Boat detailing?

F

Flexin

New member
I have a guy that wants me to detail his boat. Its about 18' I guess and its dull. He wanted me to buff it. I gave him a price and he was fine with it. Now I guess he called the shop saying that he was talking to some guys that know boats and that I should wet sand this whole boat to bring out the color more? Is this true? I know how to wet sand but I don't feel like wetsanding that damn boat.



James
 
I would go with a rotary, a wool cutting pad, and a heavy cut product. Boats have a thick gel coat, so you should not worry about burning through it. You could follow the wool pad and heavy cut product with a foam finishing pad and a light cut product. I think wet sanding is a bit too much, and would probably take forever to accomplish.
 
brwill2005 said:
I would go with a rotary, a wool cutting pad, and a heavy cut product. Boats have a thick gel coat, so you should not worry about burning through it. You could follow the wool pad and heavy cut product with a foam finishing pad and a light cut product. I think wet sanding is a bit too much, and would probably take forever to accomplish.
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Thats what I was thinking. I still haven't talked to him yet but I will see what happens.



James
 
Yeah, don't bother to sand the boat. If its dull, a heavy oxidation remover might work. I'd consider trying one of Meg's stronger chemical boat polishes, before using an abrasive. Follow that with a light cut abrasive (OCP :)), via white foam pad.
 
Meguiars has some really good heavy duty gel coat specific polishes and compounds, they should do the trick.



If the boat really is so bad that you need to wetsand, definitely re-negotiate the price.
 
Keep in mind that older boats that are dull and oxidized require a lot more individual steps with regard to cleaning, polishing and waxing. That means that you will usually have to spend a lot more time and you will usually need to charge the customer a lot more money. The problem is, sometimes the owner of an older boat is somewhat reluctant to spend the money necessary so that you can devote the necessary time required to do the job right.



Personally, I would walk away from any boat that contains a dull oxidized surface. To me, it's basically a sure sign of neglect and it certainly tells me that the owner never really cared much about maintaining the appearance of their boat. I would much rather seek out those owners who take pride in the way their boat has been taken care of.
 
I'll get a better look at it today I think. He is going to drop it off. He is cleaning it up to sell.



James
 
Here is the boat and a spot with AIO.



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James
 
Of he hundred or so boats that i ahve done this year, that one looks pretty bad. Red gelcoat is deinatly the worst, followed clsly by blue and black. It just qxidizes fast and deep. The tru best fix for that is a wool cutting pad, or even a foam cuting pad, with 3M Super Duty compound. Work it fast and pretty hot, and you will be left with an amazing surface. I typically will follow that straight up with 3m's light cut cleaner wax on a rotary with a cuting pad, foam. that leaves he surface pretty shined and protected. any spots that you cant get of by machine, try using "Roll Off" It will work wonders. In fact i would wash the whole boat with it first inorder to get the oxidation loosened up and thinned out.



If you want a real good outline on how to do it, PM me your phone number, and i will give you a call, and spit out as many pointers as i can. Boats are a whole different world, and must be treated as such!



good luck

Mike
 
Sorry to go off-topic but can you use the same products on boats as you do automobiles? I am starting my own business and it would be nice to add boat customers but I dont think I want to buy all new supplies to do a few boats. Thanks
 
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