My poor girl needs a buff!

[inair]

I agree Haugy, it is a pretty boat. And I am conflicted about the tower as well. I've always loved the lines of these older boats just the way they are. Even the best towers seem to "break the spell", if you will and make it something completely different. I like to board and so do my teen agers so I'm using a phat pole right now. Works well but my wife and kids and their friends are all pushing for a tower. None of the aforementioned have a lick of taste or appreciation for the beauty of classic boats (he said with a smile).

[wiatowski]

I tend to lean towards the doing little bits at a time on these boats versus maybe overdoing it. That's just me.

Not going to disagree with your way of doing things, some folks are very cautious when doing something they've never done before or when making any repair. I'm not that way, I just go all in with no fear... comes from fixing heavy machinery all my life. If something snaps or breaks when you take it apart... just fix it as part of the repair and carry on.
My dad always says million ways to skin a cat.... doesn't make any of them wrong or right!

Felt the need to edit sorry.

I should add that I never start a project without doing a ton of research,reading manuals, asking questions, etc. To do so would be both arrogant and ignorant. I'm always open to suggestions and try those first before proceeding with my own ideas. I've always lived by the "you should learn something new everyday" motto.
that being said I started my project with the suggested 800... but the boat laughed at me. So I had to explore other options.

I hope I'm not coming off in a douchey manner haugy.... just thought I had the need to explain my methods. I've read a lot of your posts and gained from your knowledge. Thanks

The progress on your boat looks fantastic inair.

[sydneyACE]

Hey Sydney, you're pretty brave to go with 320. Are you getting all the dull parts to shine up again? Even when I am only using 6oo, sometimes I have to work real hard to get the shine back. What are you using to finish? 2000, 2500?

Yeah, I worked my way down to 320 slowly because I REALLY didn't want to do that. I started with the electric buffer with a wool pad and cutting compound. It made the boat decently shiny, but it didn't get through the oxidation in the gel-coat. 600 grit (wet) worked on the areas that weren't too bad (below the water line), but it litterally wouldn't cut through the stuff that got more sun. With the 600, I would sand (and sand, and sand, and sand) but it was taking FOREVER to get through the thick oxidation. Having said that, my boat is REALLY bad. (Previous owner aquired it because someone left it sitting out in his field in the TX sun for several years.) You might be able to get away with just 600.

Currently I'm wet sanding with 320, then wet 600, then buffer with cutting compound and wool pad, then I finish with polishing compound and the foam pad.

The 600 takes-out the scratches from the 320. You have to buff for a while, but the cutting compound will eventually take-out the scratches from the 600. I could hit-it with 1000 or 1500 or whatever, but buffing is less work IMO. Then the polishing compound takes-out the haziness from the cutting compound. You know you're done when the water beads-up instantly. (Because it has no more scratches to cling to.)

Having said that, my proccess isn't perfect, and once in a while I have to buff quite a bit to get the scratches (from wet-sanding) out.
My boat is in really rough shape though (lots of deep scratches and gouges from where the PO let-it rub against the dock), so I know it's not gonna be perfect. I'm just trying to make-it look a little bit better. You can check-out my pics in my "pride and joy" thread. "Travis' 1984 Rider"

Hope that helps!

[jet]

Heres what wetsanding can do. Its WAY better than polishing. My boat was actually a different color. lol. Who knew??wetsanding 1.jpgWetsanding 2.jpgWetsanding 3.jpg