30 year old boat oxidation.

[Dieselgeek]

Hey all,

I have a 1983 Sea Ray that has NEVER been wax/polished... I have read various threads/watched youtube videos, so I know what I'm up against, but I also know the reward is worth it. I have a Dewalt Rotary, and am wondering what my best compound will be start with, then polish, wax, etc...

I will be ordering soon, so looking for advice please! I will need to order wool pads, foam pads as well.

Thanks in advance! I'll post before/after pics.

[VP Mark]

Go aggressive. Megs M105 at the minimum. Clean your pads a lot. Boats react really well to almost any polish in my experience.

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[Chris@AutoCleanse]

Don't know much about boats, but there is a new Marine 31 forum that started when autogeek launched the Marine 31 lineup. Might want to check it out.

[SuperiorAutoLLC]

Definitely check out the Marine 31 line; they have very heavy cut compounds that will help you achieve awesome results.

You will also need some wool pads, a pad spur, and, to make your life a whole lot easier, a Grit Guard Universal Pad Washer to clean you pads as you work.

Here's a thread and some photos of a boat I worked on: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/61768-21-calusa-boat-oxidation-removal-complete-makeover-lots-pics.html

[Dieselgeek]

Thanks for the advice guys, I will check them out.

[BillE]

After 30 years, I'd be looking at Meguiar's Power Cut (M-91) as a start.

This is NOT the least aggressive method, but WOW, 30 years...I hate to think what it looks like.

Bill

[Anthony@zerboautoworks]

The cleaner wax from marine 31 didn't not work in my case. I used 3M compound/wax for marine, here are the results:

[Mike Phillips]

Hey all,

I have a 1983 Sea Ray that has NEVER been wax/polished... I have read various threads/watched youtube videos, so I know what I'm up against, but I also know the reward is worth it. I have a Dewalt Rotary, and am wondering what my best compound will be start with, then polish, wax, etc...

I will be ordering soon, so looking for advice please! I will need to order wool pads, foam pads as well.

Thanks in advance! I'll post before/after pics.


Be sure to get good before pictures...


The power in the after shots is created in the before shots (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/21216-power-after-shots-created-before-shots.html)



:Picture:

[RTexasF]

What was said was that the cleaner wax did not work. Obviously compound was needed on that hull. You crap on the entire line due to someone using the least abrasive method first then stepping up? Oh, and you've never used Marine 31 yet recommend competitive products? I am amazed......

[Mastercraft241]

What was said was that the cleaner wax did not work. Obviously compound was needed on that hull. You crap on the entire line due to someone using the least abrasive method first then stepping up? Oh, and you've never used Marine 31 yet recommend competitive products? I am amazed......
I am equally amazed..... who crapped on the line? I stated my opinion "I personally wouldnt try marine 31.... seems like its in its infitile state." As seen here. I've been detailing boats for 8 years and these products have worked every single time. In my experience, new products often have flaws and have not been tweeked. That is my opinion. Thanks have a nice day.:xyxthumbs:

[Anthony@zerboautoworks]

Actually the marine 31 cleaner wax was working, it just took more passes so I went more aggressive, he must not know the saying "go with the least aggressive first".

And for the record I will be buying more Marine 31 products because they do work well and I seen this at the demo they had at detail fest. I went with what i had and 3M coumpound was it, if I had Marine 31 compound, I would have used it and 3M would have collected dust.

[Dieselgeek]

I'm looking to possibly order some Mequiars 91, 45 polish, and 56 wax... Boat is a 30' Sea Ray. How much compound/polish/wax am I going to need, also how many wool pads, foam pads, etc?

[Sunshyne]

Megs has a Marine compound that works great. I now also use Marine 31 and have 3M in my marine use arsenal.

At minimum id use an agressive compound and follow with a polish

[primo spaghetti]

aquabuff 1000 and 2000. tried, tested and true...

[Shtexas]

I'm doing a full correction on a sea ray 340 next week. I'll have some before shots up later tonight in a dedicated thread. I'm wet sanding certain parts of the boat that are severely oxidized before using the rotary with a wool pad and compound. I'll finish up with a polish to remove haze and top it off with collinite.
Depending on how oxidized the boat is, you're going to want to start off wet sanding. If you're not comfortable wet sanding you can just use a rotary with a wool pad but be prepared to clean the pad after each small section. As mentioned above, Gelcoat is different than oxidized car finishes.