First time doing a boat..questions...

bwalker25 · 08-01-08, 10:35

Can you wash a boat with ONR? or if its really badly dirty and such can you use an APC to wash the boat with to get the nastyness off? What is an acid wash, is this something I can do?

I am going to be doing a boat soon, how does this sound?

APC Wash
5.5" (maybe 4") orange pad via UDM with M95

after that I dont know what to do

, do you treat it like a car and follow up with a white pad, or because of the gelcoat and how tough it is do you keep with an aggressive pad/polish setup? I have M95, HTHC (Heavy cut 357), HTFC (medium cut), and thats basically it. What else will I need?

Premium · 08-01-08, 01:48

The "acid wash" refers to muratic acid to remove stains from the gelcoat. I would be very careful with that stuff. I use it all of the time, but you need to make sure it doesnt get on the trailer or on the concrete below. It is very dangerous! I use LC Avenger wool pads and Gel Coat Labs Fine cut polish and it generally removes all levels of oxidation with several passes and leaves a great finish.

bwalker25 · 08-01-08, 02:00

thanks, how much time will a 18' boat take if I am going to try to correct this thing? It has SEVERE oxidation. Gel coats fade in 4-6 months right? How do you prevent this from happening? will upgp work on a gel coat, is collinite the best for boats?

salty · 08-03-08, 10:49

If it has severe oxidation you might be better off wetsanding first. Not sure on the UMD removing sanding scratches easily though.

Top it with a good wax and upkeep it with OCW once a month.

Premium · 08-03-08, 03:11

I dont use wax at all! I only use sealants, even on cars. They just last longer! They are man made waxes that use very little actual wax. Use Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze and you cant go wrong! If it is heavily oxidated I would recommend compounding with a rotary and some heavy cut compound and then going back over it with a light cut polish. I would only wetsand as a very last resort! I just got done with a 22ft Wellcraft center console yesterday that took me 13hrs to bring from poop to amazing! I only used a fine cut polish though, as no compounding was needed.

weekendwarrior · 08-04-08, 07:34

You aren't going to know how long it will take until you do a test spot, and get your procedure down. All gel coats are different, and the amount of oxidation will also come into play. It is my experience that as long as the owner keeps the boat sealed / waxed, the oxidation sometimes will not return.

bwalker25 · 08-04-08, 08:18

fantastic thanks for all the help, I am going to budget 14 - 16 hours for this job, its an 18 footer and looks nasty.

Premium · 08-04-08, 12:37

Yeah, just figure a 2 day job

bwalker25 · 08-04-08, 02:35

I was thinking 2 days, but was trying my best to justify to myself that it wouldn't take that long.....haha but 2 days is alright with me, plus if it looks new when finished then all the better then.....

thanks for all the help, I think I'm going to use IW845 on this one....

I only have a UDM, so a 4" Orange pad or 3.5" PFW with M95 is about as aggressive as I can get.

So, I'd start with the orange pad and if needed hit it with the PFW pad

4" Orange / 3.5" PFW with M95
5.5" Orange with HTFC (medium polish)
5.5" White with HTSC (light cut)
6" Blue with 845IW or hand apply KSG