Yet another compound and wax thread

Guys I have been doing some research and came across this thread. My 95 labrisas gel looks good but isn't perfect. I have a few weekends before I even think about skiing so I have decided to try this. http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showt...ghlight=Buffer Now I'm not going to wetsand or strip all the hardware off but I am going to do the rest of the steps. What's everyone's thoughts. I ordered all the supplies today from a buddy who owns a paint supply company. Also I'm going to fill a few screw holes in the transom from the speedo pilot I removed.

We use the 3M product on our jets, good stuff

The before pics are very impressive. Can't wait to see how it comes out.

I did mine maybe 2 years ago just compound and polish with 3m Heavy duty compound and finesse it polish. Came out awesome and took out the haze that was starting. Followed up with 3m marine paste wax. Lots of work but worth it. This year it's showing some wear, and I think instead of just a wax I'll do a quick polish then wax. I should probably wax it more than just the beginning of the season.

Took me all weekend. Perfect it, Finesse it, 3mhand glaze, then two coats of Meguiars marine wax. Took off all the haze on the cap and the minor oxidation on the hull. Incredible how it came out. Hope it lasts. Two long days and my arms and shoulders still hurt

What type of buffer did you use, I just started buying up my stash ans was considering going that Makita route that he suggests on wakeworld

I got a dewalt. Had a few of the harbor freight deals but I'll tell you they kick your butt. The dewalt seems better balanced. One tip I have is make sure you buy a bunch of pads for each step. 3m color coats the pads to match the polish or compound or wax. The hand glaze step I did but I feel like it's didn't do much. It's easy to put on and off but after polishing it was pretty shiny and the glaze i don't think enhanced it. If you glaze make sure you wax over the top of it or the minute it gets wet the glaze will wash off.

I used a Makita variable speed buffer. Feels very high quality and I feel it was worth the extra money over cheaper options. I've used it on cars, car headlights, misc other things I never would have bothered with before... And I suspect I'll be doing a quick polish on the boat every few years. I'm a quality tool guy. Generally if you use it once it pays for itself instead of outsourcing and every time you use it after that is money in the bank.

DeWalt is good tools too, I have their 20v lithium cordless set which I've used and abused the heck out of and still perform great. Very pleased with those but felt the Makita was a better value for a buffer.

If I didn't get a deal on the dewalt I washing to get a makita. Amazon had a great deal on them last week

Sounds good, I tyically go by the you get what you pay for and since I'm just starting out I figure I need this to last a long time so I went with this guy Makita

Thanks for the tips but just to make sure I understand since my boat is 3 colors; black, blue, & white I should have a foam & wool pad to use while I'm on each color?

Thanks for the info and tips. For the pads, does that mean since I have 3 colors on my boat, I should have a foam & wool pad for each color?

I used a compound this weekend called Buff Magic professional grade, took the 3 steps of 3M down to just 1, the waxed afterwords I will get pics as soon as the sun comes out.

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Originally Posted by cjtpilot

I used a compound this weekend called Buff Magic professional grade, took the 3 steps of 3M down to just 1, the waxed afterwords I will get pics as soon as the sun comes out.

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You're being funny, "As soon as the sun comes out." :o

Isn't that the truth, I swear sometimes I think we live in Seattle with all this rain and cold cloudy weather.

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Originally Posted by Jetlink

You're being funny, "As soon as the sun comes out." :o

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No just wash them. If your really going to get into detailing take the step and invest in a Cyclone orbital. Best money I spent on equipment.

The black and decker polisher or the cyclo dual head?

http://www.cyclotoolmakers.com/polishers.php

Sorry, Cylco not Cyclone.

I just couldn't do it anymore. The starboard side of my boat faded quickly because it sat on a lift year round and that side had almost daylong direct exposure to the sun. Buffing that red gelcoat every spring was making me hate the boat. In late 2003, I dumped the buffer, broke down, and had the big red stripe painted. I had a local sign shop reproduce my factory vinyl graphics. Since then, I can only recall handwaxing it once. My normal routine is to pull it out of storage in spring and take it straight to the coin-op spray wand carwash. I wash the boat with the soap brush, spray it off, and spray it with their imitation hot wax and that's it for exterior maintenance for the year.

This is what it looks like 11.5 years later.
Starboard side, still gets bad sun, but only when its on the lift for half the year. I keep it in storage for the off-season. It also a bit dinged up because I always put the starboard side of the boat against a dock. As you can tell, I do need to buff the white, and the little red stripes, but I can deal with doing that every couple years. It was that big faded red stripe that was the eyesore.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...psj33gt67t.jpg

Portside looks near perfect. The little black dots you may see are live mosquitoes just hanging out on the hull. I had just uncovered it and they were all over the cover too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...psf5vnopoj.jpg

Add aprons to your cover and you won't have that problem. Costs me $200 extra

At the age of these boats most need to be wet sanded. Its very easy to do but takes LOTS of arm strokes which most of you guys are already good at! Clean first, then 3 diff sanding grits and soapy water. Thats it! One good waxing after that and its brand new again.Attachment 15829Attachment 15830Attachment 15831