Wet sanding steps

[Bthompson92]

I have oxidation on the front and back of my boat that I want to remove. I have removed my trolling motor up front as I just bought a new one and I figure before I put the new one on I can go ahead and clean up the oxidation. Can someone let me know what steps I need to take off the oxidiation and wax/seal my boat? Be specific if you could as I don't want to mess anything up. My boat is metal flake if that makes any difference. 1000 grit, 800 grit? How long do I sand for, etc

Thanks,
bruce

[crank68]

There’s no way we can give you good info without at least seeing a couple pics of the oxidation. Every boat and condition are different so it’s really hard to tell you what grit to start with. You always wanna go the least aggressive route and still cut the oxidation off. Telling you how long to sand is an experience thing...have you ever done anything like this before or maybe some body and paint work.?

[pantherdad]

I am about to try wet sand my boat as well.Is there a certain type of sandpaper that is better?
Trying to buy protect polish and sealant but no luck with bbcmem code.Any suggestions?

[ClarkBird]

I just did mine I started with 1500 wrapped around a foam sanding pad. Get yourself a spray bottle and fill with water. Just spray the area and then start lightly sanding in circular motions keeping it wet. When you start to see milky water, spray again to remove those contaminants from the area. When done you'll have a nice, dull-looking boat that's ready for buffing. I went ahead and went over the entire area again with 2000. I use a cheap Harbor Freight variable speed buffer with a foam pad and 3M compound/polish on the first step. You'll be amazed at the shine that comes back. After the compound, I used 3M Polish then finally, 3M Pure Wax with an orbital buffer. Your shoulders and arms will be 100% dead afterward.

[pantherdad]

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[Bthompson92]

The images dont don't really do it any good. It's more glazed than it looks. I've never done a job like this but it doesn't look too bad. I've re carpeted several boats and like to work on things.

[Bthompson92]

I just did mine I started with 1500 wrapped around a foam sanding pad. Get yourself a spray bottle and fill with water. Just spray the area and then start lightly sanding in circular motions keeping it wet. When you start to see milky water, spray again to remove those contaminants from the area. When done you'll have a nice, dull-looking boat that's ready for buffing. I went ahead and went over the entire area again with 2000. I use a cheap Harbor Freight variable speed buffer with a foam pad and 3M compound/polish on the first step. You'll be amazed at the shine that comes back. After the compound, I used 3M Polish then finally, 3M Pure Wax with an orbital buffer. Your shoulders and arms will be 100% dead afterward.

thanks for the help and advice! Hoping to work on it this weekend. Have to get the boat looking good before the first tournament of the year in April

[JamesfromID]

I jus did mine when i restored my dads old skeeter that had been sittint out in the elements for the last 6 years.

I took a small bucket of water, put 2 teaspoons of dawn soap, and wet sanded the whole boat with these in order...

600 grit
800 grit
1000 grit
1500 grit
2000 grit
2500 grit
Buff with 3m scratch remover
Buff with stuff called hot sauce wax

Avoid circular motions when you are wet sanding!!

My boat looks brand new and the metalflake really pop. You can buy hot sauce at cabelas and i use it to wipe down at the ramp before i head home. Works amazing!

[redxdu]

I've done 3 boats starting with 1000, then 1500, then 2000 followed by 3M rubbing compound and 3M machine polish. There's a sticky posted at the top of the restoration forum that explains it all. That's how I learned to do it.

You can experiment with how many grits of sandpaper to actually use. People do it all different ways. I think one poster on this thread said they only use one grit, and another used 6 or 7. I personally do 3. You will quickly find out that the most drastic changes happen after your very first grit, and after you hit it with rubbing compound. You will be in awe after the rubbing compound. Call some of your buddies to come over and watch you do it, because they won't believe you did it on your own unless they watch it with their own eyes.

[Bthompson92]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I think I should be good to go now. I'll post pics when I'm finished

[Firemedic10]

JamesfromID, can I ask why you should avoid circles when wet sanding??? And which directions you prefer or I should do besides the circular motions??

[crank68]

You always sand in straight lines....on boats. You can not get the desired finish with circles.

[redxdu]

You always sand in straight lines....on boats. You can not get the desired finish with circles.

I've always felt like mine turns out well and I just do it whatever random way my arm is still able to after hours of it. I guess I'll have to try to test it next time.

The last step is done with a buffing pad... that goes in circles...

[crank68]

I do it for a living and I promise u on a boat the best finish is hand sanding in straight lines. The buffer is not doin a lot of cutting. It’s doin more polishing with a compound product...look at my website at the before and afters. There is also a boat detailing thread on the NC page with my work on it. We’ll use a DA on a few big saltwater and cigarette type boats and even with that the results are not as good as sanding by hand...in straight lines.

[redxdu]

Alright. I'm in. I have a boat that's about 2/3 done right now. When I get back to it I'll try going with straight back and forth and see if I can find a difference between it and what I've already done.

[cosmo6345]

Long straight horizontal lines that run with the top cap or short vertical lines?

[tanker4lyfe]

I have long vertical lines that run with top cap.