Third day of hard labour!

[JamesTT]

From this dirty dull boat-

Faded dull gel coat-

To this-

Wash, and the following Meguairs products applied with a dual action polishing machine, oxidation remover, colour restorer, polish and wax.

I can't lift my arms above my head at the moment!

 

[Vanilla]

Wow....will you do mine too? Fantastic result. What sort of polisher did you use?

 

[GrowingLad]

I can't lift my arms above my head at the moment!

As long as you can lift a pint to the correct height then all is good in the World /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Lovely job that.....I actually had a cack handed friend of mine give me a hand on my boat....He's actually dangerous with a screw driver in his hands but boy can he polish a boat well...

Hmmm...maybe I should look at renting him out /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[geardownthreegreens]

Smashing job there.

Where did you purchase those products?

 

[JamesTT]

Thanks

The polish products were from www.cleanandshiny.co.uk, click onto the marine section, good service all arrived next day, oxidation remover, colour restorer, polish and wax.

The machine I bought a few years ago in the US, it is a Porter Cable Dual Action Polishing Machine, ie it isn't direct drive, once in contact with the surface it spins slowly but oscilates quite vigorously, the idea is that it is difficult for begginers to do any damage by burning paint or gel coat and that the swirls you often see are diminished. I am fairly sure that similar machines are available here now.

The type of pads used with the machine and polish is very important, a foam cutting pad for the oxidation and restorer and a softer polishing pad for the polish and wax, wool pads are available but I believe that they build up a lot of heat which can cause damage and clog up quickly with polish.

I took advice on using the machine and the polish products/steps from www.meguiaresonline.com which is a forum run by the company, click through to the marine/rv section for some amazing pictures and obsessive behaviour with people cleaning all kinds of stuff.

Some tips that work for me, do only 4ft sections at time, and finish each section with all the steps, you can see the results which keeps you at it. Use only a very small amount of product, it goes a long way and you need to keep passing over it until it is broken down/ not visible. Use microfibre cloths, they lift off any residue cleanly from the surface without smearing, stop when it gets cold or the light fades, the polish/ wax can haze up. Set yourself up for a couple of days, it's not a job you will want to go back to.

 

[geardownthreegreens]

Appreciate the information there as i'm never sure what products to use, and this is definately something i want to do over the winter.

Si

 

[Coupe]

Should that not be JIM XXL /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

La Traviata looking good Jim - keep the flag flying /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[JamesTT]

Well spotted Mick, glad to have you back! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif