Strathglass
New member
Sorry about that. I remember it was in their discounted items recently.
Iain
Iain
Cleaning gel coat.
- Thread starter Allan
- Start date
Tisme
New member
Now you're rubbing it in (pun intended, albeit not a very good one) that I didn't get it cheap! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
awyatybw
New member
This thread covers much of what I was considering posting about. Thanks for the info so far.
We have dark blue hull, about 15 years old. It has a range of scratches, some superficial and some quite deep. It seems to have come in for quite a bit of stick on the mooring in the past few seasons. This year it has suffered a couple of knocks (also on the mooring) which have left deep scuffs, say 5cm x 10cm, on the quarter - I'm not sure how best to describe them, bruises perhaps. Additionally, the surface seems to develop a sort of milky bloom over some parts.
SWMBO has spent many arm-aching hours over the past two winters polishing the hull. She has used G3 (liquid) and a soft cotton pad on a power-drill rubber backing pad, generally at low-to-medium speed. This is followed by a silicon wax polish. It looks great for about two weeks, then the bloom returns and the scratches become evident.
So, from the earlier comments in this thread, it is clear that we have been doing it all wrong, with the possible exception of using G3 (I say "we" because, although SWMBO has been doing the hard graft, I have been supervising, even though I do not know what needs to be done or how). The first lesson I take is that we should use a proper compounding pad, at high speed and with lots of water. How does one apply the water; how much, how often?
One worry, already partially dismissed in an earlier comment, is that of overdoing it and wearing through the colour of the gel-coat. I have often wondered if the 'bloom' is a symptom of this. How thick should the pigmented gel-coat be and how can I tell if we are on the verge of wearing it away?
Given that some of the scratches are quite deep, I presume that these cannot be resolved by compounding. Are there any other practical measures we can try?
What should we do after compounding – apply a polish or leave alone?
Alan.
We have dark blue hull, about 15 years old. It has a range of scratches, some superficial and some quite deep. It seems to have come in for quite a bit of stick on the mooring in the past few seasons. This year it has suffered a couple of knocks (also on the mooring) which have left deep scuffs, say 5cm x 10cm, on the quarter - I'm not sure how best to describe them, bruises perhaps. Additionally, the surface seems to develop a sort of milky bloom over some parts.
SWMBO has spent many arm-aching hours over the past two winters polishing the hull. She has used G3 (liquid) and a soft cotton pad on a power-drill rubber backing pad, generally at low-to-medium speed. This is followed by a silicon wax polish. It looks great for about two weeks, then the bloom returns and the scratches become evident.
So, from the earlier comments in this thread, it is clear that we have been doing it all wrong, with the possible exception of using G3 (I say "we" because, although SWMBO has been doing the hard graft, I have been supervising, even though I do not know what needs to be done or how). The first lesson I take is that we should use a proper compounding pad, at high speed and with lots of water. How does one apply the water; how much, how often?
One worry, already partially dismissed in an earlier comment, is that of overdoing it and wearing through the colour of the gel-coat. I have often wondered if the 'bloom' is a symptom of this. How thick should the pigmented gel-coat be and how can I tell if we are on the verge of wearing it away?
Given that some of the scratches are quite deep, I presume that these cannot be resolved by compounding. Are there any other practical measures we can try?
What should we do after compounding – apply a polish or leave alone?
Alan.
DeeGee
Active member
There is no short-cut, nor any absolutes, except that 'polisher' - which I bought and tried, as it is dead light, but useless !
You need a proper machine, they tend to be heavy cos they usually double as sanders. The speed is relatively slow, and the compounds will tell you the appropriate, I can't swear off the top of my head, but 2700-3000 rings a bell.
The compounds can only be used with a compounding head, which is a special sponge. In use, one dips the sponge into a bucket half full of water, after a few seconds lift and spin in the empty top half of the bucket to remove excess wet. As well as this, an old washing up squeezee bottle hooked in your pants pocket, should be fine-mist sprayed over the surface, on which you will smear out a thin dollop into an even thinner coating - depending on whether this is a renovating or polishing operation (the one follows the other).
Fine scratches may be removed, or may be softened down in appearance. This is the best you can do safely without doing a proper filling operation. YM somewhere will tell you in pictures how to do that, and you would be finishing the filling operation with a very find w&d paper, then finally compounding.
You should not compound out any scratches (yes, it CAN be done) as you may well go through the gelcoat.
After getting the shine up, and the bloom should have completely gone, it is advisable to apply a uv protecting polish. There are a number of different offerings, the best is probably Mer. It is worth doing two applications. These are best done by hand, but the polisher can be used with a polishing bonnet instead of the compounding mop head.
As to why the bloom should come back...??? No real idea, and not even any helpful guess. Not the absence of polish - one year I was too pushed to finally polish, and it just didnt look so good and it got dirty easier.
Good luck. I am sure that others have done this or similar, maybe with 3M products. Any and all extra comment is probably useful.
One final re-iteration, do not keep the polishing head in one place, dont let it get dry - wet it if in doubt, dont use the polishing head flat to the surface, a slight angle to maintain only one rotational sector in contact.
You need a proper machine, they tend to be heavy cos they usually double as sanders. The speed is relatively slow, and the compounds will tell you the appropriate, I can't swear off the top of my head, but 2700-3000 rings a bell.
The compounds can only be used with a compounding head, which is a special sponge. In use, one dips the sponge into a bucket half full of water, after a few seconds lift and spin in the empty top half of the bucket to remove excess wet. As well as this, an old washing up squeezee bottle hooked in your pants pocket, should be fine-mist sprayed over the surface, on which you will smear out a thin dollop into an even thinner coating - depending on whether this is a renovating or polishing operation (the one follows the other).
Fine scratches may be removed, or may be softened down in appearance. This is the best you can do safely without doing a proper filling operation. YM somewhere will tell you in pictures how to do that, and you would be finishing the filling operation with a very find w&d paper, then finally compounding.
You should not compound out any scratches (yes, it CAN be done) as you may well go through the gelcoat.
After getting the shine up, and the bloom should have completely gone, it is advisable to apply a uv protecting polish. There are a number of different offerings, the best is probably Mer. It is worth doing two applications. These are best done by hand, but the polisher can be used with a polishing bonnet instead of the compounding mop head.
As to why the bloom should come back...??? No real idea, and not even any helpful guess. Not the absence of polish - one year I was too pushed to finally polish, and it just didnt look so good and it got dirty easier.
Good luck. I am sure that others have done this or similar, maybe with 3M products. Any and all extra comment is probably useful.
One final re-iteration, do not keep the polishing head in one place, dont let it get dry - wet it if in doubt, dont use the polishing head flat to the surface, a slight angle to maintain only one rotational sector in contact.
awyatybw
New member
Thanks. Still looking for some clues on the "how can I tell if we are going / have already gone too far?" question.
Any recollection on when YM had the scratch-filling article?
A man from a boat yard last weekend suggested trying (do a trial area first) with 2000 w&d before compounding. Sensible / silly?
Alan.
Any recollection on when YM had the scratch-filling article?
A man from a boat yard last weekend suggested trying (do a trial area first) with 2000 w&d before compounding. Sensible / silly?
Alan.
DeeGee
Active member
Well, if you have any doubts about the depth of the gel-coat colour, using w&d would be counter-productive. In comparison with the compounding fluids, it is pretty fierce. Mind you, if you slap on the G3 and go hard at it, you might overdo it. The idea is to NOT take anything more than the most superficial of coating off. YOu will be able to tell by the compounding head. If you are doing it right, the sponge will have hardly any colour. But you should indeed go carefully and gently until you get the hang of it.
A lot depends on your boat, and the quality of the original build. For example, if it were a modern Jeanneau in dark blue, I would let you know quickly that the surface is actually paint, as Jeanneau do not do coloured layup as it contaminates the mould. If your boat is a good old English battleship, out of stables such as Westerly or older Moody, then you will probably have quite a fair depth of colour. Of course, your scratches will tell you a lot - go at them first (not to remove them, but to 'disguise' them). If the scratch is of any significant depth, clean with some alcohol and see if the bottom of the scratch is white. If not, then you are not through the colour, and vice versa.
A lot depends on your boat, and the quality of the original build. For example, if it were a modern Jeanneau in dark blue, I would let you know quickly that the surface is actually paint, as Jeanneau do not do coloured layup as it contaminates the mould. If your boat is a good old English battleship, out of stables such as Westerly or older Moody, then you will probably have quite a fair depth of colour. Of course, your scratches will tell you a lot - go at them first (not to remove them, but to 'disguise' them). If the scratch is of any significant depth, clean with some alcohol and see if the bottom of the scratch is white. If not, then you are not through the colour, and vice versa.
awyatybw
New member
[ QUOTE ]
A lot depends on your boat, and the quality of the original build.
[/ QUOTE ]
It's a Victoria; 1993 build so after they were producing them in bulk. The hull was built by Northshore Mouldings of Havant and fitted out by Victoria Rampart.
A lot depends on your boat, and the quality of the original build.
[/ QUOTE ]
It's a Victoria; 1993 build so after they were producing them in bulk. The hull was built by Northshore Mouldings of Havant and fitted out by Victoria Rampart.