Oxidation help?

[charlietango]

I have a 88 SN2001 and the back is fading. Has anyone had any success with Meguires oxidation restore or with Vertglass? I am hoping to find a fix to my problem without striping the decals and sanding.

[TRBenj]

RE: Oxidation help?

The stuff that claims to work without sanding or buffing is just a bandaid- it essentially puts a clearcoat layer over the gel to make it appear shiney. I guess thats fine if you dont really want to fix the problem.

The best solution is to wetsand (if necessary) then buff with compound and polish... then keep wax on it to keep it from happening again.

[drifter1136]

RE: Oxidation help?

I detail boats at work and we use meguiars #49 oxidation remover them follow up with their #45 polish. another product we useis 3ms High Gloss Gelcoat Compound But its $72.00 a gallon but itworks really good, so does their mold and tooling compound.

[SoCalNautique]

RE: Oxidation help?

I second that. I have a 96 SNOB with RED/BLACK/WHITE scheme and I used a wetsand and compound procedure to get the dullness/small scratches out that had accumulated over 10 years. It was really simple, given that below the water line CC does layer very thick gel coat for that reason alone. Use 1000,1200,1500,2000 grit with a sanding block and then EXTRA CUT rubbing compound from 3M. A typical porter cable or dewalt grinder (7") is greaat for compounding and buffing, but the raw cost in materials to do a good job will run a few hundred dollars and a lot of elbow grease. Made my boat look like brand new. I also bough an 8gallon air compressor and the same ASTRO PNEUMATIC Air Grinder that Grant had posted to hit all the tight spots around the bow and windshield. I figured it's worth it for down the road, but also I work on all my cars to some extent. I tried the regualr rubbing compound, but I found that the EXTRA CUT worked better since the gel coat is so durable and quite resistant to small mistakes. After the compounding I used the #45 polish and it restored the black and red parts of my gelcoat to better than brand new. I also threw on 3 coats of Meguiars FLAGSHIP PREMIUM BOAT wax and it's slippery as you can imagine. Hit me up with any questions and I'd be happy to answer any questions since I just went through this process over the last few weeks. ( I work a ton so had to burn the midnight oil in my garage every night!)

[TRBenj]

Re: RE: Oxidation help?

Use 1000,1200,1500,2000 grit with a sanding block and then EXTRA CUT rubbing compound from 3M.

If you had used the Super Duty compound, you could have saved 3 rounds of sanding since it removes scratches left by 1000 grit. Other than that, your method is sound- and Im sure the results are terrific!

[SoCalNautique]

RE: Re: RE: Oxidation help?

Now you tell me! Good advice. The compounding is fun and rewarding on the deck, but the amount of time and straining to do the hull correctly sure was tough. Glad someone will learn from my mistakes!

[boatech]

Re: RE: Oxidation help?

I detail boats at work and we use meguiars #49 oxidation remover them follow up with their #45 polish. another product we useis 3ms High Gloss Gelcoat Compound But its $72.00 a gallon but itworks really good, so does their mold and tooling compound.

this guy knows his stuff you want to use boat polish not wax polish contains oils that the gel coat sucks up to help restore it. wax on boats is hogwash get rid of it and get yourself some #45 polish your boat will thank you.

[dabigkahuna]

Re: RE: Oxidation help?

I also bough an 8gallon air compressor and the same ASTRO PNEUMATIC Air Grinder that Grant had posted to hit all the tight spots around the bow and windshield.

what's the part number on that grinder, I'm interested in getting someting for the small areas.

Thanks!

[charlietango]

Is the meguires #49 oxidation remover something I can use by hand so I don't have to remove the decals or is it a power tool only product?

Also, if it is a power tool only product, what should I buy for a tool and pad?

Thanks!!

[TRBenj]

Re: RE: Oxidation help?

you want to use boat polish not wax polish contains oils that the gel coat sucks up to help restore it. wax on boats is hogwash get rid of it and get yourself some #45 polish your boat will thank you.

Thats ridiculous.

Polish removes material from the gel, it doesnt add any. You do want to polish the boat to make it smooth and shiny, but if you dont wax, it leaves the gel unprotected from the sun. The proper way to restore the finish is to polish AND wax.

[JAG]

Oxidation Help

If you're going to spend the time and money on wet sanding (which I recommend as a more permanent solution to just polish and wax) I highly recommend you get yourself an air powered "HUTCHINS Waterbug III Random Orbit Wet Dry Sander 7544". This tool is made specifically for wet sanding gelcoat. It saved my arms, back, and probably my marriage when I restored my teal and gray 90 Sport Nautique. You can find them new on eBay for around $230. Specify the Hook-it II disc since pads are available in 50ct boxes and 1/2$ instead of the 100ct boxes that the Hook-it I come in. I used 800, 1000, and 1500 pads followed by polishing with a Makita variable speed polisher using 3m Heavy Duty rubbing compound and then Finesse-it II polishing compound. All the above materials are available at any automotive paint supplier. I then finished it with Dulon Marine 2 Part Boat Care www.dulonus.com . It took me part of one weekend and several evenings over a period of week to have a finish that looked better then new, and will be much easier to maintain. [/b]

[onsse]

wow that is amazing!!!

[JAG]

Thanks

[dabigkahuna]

JAG, Thanks for the great info. Excellent job, looks beautiful!

[keegan99usa]

where do you buy the wet hookit II discs? Out town has no idea?
Thanks
Dan