Marine 31 Forum - View Single Post - Sign-up: How to Wetsand & Buff a 1960 Glastron Fireflight

Mike Phillips · 07-31-2014, 05:25 PM

***Update***

At the time of this post we are 28 days away from this project, the first of it's type where our forum members are invited to help wetsand, cut and buff an freshly sprayed gel-coat finish on a classic 1960 Glastron.

Pretty cool in my world....

Anyway, Bert from Ship Shape TV picked me up today to go over to John's shop to check out the Glastron and take some pictures.

I think a lot of people probably think a new paint job and in this case a new gel-coat "job" would be pretty SMOOTH after being sprayed and drying but that's simply not the case and that's what we're going to fix.

Orange PeelJust like an automotive paint job will have orange peel, that is a surface textures that looks like the surface of the peel on an orange, the new gel-coat finish also has this same pebble like texture.

This means the finish has ZERO gloss and reflectivity, it's rough to the touch and it also has ZERO D.O.I.

D.O.I. = Distinction of Image

D.O.I. means how well or how clearly a surface reflects an image. A glass mirror has 100% D.O.I. this boat has zero. We're going to fix this issue by machine wetsanding the surface and then cutting and polishing to restore gloss using Marine 31 products.

Here's some pictures I took with my trusty, dusty Canon today...

These are the overhead florescent lights....

Notice how hard it is to SEE the florescent lights reflecting off the bow of the boat?

This is due to the rough, pebbled texture of the freshly sprayed gel-coat. This is NORMAL and this is why fresh gel-coat MUST be sanded and buffed to create a beautiful looking finish on the boat.

Frame-up shot
I'm take a far show of the corner so you can see what I'm photgraphing...

Close-up of the above shot...

Extreme close-up of the above shot --> Notice the rough texture?

This is a chunk of dirt that landed in the fresh, wet gel-coat and then dried there, stuck in the gel-coat.

Here's a boat next to the cap of the Glastron in the above pictures, the sides of the gel-coat on this boat are smooth...

See how images of the ladder reflect off a smooth surface?

The Hull

Well that's the project... we'll be filming Ship Shape TV on Tuesday and if needed Wednesday and then on Thursday we'll be doing the complete project starting at 2:00pm

If you've ever wanted to learn how to,

Machine sand.
Use a rotary buffer.
Use a Flex 3401.
Use a Porter Cable dual action polisher.

Here's your chance!

07-31-2014, 05:25 PM	#42
Mike Phillips Status: Director of Training Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 675	Re: Sign-up: How to Wetsand & Buff a 1960 Glastron Fireflight *Update* At the time of this post we are 28 days away from this project, the first of it's type where our forum members are invited to help wetsand, cut and buff an freshly sprayed gel-coat finish on a classic 1960 Glastron. *Pretty cool in my world....* Anyway, Bert from Ship Shape TV picked me up today to go over to John's shop to check out the Glastron and take some pictures. I think a lot of people probably think a new paint job and in this case a new gel-coat "job" would be pretty SMOOTH after being sprayed and drying but that's simply not the case and that's what we're going to fix. Orange PeelJust like an automotive paint job will have orange peel, that is a surface textures that looks like the surface of the peel on an orange, the new gel-coat finish also has this same pebble like texture. This means the finish has ZERO gloss and reflectivity, it's rough to the touch and it also has ZERO D.O.I. D.O.I. = Distinction of Image D.O.I. means how well or how clearly a surface reflects an image. A glass mirror has 100% D.O.I. this boat has zero. We're going to fix this issue by machine wetsanding the surface and then cutting and polishing to restore gloss using Marine 31 products. Here's some pictures I took with my trusty, dusty Canon today... These are the overhead florescent lights.... Notice how hard it is to SEE the florescent lights reflecting off the bow of the boat? This is due to the rough, pebbled texture of the freshly sprayed gel-coat. This is NORMAL and this is why fresh gel-coat MUST be sanded and buffed to create a beautiful looking finish on the boat. Frame-up shot I'm take a far show of the corner so you can see what I'm photgraphing... Close-up of the above shot... Extreme close-up of the above shot --> Notice the rough texture? This is a chunk of dirt that landed in the fresh, wet gel-coat and then dried there, stuck in the gel-coat. Here's a boat next to the cap of the Glastron in the above pictures, the sides of the gel-coat on this boat are smooth... See how images of the ladder reflect off a smooth surface? The Hull Well that's the project... we'll be filming Ship Shape TV on Tuesday and if needed Wednesday and then on Thursday we'll be doing the complete project starting at 2:00pm If you've ever wanted to learn how to, Machine sand. Use a rotary buffer. Use a Flex 3401. Use a Porter Cable dual action polisher. Here's your chance! __________________ Made by boat people for boat people...