New to boat detailing

[graham]

Mike I really appreciate the advice you've given me over the past week! And I can't wait to purchase your marine detailing book! Since the book won't be out for a while , what products do you recommend I start with the flex 3401? Mainly for lite oxidation and waxing my boat? Pads, product etc....? Also I have a brushed aluminum tower that I really want to clean up any advice ?
Thanks
Graham

[Mike Phillips]

Mike I really appreciate the advice you've given me over the past week! And I can't wait to purchase your marine detailing book!

Since the book won't be out for a while , what products do you recommend I start with the flex 3401?

Mainly for lite oxidation and waxing my boat? Pads, product etc....?

My new boat detailing book puts a LOT of focus on using the Flex 3401 for all the buffing work because you can get the job done in an efficient manner without leaving hologram scratches like most boat detailers do when they use a rotary buffer.

I'd recommend anyone interested in boat detailing to read my article on this topic by clicking the link below. It is the ONLY article like it in the entire boat detailing world and in the blogosphere too.


Holograms in gel-coat boats by Mike Phillips


As for products and pads, help me out here and tell me how large of a boat you're working on and the type of hull.

[Mike Phillips]

Also I have a brushed aluminum tower that I really want to clean up any advice ?

Thanks
Graham

One of the chapters in my how-to book is,

The order of steps

You see the order of steps to detail a boat is somewhat relative. So just like I teach in my car detailing class (and boat detailing classes), the goal is to work smarter, not harder.

As such, I recommend polishing the aluminum tower before washing the boat and when you polish it use the Marine 31 Stainless Steel and Aluminum Brightening Soap.

Besides working GREAT here's the smarter part.

You can apply this product and wipe it off with a microfiber towel. That works. Here's what works better. Apply the product and then "wash" the residue off when you wash the boat instead of "wiping" the product off.

Both approaches work, I just find the applying and then washing works better especially if you're already going to wash the boat anyways.





If you apply without washing the boat it still work great, I find keeping a little spray detailer on hand can help remove the residue if it's hot outside and the residue is drying on you.

(Most boat detailing is done outside where it can be hot and windy)

[Mike Phillips]

This write-up I created from the last boat detailing class shows most of the steps to detailing a boat and all are covered in the upcoming boat detailing book plus a LOT more....


Marine 31 Boat Detailing Class Pictures - April 18th, 2015



Here's a couple of guys polishing the brightwork in this 26' Regulator and if you scroll down the paint you'll see we did this BEFORE we washed the boat.

This is an excerpt from the above write-up.

Saving steps = saving time and energy
To clean and polish all the metal brightwork we're using Marine 31 Stainless Steel and Aluminum Brightening Soap which uses all natural soap flakes without any of the nasty solvents or abrasives used in a lot of metal polishes.

You can apply this and wipe it off or what I find is a lot easier is to apply it and then wash it off. Thus applying it BEFORE you wash the boat makes the job faster and cleaner.

I try to walk the talk and practice what I preach...

[graham]

Mike I am working on an 2007 nautique. It sits on a boat lift most of the year and get sun mostly on one side, that will be hanging as we are having the cover modified. That side is a bit faded/oxidized. The blue bottom is the worst.

Where should I start? I just received a flex 3401 this week with lake country ccs pads. The orange, white, grey and blue pads. I also got the purple wool pad as well!

Obviously I don't wanna go crazy if I don't have to. I would just like todo it right the first time!

Thanks ,
Graham

Sunny side


Shaded side

[graham]

Does anyone have any tips? It is still smooth to the touch, it hasn't gotten chalky yet.
Thanks
Graham

[Mike Phillips]

Mike I am working on an 2007 nautique. It sits on a boat lift most of the year and get sun mostly on one side, that will be hanging as we are having the cover modified. That side is a bit faded/oxidized. The blue bottom is the worst.

Where should I start? I just received a flex 3401 this week with lake country ccs pads. The orange, white, grey and blue pads. I also got the purple wool pad as well!

What do you have for chemicals?

That is, what do you have for,

1. Compounds
2. Polishes
3. Cleaner/Waxes
4. Finishing waxes

[graham]

Nothing yet . I wanted to wait and see what was recommended first before I dove into it! I have never worked with gelcoat and didn't wanna mess it up!

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Graham,

I've taken the pertinent parts of our conversation and placed them in order below...

Mike I am working on an 2007 nautique. It sits on a boat lift most of the year and get sun mostly on one side, that will be hanging as we are having the cover modified. That side is a bit faded/oxidized. The blue bottom is the worst.

Where should I start? I just received a flex 3401 this week with lake country ccs pads. The orange, white, grey and blue pads. I also got the purple wool pad as well!

What do you have for chemicals?

That is, what do you have for,

1. Compounds
2. Polishes
3. Cleaner/Waxes
4. Finishing waxes

Nothing yet . I wanted to wait and see what was recommended first before I dove into it! I have never worked with gelcoat and didn't wanna mess it up!

Okay, so you have the Flex 3401 and 6.5" CCS Foam pads,

Orange foam cutting pad
White foam polishing pad
Gray foam finishing pad
Blue foam waxing pad


If this were my boat here's what I would use.

Marine 31 Captain’s One-Step Compound & Polish


And then test it with the white CCS pad first and if that's not aggressive enough to remove the oxidation and restore a clear, shiny gel-coat surface then try the same product with the orange CCS pad.

Run that Flex 3401 on the 4- 6 speed setting. I like to give people a range but when it's me I buzz that thing all the way up to the 6 speed setting.

There's something to be said and had by using high speeds versus medium speeds when you have a lot of ground to cover or don't want to spend all day doing a job.

The Captains Compound can be used as both a compound and a wax. So after you remove the oxidation you use the same product to polish the gel-coat.

If neither the white or orange foam pads are removing the oxidation fast enough or effectively enough, then you'll want to get a 7.5" wool cutting pad for your Flex 3401.

And "yes" this is one of the STRONG recommendations I put in the new Boat Detailing Book. That is if you're going to be buffing on oxidized gel-coat boats you want to get a wool pad for your Flex 3401.

A wool pad on a Flex 3401 plus a great compound or a great one-step cleaner/wax is really the way to go know knock out an oxidized, neglected boat without leaving HOLOGRAM scratches in the finish like the majority of the boat detailing industry does as their NORMAL procedure.

On that topic, my next boat detailing class is coming up in February.

The class will be held on Saturday, February 6th and I will cover how to do high speed production work on neglected gel-coat boats as well as how to machine sand gel-coat boats and then compound and polish to perfect.

Here's the link to sign-up for the next boat detailing class for 2016 and this is the ONLY boat detailing class scheduled for 2016 and the only boat detailing class in the United States that I know of.

Marine 31 Boat Detailing Class - February 6th, 2016



After you remove the oxidation and restore the gloss then use the blue CCS pad to seal the paint using your Flex 3401 on the 4 speed setting.

and Marine 31 Gel Coat Carnauba Wax + Sealant


The above is a recipe for success.

[Mike Phillips]

Anyone reading this into the future that wants to see what the Captain's Compound can do then click the link below and look at the before and after pictures.


Pictures: 1960 Glastron - Wetsand, Cut & Buff at Marine31Online.com