www.iFourWinns.com

Boat looks great!.... I know it is very hard to keep dark color hull clean and shine..... Anyway look us up if you are heading to 1000 Island next year

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08 H260 VP 8.1Gi DP.....Previous
2013 Crownline E6 Merc 8.2MAG BIIIX, DTS/SC

Blue dragon,

Would you recommend your process on a black hull? Do you end up with swirl marks at all?

Thanks

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Current Boats:
2012 FW H260, 8.2 B3X (DTS) "Ctrl-Alt-Delete"
Previous Boats:
1984 Century 5000, Merc 260 Alpha 1
2012 Yamaha VXR

Kansas City, MO

My hull is pretty dark, not black, but it would show any swirl marks. At the end of the 2000 grit wetsanding, there were still swirls that would show up under the right lighting angle. After polishing with the finesse, they were gone.

I even found out that I used the wrong finesse, there is one specifically for fiberglass. This is the one you should use

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/e ... RWDR9GD5bl

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2011 SL242 5.7 VP GXi - 320 HP Dual Prop

The way 3M packages things, I'd bet you $100 they're the same product.

Edit - well, not quite. I compared the MSDS of the two products. The amounts of water and abrasive (aluminum oxide) are identical. The solvents are a bit different, the marine version containing more of a mix of different solvents. I would guess that's to change the lubricating/washing properties when used on get coat. I'm not a chemist but I don't think either of them contain any wax or silicone.

Bottom line, we already know one of them works very well.

Edit again - wrong again. The non-marine version does contain 7% DECAMETHYLCYCLOPENTASILOXANE, which is a form of silicone. If you were using this on an automotive finish, this would be an important thing to know. For some of the more esoteric woodworkers who might use it as part of a multi-step finishing approach, it would be a definite no-no. For gel coat, it shouldn't hurt a thing.

Good thing I don't have $100.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Mike, You're cracking me up. Thanks for the "edits". lol

I'll use the marine glaze version as my step one, and marine yellow wax as my step two. I don't need to do any wet sanding since I was lucky enough to not scratch it up. I simply have a lot of swirl marks from washing the boat.

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Current Boats:
2012 FW H260, 8.2 B3X (DTS) "Ctrl-Alt-Delete"
Previous Boats:
1984 Century 5000, Merc 260 Alpha 1
2012 Yamaha VXR

Kansas City, MO

How much do you charge?

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Walter

2003 248 Vista - VP 5.0 GXi
2009 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7L 4x4

Oh, give it time...

This thread has gotten me off the fence on a couple of things too. I've got a quart of the marine version on order - it's actually $2.00 cheaper than the "automotive" version - go figure. And ever since Cap'n Morgan recommended this, I've had it in my shopping cart. That was like 3 years ago. (After 8 years following his posts, he still teaches me something just about every time he posts.) I've held off because of the risks with a circular, but now I've got a couple of projects that I'll never get done without it. It arrived yesterday and it's everything he said it was and more. It's the Porter Cable of the circular world. First project will be polishing my headlights.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Nice work Blue.

I use a Makita polisher and have way too many different pads and polishes. I have a used SeaDoo that I was able to "practice" on. It has a black hull and I have sanded and polished parts of it to within an inch of its life.

For those of you who would like to try machine polishing, be assured that it is VERY hard to burn the finish. I have not even come close, my arms get tired first. The Shurhold DA polisher was my first machine and it's ok for light polishing and waxing. The DA design makes it impossible to apply too much pressure.

For wet sanding I try not to use anything coarser than 1500. Finish with 3000 then light compound and polish.

Oh, and use a face shield to keep from slinging product on your glasses.

Greg

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2008 210SS 6.2L DTS Bravo 1 Now featuring MercMonitor w/SmartTow