Clear coat after sanding?

[Jstokes1987]

Hey guys I bought my first boat last year which happened to be a 1997 champion 186. The gel coat was oxidized very badly so I have been doing a lot of wet sanding by hand and have gotten quite a bit of the oxidation out but feel I still have a lot more to do. My question is after I finish all the sanding and polishing should I be clear coating it? If so will spray can clear coat be ok? I’ve included a pic which shows the oxidation vs what has been sanded and polished. Thanks

[cajun94]

Im interested in this too as I should be doing the same ting soon.

[Bruce2]

I would buff it out after sanding and then polish it as long as you didn't go thru the clear coat you should be fine..the best product i have found for restoring the boat finish is Pro tech and they are a sponsor here in BBC. Also you can NOT USE automotive clear coat on it as it won't stay on and will peel off in a short time. This is the kit...

http://protecproducts.com/protec-pro...-care-kit.html

[Jstokes1987]

I would buff it out after sanding and then polish it as long as you didn't go thru the clear coat you should be fine..the best product i have found for restoring the boat finish is Pro tech and they are a sponsor here in BBC. Also you can NOT USE automotive clear coat on it as it won't stay on and will peel off in a short time. This is the kit...

http://protecproducts.com/protec-pro...-care-kit.html

Thanks for the tip, I will definitely be picking up some of those products

[JohnnyO]

There is a thread with regard to bass boat restoring which includes oxidation oxidation, "Crank" should be by to give some info. With the head way you made I would now treat the fiberglass and wax, be careful with the wet sanding, looks great.

Auto clear coat will not hold up on gel-coat.

[jarhead175]

Wet sand, clean, and reseal with a high quality wax. Do not clear coat it will not last and when it starts coming off it looks terrible.

[Jstokes1987]

Thanks for all the info guys. When you say reseal will the sealant polish from protec do the trick or will I need something else?

[pmgoffjr]

There is no auto clear you can spray that will last a year. Then you’ll have a disgusting peeling mess you can’t do anything with.
Sand, compound, and polish then use the protec. Then go fishing.

[DixieChicken]

Looking good. You're a more patient man than me.

Although with it buffing out that well, are you sure wet sanding was in order? Trying a good 2-step compounding, then finer polishing with something like a Flex 3401 (gear driven DA) and working out the pad selection it'd likely come out really nice. Of course a small rotary, like the Flex PE-8 where you can use 1", 2", 3" pads comes in darned handy working on tight spaces. Thing is, the 3401 (being gear driven) can be stood up on the edge without stopping rotation and really does get into areas where other DA style buffers just can't do.

Does look great though!

[Jstokes1987]

Looking good. You're a more patient man than me.

Although with it buffing out that well, are you sure wet sanding was in order? Trying a good 2-step compounding, then finer polishing with something like a Flex 3401 (gear driven DA) and working out the pad selection it'd likely come out really nice. Of course a small rotary, like the Flex PE-8 where you can use 1", 2", 3" pads comes in darned handy working on tight spaces. Thing is, the 3401 (being gear driven) can be stood up on the edge without stopping rotation and really does get into areas where other DA style buffers just can't do.

Does look great though!

thamk you! That was after sanding through 4 grits starting at 1000 and working my way up to 2500. Took me 3 days per side and I still feel I could do more, not to mention all the nooks and crannies I still need to get to. It has been a very labor intensive job to say the least.

[ChampioNman]

This info probably is to late for you but, if you have an air compressor, Harbor Freight makes an air powered water sander that uses velcro attached wet/dry sand paper. Works great and you don't get Popeye arms. Great job so far.

[Jstokes1987]

This info probably is to late for you but, if you have an air compressor, Harbor Freight makes an air powered water sander that uses velcro attached wet/dry sand paper. Works great and you don't get Popeye arms. Great job so far.

Thanks but the popeye arms is what I was going for lol. That’s one of the reasons it has taken so long because my arms and hands get so wore out I have to take a break for a day. The tool you speak of would have definitely sped up the process. As soon as I get a sunny day I’ll pull the bot out and take some more pics of the progress.

[TOUCH OF CLASS]

You can spray automotive clear on a boat ,there are steps in doing it right to make it last .We have done them and still lasting after 10 years.Just like painting anything you have to do the prep work.

[pmgoffjr]

You can spray automotive clear on a boat ,there are steps in doing it right to make it last .We have done them and still lasting after 10 years.Just like painting anything you have to do the prep work.

Please enlighten us on this. I’ve seen emron shot a few times with what the owner did the prep work exactly as they were instructed. Never lasted a year.

[jarhead175]

Been around boats for 30+ years and I have never seen one last more then a year even shot by "pros". Ugly mess when they come apart.

[pmgoffjr]

The problem when you throw out "yeah it works fine" and not give the secret black magic cure, someone here will read that and go buy a quart of clear and be very disappointed in the results. It's not the two or three that respond, it's the six hundred who don't.

"I read it on the internet, so it must be true"

[TOUCH OF CLASS]

Pat this is what I do for a living paint paint paint have repaired over 30,000cars ,trucks over 5000 car vettes from early 60’s to 2017.
Worked for the largest automotive paint company in the USA ,Germany and in Britain for over 30 years.Trained a lot of so called painters and trained guys that were great painters.We repair boats cars ,trucks ,planes ,boats and yes trains even though it was a miniature one.Have won best of show corvette world won many shows on best paint.We have even made our own molds for vette parts and have sprayed gel coats a few 100 times.Yes I have experience in automotive /marine paints and procedures.
Now back to your question it’s all in the prep of the surface and the product you use .No difference in painting a corvette from the 60s-70s to painting a camper/cap shell for a truck to 100,000 Baja to a 500,000 motorhome.Prep is where the difference lies,fiberglass is fiberglass.On a side note have a I ever screwed up painting ?yes hundreds of times ,you learn not to do that again.

[Sports1]

What “specifically” do you do in your prep work to make it last?

[TOUCH OF CLASS]

Sand ,sand,sand 220,320,500 wax and grease remover and a water born cleaner like super clean ,awesome,are your friend.Gel coat has a lot of wax just from the mold and than you get into many years of guys waxing the crap out of it.Gel coat is porse and likes to soak up things.Heres your other problem does it need metal flake reapplied or does it need to just be peeped for clear coat?The other issue is automotive clear coat is not all equal ,the shit you buy from eBay that says 5 Star ,or premium clear or what ever is junk it has no UV protection in it.Premium clear coat is expensive 250 to 500 a gal and most boats are worth 3500 and when you tell a guy 10,000 to redo his 3500 boat he says no thanks and that is where we get into a problem he or the shop buys the cheap shit for 40 bucks a gal and bingo it last about 1-2 years in the sun.Good news is it was cheap!

[Sports1]

Sounds like it would be easier, just as effective, and less expensive to just go with protec for his boat.