Heavy Oxidation Removal

[Davester]

We purchased a 1999 Carver 356 Aft Cabin that has heavy oxidation on one side. The boat sat in an end covered slip.

Unfortunately, being on the end one side of the boat saw a lot of sun and elements over the years and the previous owners didn't do a lot of upkeep. I have tried the Lake Country Yellow CCS Pad on my Porter Cable DA with the Marine 31 Heavy-Cut Oxidation Cleaner but it just won't cut the oxidation, it still has dull/hazy spots.

Here is my new plan:

Use a rotary buffer with a wool pad and the Marine 31 Heavy-Cut Oxidation Cleaner.
Follow that with Marine 31 Gel Coat Gloss & Color Restorer with a LC Orange CCS pad on my DA.
Then use a LC White CCS Pad and Marine 31 Gel Coat Final Step Polish with my DA and then use the Marine 31 wax.

Here's my questions:

Will the Lake Country 1" Foamed Wool Pad cut as well as the regular wool pads?

My other question is do you still need to use the spur while using the foamed wool pad?

:)

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Dave,

Welcome to Marine31Online.com :welcome:





We purchased a 1999 Carver 356 Aft Cabin that has heavy oxidation on one side. The boat sat in an end covered slip. Unfortunately, being on the end one side of the boat saw a lot of sun and elements over the years and the previous owners didn't do a lot of upkeep.

I have tried the Lake Country Yellow CCS Pad on my Porter Cable DA with the Marine 31 Heavy-Cut Oxidation Cleaner but it just won't cut the oxidation, it still has dull/hazy spots.



Sounds about right... weathered, oxidized gel-coat is going to require some aggressive products and when we talk "products" that includes both liquids and your application material i.e. wool cutting pads on rotary buffers.

Your boat looks like this, right?

http://www.marine31online.com/gallery/data/510/1999_Carver_356_Aft_Cabin_002.jpg

http://www.marine31online.com/gallery/data/510/1999_Carver_356_Aft_Cabin_001.jpg





Here is my new plan:

Use a rotary buffer with a wool pad and the Marine 31 Heavy-Cut Oxidation Cleaner.

Follow that with Marine 31 Gel Coat Gloss & Color Restorer with a LC Orange CCS pad on my DA.

Then use a LC White CCS Pad and Marine 31 Gel Coat Final Step Polish with my DA and then use the Marine 31 wax.



Before going to your questions, just a comment about your current plan...

After you cut the oxidation off using a wool cutting pad with the heavy cut oxidation remover, if it were me I'd probably try to go to the Marine 31 Final Step Polish with a wool finishing or wool polishing pad on the rotary.

Gel-coats like fiber pads for heavy correction work more than they like foam. I know on paper, or on cyber paper, (this forum), switching to foam always seems like the next best step in the process but while foam pads will clean up the heavy swirls left by a wool cutting pad and an aggressive compound, it tends to also leave the gel-coat dull while a wool pad using the same product with the same tool will leave a high shine, high gloss finish.

This is a simple enough test to do yourself. After the compounding step the gel-coat should look very shiny with excellent gloss. You might also see hashing or hash marks, that is areas where you can visibly see swirls in the gel-coat finish from the heavy cutting step. This is normal but the gloss and shine will still be there and that was the goal, remove the dull chalky, textured surface and replace it with a smooth, clear, glossy high shine surface.

The next step is to refined the first step and while foam can and will remove the swirls or cuts in the finish by the wool cutting pads and the aggressive compound, (that's a good thing), it can and will tend to leave the gel-coat surface dull, not clear and shiny. This is just a characteristic of gel-coats.

So I would suggest,

Step 1: Compound with wool pad on rotary buffer.

Step 2: Polish with wool polishing or finishing pad or Purple Foamed Wool pad on rotary buffer.

Step 3: Seal the gel-coat by machine waxing with the dual action polisher and a foam pad.





Here's my questions:

Will the Lake Country 1" Foamed Wool Pad cut as well as the regular wool pads?



No. The PFW is less aggressive than a true wool cutting pad. There are all types of wool pads, some are very aggressive and some are very non-aggressive. The most aggressive wool pads are the 100% wool, 4 ply twisted wool pads.

Blends are less aggressive, like a 50% wool, 50 acrylic pad.

The the fibers of the Purple Foamed Wool pads are encapsulated with foam particles and this decreases the aggressiveness of the pad. They still cut better and faster than a foam pad due to offering individual fibers that will cut just like individual abrasive particles, but the are a lot less aggressive than a true wool cutting pad.





My other question is do you still need to use the spur while using the foamed wool pad?

:)


Yes. You can clean a PFW using a traditional steel wool pad cleaning spur.


In order of most aggressive to least aggressive...

8.5" Wool Cutting Pad (http://www.marine31.com/wocupad8.html) - Part Number LC-41-125


Here's a wool polishing pad, a lot less aggressive than a wool cutting pad.


8.5" Wool Polishing Pad (http://www.marine31.com/wopopad8.html) - Part Number LC-41-725


And here's a 7.5" Purple Foamed Wool Pad

7.5 inch Foamed Wool Polishing Pad (http://www.marine31.com/foamed-wool-7-5-inch-polishing-buffing-pad.html) - Part Number LC-58-4275



:)

[Davester]

That's exactly what my boat looks like. Thanks for the advice. i am going to use the heavy cut and polishing wool pads. New wool pads have been ordered.

[Davester]

One more question Mike. What RPMs do you recommend running the cutting and polishing wool pads at?

[professionalpolishing]

Low and slow

[Interactive]

Low and slow

Isn't that the same direction for smoking brisket? :yes:

[Davester]

I just hope nothing starts smoking when I start running my orbital on the boat.

[Mike Phillips]

One more question Mike. What RPMs do you recommend running the cutting and polishing wool pads at?


A normal range for compounding oxidized gel-coat is 1000 RPM to 1500 RPM.

Sometimes when using the Flex PE14 or the DeWALT 849X I'll even buff at 600 RPM, that's low and slow.


:)