you may not be able to get them all out.


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