Never Detailed a Boat Before… Help?

**TheGuyWho** · 10-04-2012, 04:51 PM

Ok, so a buddy of mine asked me if I could detail his boat (small sea-doo boat), and I told him I would do some research and get back to him. Im more than capable of doing cars, but Im a complete noob when it comes to marine vehicles. How different is fiberglass? What kind of questions do I need to ask, or what do I need to know about his boat ahead of time so I can address it properly, buy the right products, etc...? I obviously don't want to screw it up. Whats the difference between gel coat or a non gel coat?
Im trying to read up on what I can. Links are helpful too. Thanks guys.

Oh and Im using a Meguiars G110 DA polisher, if that helps. Thanks again.

**GoldBl4d3** · 10-04-2012, 06:30 PM

Check out the meguiars new marine line. Other than that its relatively the same, just read the directions on the products.

**TheGuyWho** · 10-04-2012, 06:37 PM

Ive gotten a lot of good info on here, but nothing specific. I guess the best thing I need to know is what products I should and or shouldn't use. Im partial to Meguiars products myself, and their marine line looks just as good as the other stuff.

Are the automotive products recommended or not recommended to use on boats?

**joche26** · 10-04-2012, 06:48 PM

if the hull is dull, i recommend 3m rubbing compound (color white) and a wool pad with a rotary. after that you can use your fav. wax

**Hoytman** · 10-04-2012, 06:54 PM

What kind of condition is the boat in? How old is it? How big?

Here's some things to think about. Gel-coat is hard, and it's thicker than clear coat. So, a rotary is going to assist you greatly, but if you're patient and the boat isn't oxidized really bad you might just get by with the DA...but I doubt it.

Products I've had success with:

Rotary
Wool pads (W4000)
Meguiar's 6.5 inch maroon colored flat foam cutting pad
Meguiar's 6.5 inch yellow colored flat foam polishing pad
Meguiar's M67 One-Step Compound
Buff Magic
M105/M205

I haven't had a chance to post but one of my boat details. So, for reference you could get in touch with B&B Tennessee here on the forum. He does outstanding work on boats and he can give you some tips on pads and products you use.

**habeba86** · 10-04-2012, 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by TheGuyWho

Ive gotten a lot of good info on here, but nothing specific. I guess the best thing I need to know is what products I should and or shouldn't use. Im partial to Meguiars products myself, and their marine line looks just as good as the other stuff.

Are the automotive products recommended or not recommended to use on boats?

No, most auto products arent "recommended" for marine use....doesnt mean you cant use them tho. Boats gel coat are much harder than clear coat.....so polishes and compounds arent as effective as they are on paint. Their environment is also much harsher, so auto waxes dont tend to last as long. Along with meguiars, duragloss and collinite are good lines.

**joche26** · 10-04-2012, 06:57 PM

Before

After

**joche26** · 10-04-2012, 07:45 PM

Sorry for the quick post, wife was nagging about dinner time.
Ok, so as you can tell from the pic the boat was pretty dull when we bought it. This is what I did, I can only give you advice on what I did and worked for me, like a car each boat has her special situation and this was mine:
After being on a dry stock for 3 years the gelcoat was in pretty rough shape, everybody thought I was crazy for thinking I could bring her back to life by just applying robbing compound and some wax, guess they were wrong.
First step I gathered a crew of friends and lots of beer (the lure) and we started to work on her. We got a rotary, dont know the brand think it was an old flex ( I remember it was red so I assume its a flex). I bought a gallon of 3m white robbing compound, I say white because theres another 3m that's greyish and it did not do anything to the gelcoat. With a brush we applied the rubbing compound directly to the gelcoat and the guy with the rotary followed behind, we did this section by section. Two hands of rubbing compound were done in a period of 2 days, after that it got simple we just got some Meguiar's carnauba gold class wax and applied one coat by hand. And thats my story, not much of a science, hope you can at least get something out if this.