Buffing Gelcoat

I’ve used the Aqua Buff on an old blue hulled Bayliner and it really brought the color back.

The results speak for themselves, looks really good and most likely a lot of work. I am doing the Gelcoat on my 55 Californian now and it is a massive undertaking.

Since I keep her near some pretty impressive multi million dollar yachts I have discovered what the pros are using for these $10 - $20 million dollar yachts. The product is SeaShield and is a 3 step process of Cut, Polish, and Wax. Here is the link.

https://sea-shield.com/

You would be better off using a dedicated wax. Cleaner wax has grit in it, and the “2 in 1” waxes don’t last nearly as long as dedicated waxes. If you like Maguiar’s products, I suggest their Flagship Premium wax. If you aren’t picky about brands, Collinite 885 Fleetwax (comes in a tub) is the best that I know of and will last a year or more, about twice as long as a regular wax. You might get a couple months out of the cleaner wax.

Deano said:

I’ve used the Aqua Buff on an old blue hulled Bayliner and it really brought the color back.

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After I'm done with the NT I am going to try the same products on my 20' Bayliner Trophy. Its white and from the early 90s but not as chalky as the NT. And thankfully no where near as big.

KingBuffalo said:

You would be better off using a dedicated wax. Cleaner wax has grit in it, and the “2 in 1” waxes don’t last nearly as long as dedicated waxes. If you like Maguiar’s products, I suggest their Flagship Premium wax. If you aren’t picky about brands, Collinite 885 Fleetwax (comes in a tub) is the best that I know of and will last a year or more, about twice as long as a regular wax. You might get a couple months out of the cleaner wax.

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I plan on using a better wax and a sealer in a comparison when I get the whole hull buffed out.

I blew out a shoulder too, same old story years of exercise and abuse. I was turned onto a book by a friend and the basic exercises really made a difference in my shoulder health! "The 7 minute shoulder solution"... cheap and may salvage what you've got left. Hull looks great btw.

Capitaine R said:

Thanks cig

I'm going to be real careful with the shoulders because I have already had my right rotator sewn back together and in a sling for 6 weeks. I can feel the left one is not holding on by much and will be next under the knife. Most of that damage was done in the many years of going to the gym 5 days a week.


[emoji24]

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I will have to check that out,
Thanks

You bet, certainly...

Capitaine,
+1 for the Collinite Fleetwax (paste). It protects well and still beads up (water) at the one year mark. If applied properly (the easy way) it is easy to use (almost like liquid wax). Apply it (by hand) in small areas at a time after first using a spray bottle to wet (mist) the area. Allow it to dry to about 60-75% dry then remove the wax by hand with a microfibre cloth. DO NOT USE THE POWER BUFFER. Doing it by hand will leave a good level of protection.

See Rod Collins article on gelcoat care on his website: marinehowto.com.
It is a lot of work, so you will want the best protection possible so as to minimize "next time".

It looks fantastic. I need to do this too and have taken onboard all the advice. I love this forum. I was wondering what type of sander is best. I’d like a cordless one with a back up battery. Thanks. Sue

You guys put all that work in, get an amazing shine and immediately give all the credit to the product your using. The magic is in your efforts!

Lots of product work, once you learn the grit and characteristics of how it performs and when/how to use it. Find the one that you can work with, but that shine is all about the effort and your technique. Don’t give all the credit to the bottle!

Personally I like tried and true 3m and collinite, but I could be just as happy with buff magic once I learned that too.

FreeSpiritSue said:

It looks fantastic. I need to do this too and have taken onboard all the advice. I love this forum. I was wondering what type of sander is best. I’d like a cordless one with a back up battery. Thanks. Sue

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Sue, My wife has been loosely keeping track of my time working on the hull and she says I have over forty hours on just the starboard side. So I'm not sure a cordless would have done the trick for me so I bought two very inexpensive corded buffers. I bought one with all the accessories (full kit) and the same one without the accessories. I bought two because I thought I would use 1 for the 1000 grite compound and the other for the 2000 grit polish. Which has worked out pretty good. Also I thought one would probably burn out, but they are holding up very well. The buffers have 6 speeds to dail in the best speed for the compound. I have also used the buffer to apply the wax using one of the orange foam bonnets that came in the kit at a very low speed. Works great, so far.

Thank you so much. That’s great advice.

I’ve got a heavy Makita I’m on my third cord over about 20 years. Bought a cheaper harbor freight a few years back. I used it for awhile. I liked that it was a lot lighter. The speed control was not as accurate, but the unit never broke down. They do work. But over time, I started picking up the Makita more and more again. Even at the same speed, it turns with more torque. I found that it did more work over the same speed and the same time. So now I don’t use the cheap machine hardly at all anymore.

I like 3m single side wool pads with the Velcro backing. I can quickly go from white to yellow pads in an instant. I started with one of each and then accumulated 3 or 4 of each over the years. As the pads get dirty, I swap out for a fresh one, you still need to spur the pad regularly. At the end of the day I wash them all. If I hit six pads, that’s more than enough for one day and that is a lot of polishing.

Foam pads work really well, but not durable around hardware, which ideally you should avoid or remove.