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View Full Version : Stripe removal, wetsand, etc...



Okie Boarder
04-17-2012, 12:17 PM
Well I started with the strip removal last night. I only worked on it for about 20-30 minutes. I thought we had a good heat gun at my work here in OKC, but the only one we have is at our place in Tulsa. The only one I have at home is smaller for crafts type stuff. I tried that and it wasn't working very well, so I experimented with just the 3M eraser wheel. It seems to do fairly well on its own, but does make a mess. Right now I'm thinking I will continue with just the wheel, but we'll see. I started in the front where the stripes areen't as wide so I may change my mind when I get to the back. I like how the wheel works. Pics to come.

wiatowski
04-17-2012, 12:52 PM
I used a new box cutter, move the blade all the way out and started to peel it from the top 1/4 - 1/2 inch a time. Found it was faster and cleaner than the wheel.where a glove though on the hand your pressing/ holding on to the blade with... trust me it helps.
Have I started a trend? :)

Okie Boarder
04-17-2012, 05:49 PM
Here are a few pictures...two showing the stripe removed and one showing one of the areas in the back I still see some haze from the first time. It may be hard to see in the picture, but some of you might see it.

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/Stripe1.jpg

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/Reararea1.jpg

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/Stripe2.jpg

86 century
04-17-2012, 06:33 PM
Geting the lines to fade is alot of work.

Wet sanding will not even make a mark in it.
Mine is the same color as yours I ended up using a da with 150grit on it to get the color back.
Im still working on geting it the scuffs from that out.

Salty87
04-18-2012, 08:48 AM
i must have removed the stripes on mine maybe 8 or 10 years ago. i can still see their shadows. the wave is the worst.

good luck okie, she's looking better already.

Okie Boarder
04-18-2012, 10:52 AM
I'm not real concerned about making the difference dissappear. I'll try, but that isn't my objective. If I have ghost stripes, that won't bother me, and I may end up putting something back on, but go with a solid stripe or something,

wiatowski
04-18-2012, 10:58 AM
I'll be honest the stripe fade isn't as noticable on the blue as it was on the red. looking at your pictures there isn't a huge color difference, but it could just be the pictures.

Salty87
04-18-2012, 12:01 PM
red pigments are known to fade faster.

wiatowski
04-18-2012, 08:29 PM
Crap.... :(

TitanTn
04-18-2012, 10:49 PM
I used the wheel and thought it was the easiest removal option. I could never get the heat gun or blade to do much. It would have taken weeks without the wheel.

Okie Boarder
04-19-2012, 08:49 AM
So I started wet sanding in a couple areas to see the results. With 1000 grit, I'm not seeing much change in the haze that I've been seeing. 1000 grit is what I used before and I'm thinking maybe I need to be more aggressive. I don't think pictures will show it well enough, but I'll tell you it is really easy to see the haze next to where the stripes were and that is kind of the area I've focused on. Is it going to be best for me to experiment with the next aggressive grit, like 800 and see if that is enough, then go from there? At what point do you switch to dry sanding and/ or a machine?

Okie Boarder
04-19-2012, 08:58 AM
Here are some pics...

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/Boat3.jpg

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/Boat1.jpg

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/Boat2.jpg

TitanTn
04-19-2012, 09:11 AM
I'm no expert at this, but from my experience you're not going to cut any haze issues with 1000 grit. It needs to be at least 800, and 600 isn't going to hurt the effort at all. My belief is that wet sanding creates less dust and MAY reduce the amount of scratches, but if you do a good job of buffing, there won't be any scratches anyway. So mostly it affects the type of mess you make. I tend to like the results of wet sanding just a little better. I'm working on mine right now too, and I'm wet sanding 800, 1000, buffing, polishing and seeing some good results. The haze that I'm working on is mild. I did some heavier hazed areas last year and used 600 on most, but started some areas on 400.

sybrmike
04-19-2012, 10:08 AM
I agree, I had to drop down to 400 in several areas to make any progress on the black portions of mine. Others here are going even corser, but I was too chicken. There's no haze at the old strip lines anymore, but can still see a slight ridge depending on the viewing angle.

sydneyACE
04-19-2012, 02:09 PM
Same here.

My boat is REALLY bad. Look for pics in my "Pride and Joy" thread. (Seach "Travis 1984 Rider")
My boat looks like a light bluish-grey, but it's actually a dark navy-blue.

I started on mine about a week ago. I tried to buff it-out first with an electric buffer w/cutting compound.
That made-it shinny, but it didn't take the fading out.

I then tried a scotch-brite on the advice from my brother. Interestingly, that worked VERY well in some areas but not others.
I did one spot on the bottom of the side (probably saw less sun, and may have even been underwater for longer), with just the scotch-brite then followed-up with a polishing compound on the buffer. It looks great!
I was think; "This isn't gonna be so bad after-all."

Then I tried in a different spot, and the scotch-brite just wouldn't take-out the fading.
Then I went to a 600 grit wet-sanding. This also worked in other areas, but was STILL not enough to take-out the fading.
So now I've resorted to a 320 grit wet-sanding, then the 600, then the cutting-compound, then the polising.

As for the difference between wet-sanding and dry. I like the wet-sanding personally. I think it helps to prevent (deep) scratching a little better. The downside is, it's not as fast as dry because you have to continually pause to rinse your paper and work area. Also, if you're not careful you can get something under your paper and end-up getting some scratches anyway.

Those of you wet-sanding with 1000/1200, have you tried just using the buffer with a cutting compound to take-out scratches from the 600/800? I haven't tried a 1000/1200, but I looks like the buffer will take-out the scratches from the 600 just fine.
I'm just curious if someone has tried it both ways and can tell a difference in the final finish.

Salty87
04-19-2012, 02:55 PM
i think i see the problem. you should get better results or at least think you're getting better results from REAL BEER! lol




http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/Boat3.jpg


matched trailer looks great...wheels are still shiny too. all you did was strip them, right?

Okie Boarder
04-19-2012, 05:46 PM
Thanks guys. I'm going to get some 800 and see how it does. If it isn't enough I'll go to 600. I'm not sure I will need to go more than that.

sybr...there definitely seems to be a ridge on mine too. Some of what I feel right now is some old wax, but it also seems like there is a bit of a surface level difference.

Salty...LOL! Maybe if I had more and stronger beer it would just look great like it is and I wouldn't have to do all this work...LOL! Yeah the wheels are doing great. I did that strip process and have just kept them clean and dry, plus some mothers from time to time. By the way, something interesting about the beer. OK law is 3.2% on your typical beers, which was an interesting adjustment for me coming from CA. I've grown to like the weaker, lighter beers as something I can drink in the evening or while doing projects. I still get the enjoyment of the beer without getting buzzed. Now, when Saturday rolls around and we're grilling or something, then I like to have something much more flavorful and heavy.

This is one of my recent favorites...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_orSzuUR0me4/TRS33PWZijI/AAAAAAAAASo/TYKcBQObBV0/s1600/IMG_0254.JPG

sybrmike
04-20-2012, 10:00 AM
A glass pro told me the stripes had been protecting the gelcoat underneath & kept the original thickness intact. After 20+ years, the oxidation actually eats away at the the exposed areas - hence the ridge. It could be sanded level, but I just couldn't face more sanding.

That beverage would make for a good set of beer goggles - although definitely not needed to take your "girl" home...

Okie Boarder
04-20-2012, 10:16 AM
sybr...that makes sense. I'm not sure I'm going to worry about that too much. My main thing is I want to get rid of the haze and brighten it up. If I can see the remnants of the stripe and it bugs me enough, I'll put something new in it's place.

sydneyACE
04-20-2012, 02:14 PM
I have the same thing going-on with mine. I shot a few pictures the other-day, I will have to get them uploaded to see if it helps you any.

I decided I don't want to spend a TON of time removing my stripes and blending that, so I'm just doing a "halfway" job for this season.
Having said that, I did remove the old registration numbers fromt the previous owner. I saw exactly what Mike is talking-about. The vinyl lettering "preserved" the finish underneath. It actually gave me a really good reference to tell how much more I needed to do.
I can tell from your pics that my boat is WAY, WAY worse than yours so take this with a grain...
I tried 600 on mine to even the color between the bare spots and the stuff that was covered with vinyl, and it jus wouldn't quite do-it. I have since stepped-down to a 320 GASP! and that is doing the trick (then I follow that with a 600, then buffer with wool/cutting compound, then buffer with foam/polising compound). 600 might work for yours though. Either-way if you see a line and you're not happy, you CAN sand it out. When you think about it 320 is just one extra step (more than 600), and if you don't have to do the whole boat like that, then that's not too bad.

Anyway, let us know how it goes. Good luck!

Okie Boarder
04-21-2012, 11:41 AM
So I did one section with several steps to see what it looks like. I realize I'm not going 100% with the steps and not taking it all the way, but I'm not liking what I'm seeing. It would be hard to see in pictures, but I will say the haze is most noticeable right above where the stripes were removed. I'm sure that's due to being light handed with it before. The section I did was with 600, 800, 1000, compound (by hand) and then I looked at it. It seems that haze is still there to an extent. Should I consider doing 600 with a electric or air palm sander and do it dry? Should I step up to 320 and stay wet? Thoughts?

86 century
04-21-2012, 02:47 PM
Mine looked just like yours same color and fadeing/build up.

I ended using 150 to get it all the same color then 220,320,400,600dry,600wet,1000wet,1500wet and 3m heavy cut compound.
After all that I used ht357 mag from car bright.
All that to end up with this
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad7/thehippy77/2012-04-15174532.jpg

wiatowski
04-21-2012, 05:51 PM
I used both electric and air orbital sanders i went 150,320,600,1200, 3m compound, then yacht brights Buff magic, and pro polish.
lots of work but worth the results

sydneyACE
04-22-2012, 01:04 AM
As I said, I've been working on mine with a 320 wet.
The 600 was "kind-of" working but when compared with a portion that was covered by stripes/letters, it was pretty obvious that the colors weren't the same.
I could hit-it with the buffer and it would shine-up nice, but you could tell the color was still faded.
When you say "haze" what exactly do you mean? Haziness could be caused by not getting all the scratches out from the 600 grit. I doubt this is your problem though as you are using very small incriments 600-800-1000.
The haziness is probably due to not getting all the way through the oxidation. (This was my problem.)
When I started with a fresh sheet of 320 and worked wet, I noticed that it worked much faster than the 600 (obviously).
I then took-out the 320 scratches with 600 wet, took-out the 600 scratches with the buffer (cutting compound), finally got-it to shine with polishing compound.
I knew I had it right when the water imediately beaded-up and the color matched the stuff that was under the vinyl.
Try to replace sand-paper frequently as it does wear-down (sometimes leaving a few "sharp" spots that leave scratches).
A squeegee helps a ton when wet-sanding so you can clear the water-off. (Water makes it hard to see the scratches.)
You can def use some 320 or 400 or something dry, on an electric to speed things-up like wiatowski did.

Okie Boarder
04-22-2012, 10:22 AM
Yeah, when I say haze I mean the cloudy look like from oxidation. It definitely seems like I am not getting it all. If I were to use an electrical, would the typical palm sander you use for wood be what to use? I'm curious to try an area with 600 and the electric...just simply due to the fact it will cut a little more than by hand since it is going to move around the area at a higher rate than your hand does.

86 century
04-22-2012, 12:21 PM
I used a black and decker palm sander so yea the same kind you use for wood.

The gel coat on these things is thick.

sydneyACE
04-22-2012, 02:36 PM
Honestly I haven't tried and electric sander on mine. Seems like it should speed things-up though. Just remember you will probably go through more paper that way. If you don't get a fresh sheet often, it will wear-out and stop working as well.
I was using an old sheet, and was like "What the hell? Why is this taking so long?" Got a fresh sheet, and it started cutting through again.
I think I'm gonna go get some more done this afternoon as a matter of fact...

86 century
04-22-2012, 06:02 PM
Yea I found the paper goes south real fast.
I think it's because the gel coat is so hard it just dulls the paper.

TitanTn
04-22-2012, 07:05 PM
From my understanding a palm sander will work, but a DA sander is preferred.

wiatowski
04-22-2012, 09:27 PM
I changed the paper every 2-3'' section. Due to what 86 mentioned.

a_deleon
04-23-2012, 04:52 PM
wow you guys are having to go down to some course paper. I just did a guys bay boat that was heavily oxidized and I got away with 800 wet and then again to 1000 wet. I got the 3m heavy cut compound from academy and another brand for polish to use on his boat. I cut it down until all of it was smoked over the color and used the heavy cut compound and my buffer to do the cutting on it. I would get it to start to shine and do two coats of polish and it made it shine really nice. Same steps worked wonders on my top side that was pretty bad on my boat also.

My boat also had a pink looking line on the top side similiar color to the blue boat. I hit it with 800 and 100 and when I was done cutting and polishing with my compound and polish. It came out a darker red.

Okie Boarder
04-23-2012, 05:00 PM
Considering the feedback, taking a few steps back and looking at mine, and following the comment I saw on the other thread by haugy, I'm planning to do the 600 wet and go from there. I'm thinking I'll do half of one side and take it through the whole process so I can see the before and after side-by-side. Then I can decided if that was enough and if I'm happy with the results.

rwm1969
04-29-2012, 11:16 AM
I own a ts6m and recently removed the stripes, I do this as part of my job on a regular basis so the best way to do this is with a heat gun (body shop grade) then polish it using the NORTON 3 step polish system called LIQUID ICE ! IF you need to wetsand stage it out ( start with 1000 finish with a fine grit like 2000) the finer the finish git is the easier the polishing will be !

neibiacreab
04-30-2012, 03:13 PM
3m products makes a vinyl stripe removal wheel ,looks like the material a pencil eraser is made of you chuck up in a drill,it will remove the stripe without damaging your paint

jshepp122
05-26-2012, 12:22 PM
Geting the lines to fade is alot of work.

Wet sanding will not even make a mark in it.
Mine is the same color as yours I ended up using a da with 150grit on it to get the color back.
Im still working on geting it the scuffs from that out.
I am a custom automotive painter and just wet sanded my boat to be restriped, the advice I can offer you is gel coat is like concrete compared to clear coat so you have to be aggressive. Start with 320 or 400 dry then move to a 600 dry then 600 wet, 800 dry and then wet etc etc with 1000, 1500 and finish at 2000. Use a heavy duty compound not fine or medium. make sure after sanding with 400 theres no shine anywhere after wiping it down. Heres some pics of it after the wet sand and rub most before the new stripes99259926992799289929

haugy
05-29-2012, 02:40 PM
Start with 320 or 400 dry then move to a 600 dry then 600 wet, 800 dry and then wet etc etc with 1000, 1500 and finish at 2000. Use a heavy duty compound not fine or medium. make sure after sanding with 400 theres no shine anywhere after wiping it down. Heres some pics of it after the wet sand and rub most before the new stripes



FOR THE LOVE OF GOD........DO NOT DO THIS TO YOUR BOAT!!!!!!!!!! ESPECIALLY DRY!

Going down to anything under 600 grit is for fixing damaged areas on your gelcoat. Not polishing it. You will take too much off. Oxidation is not that thick, just very hard. The only reason you would need to go that aggressive is to remove major damage scratches. And make sure it is wet, not dry.

Please, anyone reading this, start with 600 grit at the most! Most boats only need 1000 grit +, and some patience. I've polished up some really bad boats, and have never gone lower than 600 grit.

whelchel86
06-05-2012, 09:33 PM
+1 what Haugy said. More elbow grease, not more grit.

jshepp122
07-01-2012, 11:32 AM
for the love of god........do not do this to your boat!!!!!!!!!! Especially dry!

Going down to anything under 600 grit is for fixing damaged areas on your gelcoat. Not polishing it. You will take too much off. Oxidation is not that thick, just very hard. The only reason you would need to go that aggressive is to remove major damage scratches. And make sure it is wet, not dry.

Please, anyone reading this, start with 600 grit at the most! Most boats only need 1000 grit +, and some patience. I've polished up some really bad boats, and have never gone lower than 600 grit.

yes! Do not do this to your boat for excellent results from someone who has been doing this for 15 years

haugy
07-01-2012, 11:56 AM
I am a custom automotive painter

Last time I checked automotive paint and Gelcoat are like fire and ice. Treat them completely different. Congrats on doing this for 15 years. Many of has have been doing these boats for longer.

To those who read it. Your boat does not need that much grit. The risk for a mistake multiplies drastically. With a lighter grit, if you do make any mistakes, they won't be as noticeable. You make a mistake with 320 grit, and you can't go back.

jshepp122
07-01-2012, 12:20 PM
Last time I checked automotive paint and Gelcoat are like fire and ice. Treat them completely different. Congrats on doing this for 15 years. Many of has have been doing these boats for longer.

To those who read it. Your boat does not need that much grit. The risk for a mistake multiplies drastically. With a lighter grit, if you do make any mistakes, they won't be as noticeable. You make a mistake with 320 grit, and you can't go back.

Understandable, but being a custom painter I've done countless boats im not just limited to cars, gel coat is a thicker mill than clear coat (total gel coat factory 20 mils, total clearcoat factory 3 mils), 400 all day cannot penetrate through it, with oxidation I dont recommend starting at that but I had die back and chalking, you need to be aggressive at that point. Gel coat is a polyester resin, not urethane like clear coat. It is used to add structural integrity to the fiberglass. This is a quote from the data sheet for evercoat gel coat, "Once the gel coat is cured, sand with 400-grit sandpaper, then 600-grit or finer to achieve a
smooth surface." so starting at 400 is ok.

haugy
07-01-2012, 04:12 PM
Thanks for making my point Ngavdba, I would never recommend a newbie doing what is being suggested. As I said earlier, the chance of making a mistake is huge.

I would rather someone take a little extra time and sweat to do it a little at a time, and to learn while they do it, versus going for the gold on their first try.

Okie Boarder
06-27-2013, 11:10 AM
I'm working on this again and working by hand. I couldn't find the other thread where we were talking about using an air sander, but wanted to post here. Would something like this work well to do the wet sanding with?

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/sanders/jitterbug-orbital-air-sander-90115.html

Okie Boarder
06-27-2013, 04:33 PM
Disregard that link. I looked a little closer at the specs and it exceeds the cfm output of my compressor. I talked with a local paint and body supplier at lunch and ended up getting an Ingersoll Rand DA sander like this one.

http://www.northerntool.com/images/product/images/1540328_lg.gif

I got a cushion type pad and the film type sanding discs in some different grits. I'm going to give that a shot and see how it does.

I'm assuming that using the DA I will want to use fairly light pressure?

TitanTn
06-27-2013, 05:39 PM
Looks nice. And yes on the light pressure. In fact, the orbital part won't work right with pressure that's too heavy.

haugy
06-28-2013, 09:02 AM
I'd go for a palm sander, easier to get into some of the spots and roll with the contours of the hull. It won't have the big handle on it.

Okie Boarder
06-28-2013, 10:37 AM
haugy, I can see where the handle might be a little cumbersome.

I started using it last night and I was really surprised it didn't do better. It seems like even the 600 grit disks don't take off enough of the oxidation. It seems like I would need to work a 12" square area for 20 minutes just for it to come off. If I go back to the block and paper at 800 grit, it seems to take off more material than the 600 grit disks. Does that seem odd to anybody?

Okie Boarder
06-28-2013, 10:38 AM
By the way, did some stripe removal on the other side and this gives you an idea of what the oxidation looks like.

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/IMG_20130627_192357_597_zpseab6c161.jpg

TitanTn
06-28-2013, 06:13 PM
That does seem odd. Are you pressing too hard perhaps?

Okie Boarder
07-03-2013, 09:26 AM
I've tried different pressures and it doesn't seem to make a difference. I went back to the shop I got the materials from and got one sheet of 400 grit. I finally got a chance to play with that a little bit last night. It appears to take off the general oxidation towards the top quite well. It still doesn't seem like it is aggressive enough to get the material down well enough around where the stripes were. I'm thinking maybe I need to use some 600 with a block and hand sand those areas. For those that have used an air sander, how long should you have to focus on a small area (12" x 12") before the surface was what it needed to be? Maybe I'm just not taking enough time?

haugy
07-03-2013, 12:18 PM
With 600 or 400 grit you shouldn't have any problems. But remember as you use that type of grit, you're really rubbing the gelcoat. So it will look white after sanding. So you may essentially be getting the white oxidation off, but left with a white sanded finish and you may think it's still oxidation.

I have only used 600 grit once on a boat, and I didn't have to work it too hard. There is a point where it's so coarse that you really have to work it to get the affect since only about 65% is really rubbing at one time due to the depth of grain. The finer the sandpaper, the more contact it makes which can yield a faster sanded finish, but it may not be deep enough.

A power sander at 600 grit, holy cow, that should almost be damaging if you're in one area for about 20 minutes.

Okie Boarder
07-03-2013, 12:52 PM
It seems like the 400 with the sander over the bulk of the area is just a quick pass and the oxidation is off. I'm paying attention to the color of the water, mostly. I can see the water change from white to blue. Down where the stripe was is where my biggest problem is. I'm still seeing a lot of discoloration and very distinctly seeing the difference between where the stripe was and the surface that has been exposed. I'm trying to tone that down as much as I can.

Okie Boarder
07-15-2013, 09:32 AM
Here's a few progress pictures. The first picture is the side that has only had the stripe removed and no wet sanding. The second picture shows the progress on the side I'm working on. The haze line you can see is where the last stage of sanding was completed and compounded up to.

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/IMG_20130713_154732_147_zps31407cb9.jpg

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/IMG_20130713_163856_304_zps53da2be0.jpg

TitanTn
07-15-2013, 02:32 PM
That's the best imitation of a mirror I've seen in a while. Gorgeous work!

Did you settle on a grit, pressure, and style of wet sanding?

Okie Boarder
07-15-2013, 05:49 PM
It's amazing how much a picture makes it look spectacularly reflective. Very slight imperfections can be seen in person, but not in the picture.

Yeah, I settled in on the following:

600 grit with a block, hand wetsanding fairly aggressively near the stripe...I'm working that area from the bottom of the blue to about 2" above the stripe.

Then I am using the air sander and wetsanding with 600-800-1000-1200. Typically, I'm using a light to medium pressure and letting the machine and disc do the work in about a 3-4' section until that disc is no longer cutting much. This also gives me a chance to switch to another task in the progression so the compressor can catch up. I only have a 2/6 hp 33 gallon compressor, so it has to work a bit to keep up with the sander.

I noticed some curly scratches when I compounded at this stage and didn't seem to have luck getting them out real easy with the air sander. I went back and tried it by hand with light pressure and found a method that seems to work, using 800-1000-2000.

Then the compound, polish and wax.

haugy
07-17-2013, 03:39 PM
Okie,

I did the bottom hull with a pneumatic this past week. I went like you, 600 hand, 800, 1000, 1500, 3000 with the sander. I will say the 3000 allowed me to skip heavy compounding and go straight to Finesse it to finish it out. Looks great. Once I used finesse it, then I used Collinite wax and was done.

I'm very pleased.

Jetlink
07-17-2013, 03:50 PM
Haugy, what are your plans for wet sanding on that comp of yours?

Okie Boarder
07-17-2013, 04:25 PM
I've been eyeing the bottom on mine, while I've been working on it. That will be next. Did you go around the areas it makes contact with the trailer or lift it up somehow? Did you jusy lay under the boat or use a creeper? How much of an area are you finding you can cover before the sanding disks are worn and what discs are you using?

haugy
07-18-2013, 09:39 AM
Haugy, what are your plans for wet sanding on that comp of yours?

Well the owner is being a wimp and won't deliver it. Friggin yanks.



I've been eyeing the bottom on mine, while I've been working on it. That will be next. Did you go around the areas it makes contact with the trailer or lift it up somehow? Did you jusy lay under the boat or use a creeper? How much of an area are you finding you can cover before the sanding disks are worn and what discs are you using?

On the bow I used a jack and a block of wood right under the lower bow eye, using the metal eye as my lifting point. That allowed me to lift the bow enough to remove the padding on the bow riser.

For the back I'll be using an engine hoist (cherry picker). Mine is very big......hee hee..... so I can lift the boat enough to put it on blocks. I've got big pieces of 6x6 scrap wood that I will lay across the two side bunks on each side. Perpendicular to the run of the bunks. I'll put 3 in place on one side. Sand and wax those areas, move the 6x6s to get under them as well, and then switch sides. I haven't done it yet as I got all the way to the skeggs and stopped. I'll probably finish it out later in the fall. But the bow area is bright white now.

I used 3m pads. For the hand stuff I just used good ole 3M black sandpaper you can find at any automotive place. But for the 1000,1500, etc I had to go with 3M Trizect pads. They are the only ones that have that grit range, and hook and loop fasteners so when wet they won't come off. BE WARNED: They are expensive as hell. Each pad was about $3. And the 3000 grit pads are $10 each. A heads up, the pads feel like toilet paper. They are super smooth and soft. You wouldn't think they could cut anything, but they actually work very well.

I used 8 1000 grit pads to do the lower sides (under the colored gel-coat) and the bottom of the boat to the skeggs. Probably could have used 10 and it would have been better. I bought 2 of the 3000 grit and they seemed to do well, but that was stretching it. 3 probably would have sufficed. All in all I think I had about $130 in sandpaper. OUCH. But the benefit of knocking one grit range out each night was worth it. I would go out with 1000 grit, and an hour and a half later I was done. Next night, 1500. To get that done in that time frame was worth it.

With the trizect pad I learned that it's good to keep the pad clean, but not the boat as much. Allowing some of the grit to work with the pad helped it cut. So I would hose the area I was about to work, and then wouldn't hose it again unless I was done working it. I kept the pad pretty clean though, rinsing after a couple of minutes or 2 sq/ft of work.

I did try an experiment just to see how it would do. In the lower part of the keel I went from 1000 grit to 3000 grit to see how it would do. It's very white, but not near as glossy as the rest. I would make sure to put some grits in between and not short-cut it if you want high-gloss. It will work for the rest of the season, but I will be going back and redoing it later with 1500+ grit and finishing it out again.

With the air sander you don't need a lot of speed, most of the time I had it so it would slowly turn if I just held it to the side. No pressure, just placed on the side of the boat. Then when I put pressure on, it wasn't spinning just orbiting. Higher speed will eat your pad up.

I didn't use a creeper as I needed to be able to maintain constant pressure and at odd angles. Having wheels under me would have just kept pushing me away from the boat. When I got up high on the front I raised up the boat so I could sit indian style under the boat. When I worked my way back I lowered it so when I was on my back I could easily reach the hull without overextending my arms.

I'll get pics this weekend as I'm taking it out to WakeFest this weekend. It is a great improvement over how it's looked since I got it.

Okie Boarder
07-18-2013, 06:10 PM
Sounds like you disks are lasting a little longer than mine. I'm buying mine from a local paint and body supply shop in my town. They are a green color disk with the velcro backing. He breaks up 100 packs into 10 packs and they sell for $6.99-$9.49. It seems one disk can let me do about 2' of area lengthwise on the blue before it starts not cutting real well. I went through nearly 30 of the 600 grit already for one side of the boat.

Interesting that you are finding not staying as wet/rinsing is working good on the surface. I've been using one of those quart sized pump sprayers and I mist, then start sanding. As it seems to dry a bit I partially rinse and wet a little. I might have to try seeing if rinsing the disc, not the boat works well.

Seems I have my speed a little higher than yours. Mine does spin slightly along with orbiting.

Looking forward to seeing pics.

Okie Boarder
07-25-2013, 01:59 PM
I'm making progress. I got the air sander work completed on the one side last night and have about 1/3 of that side to finish with the hand process. Then 2/3 of the boat still needs compounding, polish and wax. I'm hoping to at least get the sanding done tonight and possibly the whole thing. I took a couple pictures of the sanding discs I'm using for reference.

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/IMG_20130720_114622_278_zpsdea0e1b7.jpg

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/IMG_20130720_114627_604_zpsb86c24c5.jpg

Okie Boarder
08-12-2013, 09:42 PM
Here's the latest...one side done.

So I figured a lot of you that have older boats would probably appreciate this. When we first got our boat it was oxidized pretty bad. I wet sanded with 100 grit, compounded and polished. After a couple years, the oxidation started coming back. Last year I decided I was going to figure out what was going to take it away for good. In addition, I decided to remove the old stripe that was cracking and fading. Here's some pictures of one side's progress and completion, along with the other side as a comparison to how bad it had gotten.

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/IMG_20130810_132942_287_zpsc562975c.jpg

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/IMG_20130810_132926_146_zpsa4564b92.jpg

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/IMG_20130810_132904_178_zpsa207e9ce.jpg

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/IMG_20130810_132858_512_zps0e97b5da.jpg

TitanTn
08-13-2013, 07:10 AM
Dang Okie! I could shave in that mirror. I know you have to be thrilled (and tired and sore). So the first time you just wet-sanded with 100 grit and then compounded? What's going to make this last longer? From my understanding the successfully finer grits smooth out the damage from the rougher grits. Would that make it last longer?

villain
08-13-2013, 08:03 AM
It would of been 1000grit. 100grit would of sanded through the gel and glass.

haugy
08-13-2013, 09:18 AM
Looks great Okie! Yeah, he meant 1000 grit. He did that when he first bought the boat.

What did you use to compound and polish?

Okie Boarder
08-13-2013, 09:28 AM
Dang Okie! I could shave in that mirror. I know you have to be thrilled (and tired and sore). So the first time you just wet-sanded with 100 grit and then compounded? What's going to make this last longer? From my understanding the successfully finer grits smooth out the damage from the rougher grits. Would that make it last longer?

Yeah, the first time was 1000 grit, compound and polish. I think I did not actually get rid of the oxidation last time and it came back to the surface...that's why I think this time will last longer.

Okie Boarder
08-13-2013, 09:28 AM
haugy,

3M Super Duty Compound with a wool pad and 3M Finesse-It with a foam pad.

TitanTn
08-13-2013, 06:51 PM
What a difference a zero can make! Yeah, that makes a lot more sense.

Okie Boarder
08-14-2013, 04:19 PM
What a difference a zero can make! Yeah, that makes a lot more sense.

Yup...sorry for the confusion.

dyost
04-10-2015, 03:20 AM
So here's an update on Okie's boat and progress made on the port side of the boat. I've gotten the whole side free of oxidation. I actually went down as low as 500 wet sand and haven't had any problems yet. I'm trying like hell to blend the colors where the stripe decals were and so far have been successful. The back 60% or so of the boat has been full sanded 500/600/800/1000/1200 and then compounded/polished (3M Super Duty, 3M Rubbing, 3M Finesse It, 3M Machine Polish, Babes Boat Bright wax). you can see from the photos I've been able to accomplish the mirror like shine that Okie got on the other side. Notice the reflection of spare tire and Barbie jeep on the back half : )

dyost
04-10-2015, 03:22 AM
For reference, here is what it looked like when I picked it up.
The 3M eraser wheel is a life saver for that job. Mine barely even wore down. I'm considering whether or not I should offer it up for a few bucks or keep it should I need it for something in the future?

Okie Boarder
04-10-2015, 06:44 AM
Looks so good! I'm so glad to see you have it looking so good and she is in a good home.

TitanTn
04-10-2015, 08:19 AM
Looking great! It's great to see a good boat going to a good home.

Is the photo looking down the side showing some missing gel? What's the story behind that?

I'd keep the 3M Eraser, you never know when it'll come in handy.

Okie Boarder
04-10-2015, 08:40 AM
Yes it is. I had noticed some cracking along that area and realized it seemed like there was a void behind the gel. It was recommended that I grind away the gel and fill it on the whole void area, which is what you see there.