Need tips for buffing a boat

[98LowRanger]

A coworker found out that I am detailing cars on the side and asked me if I could buff the finish on his 21 foot boat. He said it isn't mildewed or nasty, just dull and needs to be buffed. My questions are as follows:

1) I know boats have a gel coat instead of a clear coat. Any special technique/steps to use that are different then polishing a vehicle (wash, clay, polish)? Do I HAVE to wet sand it?

2) I see there are special polishes for boat gel coats. Which ones do you guys recommend?

3) I own a Flex 3401 DA and not a rotary buffer. Does it have enough power paired with say yellow and orange foam pads to polish the gel coat in a reasonable amount of time?

4) What is a fair price to charge him? He told me he was willing to pay me $150 to do it. Me being fairly inexperienced it will probably take me a little longer then most.

[cshamilton]

I can only comment on pricing and the only thing I can say about that is it seems low. To me, a Tahoe is big. And it's 16 feet long. 21 would take some time. I would charge $200 to do a correction on a Tahoe and I know that folks on this forum would scoff at that being dirt cheap.

[GreatAvalon]

What kind of boat? Just the 'exterior' fiberglass or 'interior' as well?

I just buffed/polished/cleaned up my 21 foot boat. But it is a bass boat, so there is only 'exterior' fiberglass.

Here is what I found works - I have a PC.

I used a white pad, speed 6. Gel coat is hard, a lot of people will use rotary's on boats, but I've never done it and it sounds like your buddy's isn't trashed and he just wants the shine brought back and to have the gel coat cleaned up (makes the color more pure/true).

Ok sorry - so yea, white LC flat pad, speed 6 on my PC. I really, really, really like Meguiars Marine #44. My boat is white, and when I used #44 it cleaned it up so much - being white the difference was night and day!
Meguiars #44 Marine/RV Color Restorer is a mild cleaner and gloss enhancer for fiberglass! (http://www.autogeek.net/boat-color-restorer.html)

The first time it hadn't been cleaned up for a while. This time it took 2 passes with my PC to bring the white back to a crystal clean, pure white color. It also helped on the blue and silver areas. It brings out the flake in the gel coat as well - I love #44. I finished with Meg's Flagship Wax. It is awesome as well!
Meguiars Flagship Premium Marine Wax is formulated to protect fibgerlass and gel-coated boats. Lasting shine and protection in salt and fresh water. (http://www.autogeek.net/boat-wax.html)


No you don't have to wet sand. I would recommend not. That seems extreme!

I have never clayed my boat actually. Never thought to haha.

Your Flex has more power than my PC, so you are good to go! Heck, when I really cleaned it up for the first time and the white was actually brown when comparing to the gel coat after #44, I was using a walmart 6" DA with their crap foam bonnets. But it still worked awesome haha!

Price wise - I can't really comment. Depends on what all fiberglass are you going to do. Are you going to crawl underneath it and polish the hull between the trailer bunks? Etc etc.

[allenk4]

Charging by the foot without seeing the boat might be a bad idea.

Make sure you are considering the total area to be buffed out.

A 19' Bass Boat has much less surface area than a 19' Cruiser

[allenk4]

This Forum is an offshoot of AGO and is specific to Boats:

Marine 31 Forum - Powered by vBulletin (http://www.marine31online.com/forum/)

You might get a higher number of replies from Boat Detailers here.

[Mike Phillips]

I've lead teams of people here on Thursday nights for boat projects. Each write-up is filled with tips and techniques plus hundreds of pictures.


How to wetsand, cut and buff a gel-coat boat (http://www.marine31online.com/forum/showthread.php?t=147)


Pictures: 16' Key Largo Center Console Boat Detailing Class with Marine 31 (http://www.marine31online.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94)


Pictures: 2000 Baja 232 Boss High Performance Extreme Makeover (http://www.marine31online.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65)


24' Pro-Line Boat - Extreme Marine Makeover - Oxidation Removal (http://www.marine31online.com/forum/showthread.php?t=108)


2013 Marine 31 Year in Review - The boats of Marine31Online.com (http://www.marine31online.com/forum/showthread.php?t=136)



Lots of work buffing out boats.


:)

[98LowRanger]

Thanks for all the replies and tips guys! Looks like the rotary buffer is the preferred tool for polishing gel coats, but I already figured that. I am going to have to purchase a set of foamed wool pads (I don't own any wool pads), but that might be a good investment for the future anyway. I heard someone had good results from using Megs 101 on the gel coat, but it's pretty expensive at $50 for 32 oz. I'm probably going to go with Marine 31 All-in-one Gel Coat Polish and Wax.

After I wash the boat would you guys even clay it before polishing or not worth it?

[98LowRanger]

About to order my supplies to attempt this boat with. Just making sure, do I treat it as if it was clear coat and clay it after I wash it (to prep it for polishing) right?