I have a compound and polishing question

[Durbijd]

I have a 2002 ranger 520dvx. its a little cloudy on the top has its scratches and whatnot but all in all it is in not bad shape at all. eventually when I get it done more I am going to have wounded rig redo it all fix all the scratches and whatnot but for now I just want to use the meguires 3 step fiberglass restoration kit to get it good clean and smooth again. theres no cracking or anything like that so my question is would you start out with a foam pad for the oxidation compound and polishing or would you use a different material bonnet? I have the meguires d/a attatchment for a drill and a 10" buffing pad. again not necessarily looking for brand new just yet but I want to protect it best I can until I can afford to have it wet sanded and the scratches fixed.

[crank68]

If in fact it does need sanding I wouldn’t waste time buffing. All you will be doin is spreading the dead gel around and it’ll look better for a “short” period of time. You mentioned a foam pad...I would not use that for anything but light buffing when your trying to clean the surface. A wool cutting pad is my choice. Also in most cases a DA type tool will not generate enough heat to burn in the finish. Not sure when you mention a drill if you plan to use that...? I would not.

[Durbijd]

Meguires makes a difference d/a attachment for a battery drill that has compounding pads and polishing and waxing pads that you can use on low speed and guaranteed not to burn the gelcoat. Problem is it is so small it would take just about as long as wet sanding. I've buffed out worse boats than this with the meguires 3 step but not with so much of the metal flake on the top rail is pretty cloudy. Not terribly rough just not shiny.

[crank68]

You will not generate enough pressure and heat to burn the finish in with a drill. It may okay for what you’re trying to do but for my customers you can’t get the finish as perfect as you need to.

[Durbijd]

ok thanks crank. Like I said before I want to take it in to have it professionally refinished that could take a year or two I know that is really expensive. My biggest thing is trying to ceep it clean and to keep it from getting any worse.

[crank68]

I would just wash it and maybe some sealer if the finish isn’t rough to the touch. Spending your time buffing will really not do much at all from a protection stand point. I’ll be glad to give you some idea of what you should pay to get your boat professionally taken care of. Not by me of course. I just hate to see people pay to much....I’ll be glad to help.

[Durbijd]

Ok thanks crank. I got a 2002 ranger 520dvx. I have heard good things about wounded rig. I've got a gouge in the bow too where the previous owner missed the previous owner had missed the roller. So that will need fixed as well as a few other scratches. Also going to need seats recovered and carpet has some burn holes. The boat is useable and fishable as everything mechanically works and the motor only has 250 hours on it. Which is why I bought the boat. I love it. Just figured if I was going to keep it for a very long time which I plan on doing I'd like to make it nice again