Heavy oxidation on boat?

[ruminskirl]

If there is oxidation build up below the water line what should I do to get it off without buffing? thanks

If the bottom of the boat is indeed covered with anti fouling paint you do not want to disturb it what so ever. A gal. of good anti fouling paint can easily cost 2 to 3 hundred dollars. The paint is basically 80% copper or tin suspended in some type of rosin. A gal. of this paint can easily weight about 25 lbs. compared to a 8 lbs. for a normal paint.

Once applied to the bottom of the boat this paint will dissolve over time to release the metal particle contained inside it. These metals produce a poison that inhibits marine growth from adhering to its surface. In Florida you will be luck to get 1 year out of your anti fouling paint.

Anti fouling paint is usually black,blue or burnt red and has a chalky appearance to it. If you wipe your hand across it the color coat will easily transfer to your hand.

Talk with the owner. If he has a anti fouling paint applied he will tell you to leave it alone. If the Bottom is raw clear gel coat he may or may not want it polished. This is always considered an extra when detailing a boat.

If the bottom is painted with a regular paint ( Highly unlikely) then again, it would be considered an extra.

Now sail boats are a whole nother story....

[redls1rado]

I am currently restoring a 1989 Ski boat that has severe oxidation. The process/products that I used were as follows. I first wetsanded the entire boat with 3000 grit paper. This helps remove a lot of the oxidation. I then followed that up with 3M Marine Rubbing Compound on a wool pad. This cut out the chalky/rough gelcoat. I then followed that up with Megs 67 One Step Compound on a LC orange pad. This left an amazing finish and was definitely LSP ready but I wanted to see if I could get an even better shine. I then tried the Megs 49 Oxdation remover (which has an even finer abrasive) and I got an even better shine. For LSP I used Collinite FleetWax.

For moderate oxidation I would start with the Megs 67. I was really happy with the results and I beleive that it really is a one step product.

It is a labor intensive process but it is well worth the effort!

[Tom N]

If the bottom of the boat is indeed covered with anti fouling paint you do not want to disturb it what so ever. A gal. of good anti fouling paint can easily cost 2 to 3 hundred dollars. The paint is basically 80% copper or tin suspended in some type of rosin. A gal. of this paint can easily weight about 25 lbs. compared to a 8 lbs. for a normal paint.

Once applied to the bottom of the boat this paint will dissolve over time to release the metal particle contained inside it. These metals produce a poison that inhibits marine growth from adhering to its surface. In Florida you will be luck to get 1 year out of your anti fouling paint.

Anti fouling paint is usually black,blue or burnt red and has a chalky appearance to it. If you wipe your hand across it the color coat will easily transfer to your hand.

Talk with the owner. If he has a anti fouling paint applied he will tell you to leave it alone. If the Bottom is raw clear gel coat he may or may not want it polished. This is always considered an extra when detailing a boat.

If the bottom is painted with a regular paint ( Highly unlikely) then again, it would be considered an extra.

Now sail boats are a whole nother story....

Thats correct.
A typical detail to a boat hull is from the rub rail to the water line.
If the bottom of the hull is just bare gelcoat than you can polish it and wax it. But it should be extra and I almost never get a request to do the bottom.

[Tom N]

Hi Tom,

Since this is your first post, welcome to Autogeek Online!

Hope to see you start your own thread with some pictures of your boat?

Thanks.
I have lots of pictures of boats but non are mine.
I detail them.

[14automobiles]

And this is they type of problems you run into when you start detailing boats that have specialty coatings.

At this point, you might want to start researching more information specif to marine watercraft coatings and marine detailing.

Make sure you can make it profitable too... I've only detailed a few large boats and it wasn't fun and barely profitable and in each case the owner's expectations were very high. It's definitely a niche that can be carved out but if you're going to to it you might as well do it right and that will start with getting head knowledge, not hands-on knowledge.

Good points Mike.