What pads to use with Porter Cable to remove oxidation on a 2004 Trophy Pro

[Mike Phillips]

What pads to use with Porter Cable to remove oxidation on a 2004 Trophy Pro



Hey Mike,

tried sending a message a few mins ago but not sure if it sent so i am just gonna send it again just in case.

looking at compounding and polishing my boat. it is a 2004 trophy pro with a all white Hull.

gel coat on the hull seems to be good but the top side of the boat has a dull/cream finish to it in certain conditions. looking to restore a nice bright white if possible.

boat is cleaned regularly and was detailed by a company before i bought it last year but looks like they only done the hull around the water line and that.


i ordered a porter cable 7424XP and it came with chemical guys hex logic pads.

did some reading on this forum and seems like the wool pad is better suited for gel coat?

looking at using the 3M line of perfect it compounds and polishes due to them being easy to get in my area. can also get other products as well.

looking for a little advice on what pads i should be using with the porter cable.
thanks




Does it look kind of like this?

[Mike Phillips]

More....

Buffing out the sides of any boat with a Porter Cable can be done with the right pads and products.








Buffing out the TOP CAP can be difficult because all flat sections of gel-coat around NON-SKID are going to be thin panels, or tight areas. What works best is a wool pad on a rotary.





Console area BEFORE





Robert Diterlizzi is using the Flex PE14 Lightweight, Compact Rotary Polisher with the 3" PFW thin pads to knock out the intricate areas and tight spots on the console.





A full size rotary buffer couldn't do this...





This is Rick's first time to one of our boat detailing classes and Rick wanted to learn how to use a rotary buffer, so I matched him up with Robert for some expert one-on-one training.





Robert and Rick making gel-coat shine!





Console area AFTER





Here's full write-up for this project.


Pictures: 16' Key Largo Center Console - Detailing Class - July, 2013

[Mike Phillips]

More....


LOTS of pictures for all the boat projects I've been a part of since 2009 here at Autogeek,


Boat Detailing Training - Before & After Pictures - The MOST DOCUMENTED HANDS-ON Boat Detailing Classes - Autogeek - Stuart, Florida

[Mike Phillips]

More....


And to be accurate - you can use small pads or large pads to buff the outside and the INSIDE of a boat - it' s just a matter of figuring out how to get the buffing pad onto or into the area that needs to be buffed.


Here's Andre using a 4" wool cutting pad for the thin panels...







Here's Bryan working the corners...

[Mike Phillips]

More....


I've never been a fan of Hex Logic pads or ANY type of foam pad with a DESIGN in the face of the pad. What works best are FLAT pads.


Also - The Porter Cable is a time-proven tool but it is a free spinning random orbital polisher and being a FREE SPINNING tool, it does NOT like big thick pads. Fact is - big thick pads will not rotate well on this tool. So I hope you got 5.5" Hex Logic pads .


And - gel-coat does NOT like soft foam pads when doing any type of abrading work. Gel-coat LIKES hard, sharp foam pads. The pads I always recommend are the RUPES COARSE BLUE FOAM pads.


I've shared a LOT of info recently on your topic in the below thread threads. A LOT of info. I'd recommend reading through them. Look at my recommendations. Read the boat owners feedback after taking my recommendations and sharing the results.


Help! My first detail project, and its a 26ft boat!


Polishing gelcoat makes it go dull - what am I doing wrong?


Gelcoat Polish Question - Removed swirls but also deep gloss? - Pics


And something else I share when it comes to buffing with any foam pad - you'll need more than one pad. In fact, you'll want more than a few pads. 6 pads would be a minimum to get you started because as foam becomes wet with product it stops doing what it's supposed to do.

By this I mean, a foam cutting pads stops cutting. This is because the foam is now soft and mushy.

[Mike Phillips]

Here's some info about the RUPES blue foam pads....



Mind Blowing - Rupes Blue Foam Cutting Pad and Zephir Gloss Coarse Gel Compound






You can get these in different sizes including 4" and 6". To use these on a Porter Cable you will need a 3" and 5" backing plate.

[Mike Phillips]

If it were me?

I'd get a rotary buffer and a wool pad and use this to buff out the thin sections on top cap.

Use the Porter Cable and the RUPES blue pads for any flat sections.


I'm not sure what you're using for abrasive technology but in order to get GREAT results you need to use GREAT abrasive technology.


Abrasive Technology - THE most important factor when it comes to polishing paint



I help a lot of peope remove micro-marring after using CG products. If it were me and my time? I'd get our Marine 31 Captain's Compound. Works perfect every time.

[blambert]

i was looking at using the gel-coat PERFECT IT line of products by 3M. any experience with those ?
i will see if i can find some of the rupes blue pads in canada.

[Mike Phillips]

i was looking at using the gel-coat PERFECT IT line of products by 3M. a

ny experience with those ?

i will see if i can find some of the rupes blue pads in canada.

I have not used the 3M Marine line of products for years.... but when I did use them they worked fine.

3M has been at this a long time, they tend to make very good products.

[blambert]

so looks like i can get my hands on the rupes pads but i see there are a few different thicknesses. is there a certain one to use ?