Did some Test Spots today. "Yes", I always do a test spot on cars that I buff and certainly do them to boat.
Started with the least aggressive method approach and then finally decided to just test out some wetsanding and get it over with.
The entire boat looks like what you see on the right hand side of this picture AND this is WASHED and DRIED. The oxidation, water spots and stains are on and in the gel-coat.
This is the Rupes Duetto 12mm orbital polisher/sander and Rupes foam backed #3000 grit sanding discs.
g
This section has been
machine sanded, technically called damp sanding because you only use a LITTLE water not a lot of water so it's not WET sanding it's DAMP sanding.
This is after compounding and polishing
This is after machine waxing...
Tools, pads and products...
After doing some testing, sanding is the way to go with this project. As soon as the guys start showing up we'll get a couple of guys going on the sanding step.