Gelcoat - How do I get a high gloss shine

[wet-foot]

I've wet sanded down to 1500 grit and used automotive polishing compound to gloss it up. Is there a better system to get a high gloss shine on gelcoat?

[fiberglass jack]

get aqua buff compound its made for gel ,sand 800 and then use aquabuff 1000 followed with aquabuff 2000

[wet-foot]

I have a 7" air driven polisher, believe the rpm to be about 2500 as recommended, are the electric ones better?
What do you use for pads?
What are the steps to get it to a high gloss shine once the area is sanded out with 800 grit?

[JRL]

Anything that will spin at or above 2500rpm will work with AquaBuff. I cant stress to you enough how well this stuff works. Just make sure you keep your part misted while buffing. If it gets to dry you can scratch your plug/mold with the dried up buffing compound. Just make sure you follow the instructions on the side of the bottle. If you do your part will shine with no problem.

Also, when wet sanding, make sure you clean your mold and change your water everytime you change to a different grit paper.

[wet-foot]

thanks for the info, will pick some up and give it ago!!!!!

[buckknekkid]

10, count em TEN frickin days of blue,,,, then white,,,, then epoxy,,,,now the Interprotect. After 6 gallons Im starting to like Pink Floyd , the fumes produce excellent effects, One more coat and then the anti christ fouling... :D

[buckknekkid]

3 coats

[Deeman]

Wet_Foot, 1500 may still be too rough to polish (easily). I had heavy oxidation/fading in both the black and red. I used upto 2500 grit by hand, then 3M polish and 3M wax with a cheap auto buffer. 2000 and/or 2500 grit wet/dry paper at your commercial auto paint store. Do it wet, using a water spay bottle and don't remove too much gel coat. Be gentle, she's a lady. Wash/wipe before buffing.
Before:
http://eharder.com/Nova%20II/oxidation%201.jpg

After:
http://eharder.com/Nova%20II/oxidation%202.jpg

[fiberglass jack]

ray the rigging shope was selling the interprotect 2000 cheap, white and grey, wetfoot the aqua buff 1000 is like sanding with 1000 cuts fast, work small areas and you will get the hang of it just play with it

[wet-foot]

will give the aqua buff a shot. I can get the glass smooth and shinny, but can't get it to a high gloss with what I'm using now. After Polishing wet do you just buff it out by hand when dry? Jack, is there somewhere in Canada I can order online to compare with US pricing? thx

[fiberglass jack]

http://www.compositescanada.com/ there in missauga there the dealers for aqua buff in toronto, ask for mark

[wet-foot]

Thanks, will see how they compare to US pricing.

[buckknekkid]

had to fill a couple of holes Jack

[fiberglass jack]

just a little to hard, shes looking good Ray, wish I could say the same for my girlfriend

[buckknekkid]

if you look closely there was a spider crack in the rear most bolt hole. Its going together today, then more paint, more anti christ and a lot of soap and water. the wife is banned from the boat until I get the blue dust out.

[wet-foot]

wouldn't want to be the one to polish that big dog!!!!!!

[buckknekkid]

It takes about 4 to 5 hours a side and I have a large Makita buffer but put the wax on with a smaller one. Then we finish it off with a polisher. One weekend every two months or so. Im ust going to apply the anti fouling now and dip it in the water.

[wet-foot]

What method should I use to polish ....... should I use a fine lambs wool buffer keep the surface damp and clean the pad as needed. Then let it dry and buff off the residue with another clean lambs wool pad? Then repeat for the waxing cycle? I ordered some Aqua Buff ...... and really want a showroom shine!

[fiberglass jack]

cotton pad 3m makes a good one, you also want a spur for the pad what you do is spin the pad on low to med and run the spur on the pad yjis will remove build up compound, i just use a wooden stir dtick, lambs wool is to soft for aqua buff snd you will wear out the pad fast

[Frosty]

Well ille just give you my 10cents worth.

I use Formula 1 carnuba car wax, and its made guess where? --America--in a place called ( im reading the bottle in front of me) Manitowoc WI USA ( where the hell is that)

Ive tried 3m from the boat shop and you know what I think its the same stuff at about 1/10 of the price.

Cant be sure of course, but it looks the same,smells the same and tates the same(only kidding).

AND just as bloody good for my slighty oxidised 4 year old gell coat.

[fiberglass jack]

sorry about the bad spelling on the last post too much resin fumes

[wet-foot]

Ordered some aqua buff will have it in about a week ......... anxious to see if I can achieve the high gloss shine.

[fiberglass jack]

who did you order it from

[wet-foot]

Aqua Buff (http://www.aqua-buff.com/)
16 oz of 1000 and 2000 cost 32 us to ship to ND. border town, just an hour away. Even West Systems it simplifies things so much if I bring the goods through customs.

What is the best finishing material for a small plug about .5 cubic feet?
Will only need it once to make a mold. Will aerosol spray paint work or should I stick with gel coat? thx in advance ........ great advice!!!!!:)

[JRL]

Aqua Buff (http://www.aqua-buff.com/)
What is the best finishing material for a small plug about .5 cubic feet?
Will only need it once to make a mold. Will aerosol spray paint work or should I stick with gel coat? thx in advance ........ great advice!!!!!:)

Aerosol will most likely react with the gelcoat that you will be using on your mold. Unless you use PVA as a barrier.

A polyester based primer is what I would use. You can wet sand it and polish it to a mirror shine and it wont react with gelcoat (for obvious reasons).

EDIT: Just finished these today....just to give you an idea of how well this stuff works. They were made the exact way I mentioned above. 1/8" ply wood shaped and then finished the plug with poly primer. Wet sanded and polished. Then pulled a male/female mold. AquaBuff followed by 3M finishing polish.

These are the upper and lower plate molds for a transom I building for my kayak. Sick of all the wind were having in south FL.
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/107K2mold.jpg
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/107K1mold.jpg

[wet-foot]

polyester based primer - what brand do you suggest?
3M finishing polish - my search turned up lots, which one do you use?
What are you using for buffing pads?

If I follow the same steps you suggest above can I get gelcoat to gloss-up like your panels? that's what I'm looking for ....... thx

[JRL]

I use Duratec Surfacing primer. Its dark grey and shows imperfections well.

I knock the orange peel down with 400 grit paper (till all orange peel is gone). Then sand as follows...600, 1000, 1500. Clean paper, water, and tool constantly.

After that I polish it with a 3M 3" wool pad. They are pretty durable, but, Aquabuff will eat them after a few polishing sessions. I use a cheap Astro Pneumatic mini polisher. Its works well.

I mist the part with a spray bottle when the polish begins to get tacky.

I really am not sure of which finishing polish I have from 3M. I never really read the bottle. Its super slick, and stays wet for a long time.

Once your plug is done, its ok if there are still some noticeable sanding mark. They will come out as very small positives on the mold. Keep in mind Im talking really faint sanding marks, not 600 grit size.

From there you sand the surface of your mold with 2000 grit paper and hit it with aquabuff and/or finishing polish. It should shine awesome at that point.

Other things that will help is Duratec clear additive. It will make your primer a little less viscious, and make the primer shine a little better. It also helps reduce surface porosity on your molds surface. Another thing that helps reduce surface porostiy is to spray your first layer of gel very thin. It will let any trapped air during the spraying process come to the surface. If your brushing it on then its not such a big deal.

[fiberglass jack]

Duratec Surfacing primer is the cats ass, sands easy and will polish easy, i find that if you sand it with 600 with a da sander (air) the primer will start to polish , duratec products are made for the mould making indudtry and are the best to save time and the quality is second to non

[wet-foot]

I hear all things good with respect to Duratec, will give it a go.

[JRL]

Duratec Surfacing primer is the cats ass, sands easy and will polish easy, i find that if you sand it with 600 with a da sander (air) the primer will start to polish , duratec products are made for the mould making indudtry and are the best to save time and the quality is second to non
Oh!!!!

Thanks for the tip! Time to hit up my boss for some 600.

By the way Duratec and Aquabuff are made by the same company. They are both a Hawkeye Industries product. Or its the other way around.