Can you compound a hull by hand ?

[LONG_KEELER]

The boat I'm working on is 18ft long, has cream topsides and has 'medium'
chalking on the topsides. The hull was built in 1987 and is in good condition.

Unfortunately, there is no power available. I've experimented by hand on a small area using Halfords cutting compound and a 'Jif' type product but neither have really made any impact.

Has anyone done something this by hand, and if so, did it work and what products were used.

Many Thanks.

 

[Bobc]

If it's just chalky, go to your local Toolstation and buy some uPVC solvent cleaner and a roll of cloth. Just wet the cloth with the cleaner and wipe it over the hull. This will take all the chalkyness away (you will see it coming off onto the cloth). If the hull is in good condition under this, then a polish will shine it up. If it still needs cutting back, use something light, like 3M Finness-it.

 

[lw395]

I've used 2000 grade w&d, wet to good effect, followed by farecla or t-cut.
A solvent to take off old wax and other contamination is a good start.

 

[omega2]

This and elbow grease.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Farecla-...808121&hash=item3d1dee1167:g:-PMAAOSwnNBXa-JH

 

[Ian_Edwards]

A good wash with hot soapy water.
A solvent if required, I prefer to use IPA (Isopropyl alcohol). The IPA helps remove an oily or grease marks.
Then Meguiars No 66, which you apply as a thin paste/liquid on a damp cloth and rub in well, don't let it dry hard (it's very difficult to get off by hand when dry).
Polish with a clean soft cloth.
Work a 1m x 1m section at a time.
I clean a 46ft hull in 2 days (a side per day) using this method, it gives a very high gloss finish, which looks good, although my shoulders know I've done it!
I've used Jiff in the past and other domestic cream cleaners, but found that although they clean the surface, they scratch the surface, which becomes very obvious when you look at the surface at an oblique angle.
if you want the finish to last, wax polish it as soon as you can.

 

[savageseadog]

Forget "soap" and washing up liquid. Use a professional hard surface cleaner first and see how far you get. It's always best to use warm or even hot water with it remembering the hull will cool it very quickly.

 

[vyv_cox]

I have recently resprayed a small car, followed by flatting and compounding it. I found that even with new, fairly soft, cellulose paint 2400 grit wet and dry made almost no impression. Advice I found on a Mini website (original 1960s version) was to use 600 wet and dry, which is what I did. This was very effective, followed by cutting, for which I used T-cut although Farecla would have been exactly the same as far as I could see. The effort involved probably depends on your age and size but I found it hard work. It was suggested on the Mini site that it would take two days for the whole car

 

[Ceirwan]

Its possible, but I wouldn't recommend it.

If you could buy a cheap 2nd hand suitcase generator, or just hire one that would get you power.
Restoring a chalky Hull takes a good couple of days using power tools, and even then your arms will feel like they're going to drop off.

 

[Daydream believer]

My squib is 20 ft & we did that with wet & dry starting from 500 grit & quickly reducing down in size as the yellowing was removed finally finishing with G3 & final polish done with a Draper pad polisher

 

[PCUK]

You can buy a very cheap inverter and run a polisher from your car battery, with the engine running if necessary. You'll then have power for all your tools. Works for me!

 

[solent clown]

main thing to remember is once you start you have to finish! so maybe start somewhere like the stern in case you get bored

 

[pcatterall]

I do my 33 foot boat every 2 years. A good hard rub with t cut or similar abrasive polish will cut through the chalky surface. Clean off dirt with soapy water. Hard rub small area at a time with t cut follow with a few coats of good was polish to protect an enhance the shine. Just try a small area and if it's not too hard get stuck in!

If it's really hard then consider and test various grades of sand paper but start fine say 2000 grit ( coarser than 800 and there will be fine scratches that need to be removed with finer grits
Quite possible by hand. Concentrate on one side then do another job while you recover your energy!

 

[pagoda]

You can buy a very cheap inverter and run a polisher from your car battery, with the engine running if necessary. You'll then have power for all your tools. Works for me!

There are also 12V polishers , quite current hingry. However inverters are not that efficient and if you run a 240V tool make sure the wiring and batteries are up to the task. I found the answer to arms falling off was a high enough work platform and suspending the polisher from the guard wire on a bungy cord. The bungy made a big difference!
The increase in surface area from a car to a 35ft boat is at least 3X. hard work whatever way you do it. New boat is 42ft :ambivalence:

 

[Bobc]

If you try to cut-in a surface that is chalky, you will simply grind the chalk and dirt further into the surface. You need to get it off first. Hot water with detergent can work and will get the dirt off, but a mild solvent is usually required to get the chalky surface off.

You will possibly find that once you have removed the chalky mess with a solvent, that your hull doesn't need anything abrasive on it, and something like a good polish (like Autoglym resin polish or Mer) will bring the shine back.

 

[vyv_cox]

If it's really hard then consider and test various grades of sand paper but start fine say 2000 grit ( coarser than 800 and there will be fine scratches that need to be removed with finer grits
Quite possible by hand. Concentrate on one side then do another job while you recover your energy!

Seems to be a typo here. The lower the number, the coarser the abrasive. Doing a whole hull with 2000 grit would be an interminable job. The Farecla website offers compounds for compounding from 800 and 1200 grit wet and dry cutting. http://www.farecla.com/specialist-applications/compounding-systems/marine-maintenance

 

[pcatterall]

Seems to be a typo here. The lower the number, the coarser the abrasive. Doing a whole hull with 2000 grit would be an interminable job. The Farecla website offers compounds for compounding from 800 and 1200 grit wet and dry cutting. http://www.farecla.com/specialist-applications/compounding-systems/marine-maintenance

Not a typo but possibly confusing! I suggested that op could test by starting fine (2000) but that if he went coarser than 800 there would be fine scratches to remove with finer grades.

 

[vyv_cox]

Not a typo but possibly confusing! I suggested that op could test by starting fine (2000) but that if he went coarser than 800 there would be fine scratches to remove with finer grades.

Ah! I understand what you meant now. Your economy of wording led to my confusion.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

Thanks guys. Enormously helpful.

Can't wait to get stuck in.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Rather than use 2000 grit, use an old newspaper, it's free and it will make just as good a job, as you'll get fed up with 2000 grit after you've been rubbing for 5 years and still not finished the transom.

 

[EuanMcKenzie]

Just done mine using 1000 grit wet and dry followed by G3 cutting compound then polish then sealing wax.
Crrrain bad bits I used 600 grit.first

All sanding by hand very wet and constantly using new sheets then I did the polishing by machine. It’s a bigger boat but it’s probably taken me 5 man days. Id try and get a machine if you can as the cutting bit is awful by hand