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Old 09-06-2016, 11:23 AM   #2
Mike Phillips
 
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Status: Director of Training
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 675
Default Re: Blotches and odd pacthes

Quote:
Originally Posted by BlitzDetailing View Post
I did a 40 foot SeaRay recently and there were areas on the gel that would not clean up. I tried compounds, Buff magic, wool pads, foam pads and no matter what the gel didnt clear up.

Anyone else ever have this happen? I suspect it might be a heavily oxidized area and might require a good wet sanding.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts

Getting blotchy, hazy or dull sections is usually a sign of one of two things and usually both.

1: Not all the oxidized gel-coat is removed in an uniform manner over the surface.

2. The compound/pad and process isn't leaving a glossy finish.



When buffing out LARGE surface areas any sections that are not as clear and glossy as other sections tend to stand out like a sore thumb just due to the fact that MORE of the surface area can be seen.

Buff Magic has some very aggressive compounds in their line that do what they are supposed to do and that is cut aggressively. The issue aggressive compounds don't tend to leave the clearest, glossiest results. To create maximum gloss and clarity these aggressive products and aggressive steps need to be followed with less aggressive products (that also work great).


I've found when oxidation is severe, it's faster and more effective, (that's two things), to machine sand the gel-coat and then compound with a wool pad and rotary buffer to remove the sanding marks.


I'd suggest re-buffing a section that is blotchy looking and see if more compounding, or if wetsanding followed by compounding gets the finish to clear and glossy. This would be a type of troubleshooting.


If more buffing and/or sanding and more buffing doesn't get a blotchy or dull area to clear and glossy then I'd suggest trying a different compound.


I'd suggest this product

http://www.autogeek.net/best-boat-compound-polish.html

I'd put the Captain's Compound up against any compound on the market for finishing out to a high gloss finish. It's not going to be as aggressive as some marine compounds but it's still a great cutting compound that also leaves a polishing looking finish.

I strongly recommend it all the way through my boat detailing how-to book and it's also the product I choose to use in our boat detailing classes.

The pictures of the white gel-coat boat on the webpage for this product are from this project...


Pictures: 1960 Glastron - Wetsand, Cut & Buff at Marine31Online.com


Process

Hand sanding
Machine sanding
Compounding with wool pads <--Captains Compound
Compounding with foam pads <--Captains Compound
Machine applied sealant


I was there and the results were exactly as the picture show. I took the pictures too.



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