wet sanding

[04_triton]

i have seen alot of videos of guys wet sanding and compounding in sections. is it better to do sections or could you wet sand the whole boat and then compound, polish, and wax? just seems to make more sense than to keep repeating all those steps per section. thanks.

[crank68]

I do many thousands feet of sanding and buffing a year.... I never sand the entire boat. Not saying you can’t...some sections may require different sanding and/or buffing so it would be very hard for me to do it that way. That’s why on here I see info given that says start with 1000 and then go to 1500 and then 2000 or whatever and without seeing the boat or at least pics there’s no way to give that info without at least a pic. Brand, age, color, condition, etc makes a difference in how you approach the job. What worked on one boat may be close but not work on another. In some cases I may could sand an entire boat after some testing however you only have so much gelcoat. That’s why I had rather do small sections to ensure I have a perfect finish and take the least amount of gelcoat off for the customer that I can.

[plbass]

Awesome advice there.

[dk239]

I do many thousands feet of sanding and buffing a year.... I never sand the entire boat. Not saying you can’t...some sections may require different sanding and/or buffing so it would be very hard for me to do it that way. That’s why on here I see info given that says start with 1000 and then go to 1500 and then 2000 or whatever and without seeing the boat or at least pics there’s no way to give that info without at least a pic. Brand, age, color, condition, etc makes a difference in how you approach the job. What worked on one boat may be close but not work on another. In some cases I may could sand an entire boat after some testing however you only have so much gelcoat. That’s why I had rather do small sections to ensure I have a perfect finish and take the least amount of gelcoat off for the customer that I can.

Listen to the MAN!!!

[04_triton]

Ok the man has spoken lol

[crank68]

If you think you need some help. Shoot me some pics and I’ll try to help. 919-631-2019

[Roadracer10]

Crank, all things being equal besides color, does light or dark oxidize worse?

[04_triton]

Thanks crank will do.

[crank68]

Crank, all things being equal besides color, does light or dark oxidize worse?

Sorry I’m a little slow....I don’t understand..?

[04_triton]

Hey crank. How do you determine if just a compound, polish, and wax would work instead of a wet sand first?

[Roadracer10]

If two boats were subjected to the same neglect and sun exposure, one a light color and one dark. Does a light color or dark color oxidize worse or is there even a difference.

[Roadracer10]

You mentioned color in you initial response to the OPs question. I was just curious how/why color makes a difference in your approach. Thanks

[crank68]

If two boats were subjected to the same neglect and sun exposure, one a light color and one dark. Does a light color or dark color oxidize worse or is there even a difference.

Most times the darker color will be a little worse and is a little harder to work with. A silver flake over a grey base is way easier to work with than a black base with whatever color flake.

[crank68]

Hey crank. How do you determine if just a compound, polish, and wax would work instead of a wet sand first?

I’m “most” cases any visible oxidation will need “some” sanding to get rid of. Not saying you can’t buff but I can’t have a customer coming back in a few months because the oxidation is back. Some may say this is not the correct way to approach it because of sanding away gel instead if buffing but in the long run by not getting it off on the first go...you’ll just have to go back and rework everything which is just wearing out your gel anyway.

[Tipman14]

A lot of these guys have way more experience then myself matter of fact this is the first time I have ever done this. The boat I bought was oxidized pretty bad . I did mine in like 3-6’ sections at a time first wet sanded w1000 grit then 2000 grit then compounded then wax and buffed very happy with the out come but was quite the job . If I would have done anything different I would have done it outside were I could use a garden hose between intervals. I did it inside my warehouse so I cleaned each time with acetone leaves great surface but very time consuming and went threw a ton of rags. CD45AF16-1061-416C-A92D-F1D0CAC942E1.jpeg

[04_triton]

Tip man that looks good. Gonna be my first time too, good thing it's my buddies boat lol. Thats about how his is but his is blue, gonna give it a shot.

[Tipman14]

Thank you well worth the hard work but believe me I’m going to try from having to do it again lol.

[crank68]

Looks nice. If possible, do your sanding and buffing inside under lights. It’ll always look better outside so if it looks good inside it’ll look great outside.