Boat polishing need pricing!

[sayroger]

I have a friend wants his boat polished it not oxidized just dull looking. I want to use this as a test for me on gel coat, i dont have a rotary but i have a flex 3401 with a lot of pads even a wood/foam pad by lake country. I have several people ask about boats when i detail their cars. The Boat is red so it should show my results ok. Not sure what to use on my test boat i have many different polishes and compounds but not for boats. Can i use auto polish on my test because its not oxidized? Its on a trailer with no side rails. Do they charge by the foot. So a 20' boat would be 40 or 20 do you charge each side or as a hole. Any help would be nice. Sorry for the silly questions

[Mike Phillips]

Do they charge by the foot. So a 20' boat would be 40 or 20 do you charge each side or as a hole.

Any help would be nice. Sorry for the silly questions

Actually your question is a great question as it can be confusing.


When you see people charging by the foot that's usually the hourly charge x the length of the boat and it includes both sides.

So $10.00 a foot for a 10 foot boat would be $100.00 and that would include both sides.

The industry norm is to charge by the foot and prices range from $12.00 to 30.00 a foot depending upon condition. That's for the outside or hull detailing. Top side detailing tends to go for a few dollars less per hour since there's less grunt buffing and more grunt cleaning and polishing of brightwork.

I'd shoot for $25.00 to $30.00 per foot since you're using the right tool or charge an hourly rate like $50.00 to $60.00 an hour.

Then do great work.

[sayroger]

thanks mike what about polishes for cars that might work for me on gel coat?

[TFTADetail]

Easier to post my pricing as an idea than to try to break it down. I have a couple different types of boat detail pricing dependant upon the needs of the client.

Boat Detail Pricing

[Mike Phillips]

thanks mike what about polishes for cars that might work for me on gel coat?

You ask a very common question, that is can car products be used on boats or sometimes people will reverse it and ask can boat products be used on cars.

Here's the deal....

When it comes to the aggressive compounds for boats, most of these will be way too aggressive for automotive clearcoats. The gel-coat on a boat is about 10x thicker than the clear layer of paint on a car. An aggressive marine compound could easily and quickly chew through a factory clear coat.

There are some exceptions like the Captain's One-Step Compound & Polish in our Marine 31 line and that's due to the abrasive technology it uses.

So when it comes to using boat products on cars you want to be careful.

When it comes to using car products on boats you're safe because automotive products don't tend to be as aggressive as boat products. This also means that some automotive products might not work fast enough since they may not be aggressive enough when working on a severely neglected boat.

For you, if the boat you're working on only has light oxidation then give what you already have in your product arsenal a try and chances are you'll have good success.

[dcjredline]

I would just do like I do with car pricing. Try to estimate how many hours it will take you and charge by the hour. Estimate high if you have never done a boat. If it takes you less time Im sure your customer wont be sad that you charged him less than expected.

[sayroger]

Not to bad for first boat. Not sure what level of gloss you can get from gel coat.
Flex 3401
Foamed Wool 6.5 inch Buffing/Polishing Pads
Optimum Hyper Compound spray

[TFTADetail]

I'd say it's looking pretty good for a first time. The gel coat looks pretty well aged .......

[sayroger]

yes it around 20 years old

[TFTADetail]

yes it around 20 years old

Doesn't look like it anymore!