hey nick!! i know this is an older post but im sure someone may need this for future questions...
the boat looks great in the pictures. i really like the style...(you know what i have lol)
as far as wet sanding and polishing, gel coat is REALLY hard to burn. paint is a different sport all together. if you really want to get any oxidation out and make that baby glimmer, you need to run over the whole thing with 2000-2300 grit wet sand paper.
instructions in the the best words i can manage...
first thing i always do when detailing a car, truck or boat is wash it. i don't just was it with car soap, i wash it with dish soap and hot water. make sure you get it as clean as possible. the reason for the dish soap is it cut the existing wax off the surface. this makes the sanding easier. you can leave the boat wet...
then,
take a bucket and put about a gallon or so of water along with just a few drops of window cleaner in it. the window cleaner is to lubricate...you want the stuff you by in a bottle like Windex...not the wiper wash stuff. at the same time put the sand paper in the bucket...best to cut to the right size before it gets all wet. another trick i like if you have it is to keep the boat dry and use the foaming window cleaner. this method works best on small areas...doing a whole boat would be a little difficult.
with a wet sanding sponge and a water hose near by...get you sand paper and wrap it around the sponge. work from one area and continue starting from one side all the way around making sure you don't miss areas by jumping from one are to the next. lightly sand, making sure to keep the pad wet. after doing a small area grab the hose and clean it off. try to keep it even but if its not perfect its not a big deal...when you polish it will come right out.
the whole reason to sand is to remove the dirt and oxidation that gets trapped on the surface. using a clay bar would give the same effect but i like this method allot more. plus this "cuts" the top level reducing any surface blemishes if any. after you have done all of the area that you are worried about wash the boat again with the dish soap and warm water. then dry the whole thing.
there are 1000's of different brands and types of polish out there...there are only a few that i would recommend. before i get into the brand names, i am going to take a sec to explain why. silicon. this is a chemical found in most waxes and polishes. i hate this stuff. it will make your boat or auto shine nice but its because its greasy. it doesn't allow the user to really see what is going on on the surface. i have seen too many cars driving down the road with crazy swirls all over the damn thing and this is the cause of it. after you polish with, for an example, "auto magic" brand polish, it looks great. but, wash it a few times and the silicon washes away with it exposing all of the swirls it was hiding. im sure this is something you don't want. in some cases its necessary but i detailed exotic cars for 4 years. if you owed a Ferrari or a Porsche, i would imagine you would throw a fit if your car looked like crap a few weeks later.
now on to the good stuff...
3M and miquires professional. hands down winners.
i personaly like the 3M but it is a little messy...(lots of powder)
i would start out with the 3M rubbing compound or the miguires heavy cut cleaner and a white wool pad.
if the buffer speed dial goes from 1-5...i would do like a 3-3.5 for this. maybe slower if it a tight area around the gas fill or something
put some polish on the surface...while starting in a small area...work the polish into the paint. go up down left right and around...work it until the polish clears itself. then continue on. when it clears you should not be able to see any of the sanding marks but instead a ton of little tiny swirl scratches. if you see sanding marks you need to work it more. do that for the entire area you want to work on.
every once in a while run a screw driver or something like it through the pad to clear out the old polish.
inspect your work and do any areas not completed.
then i would move to the white foam pad and 3M swirl remover or miguires swirl mark remover.
for this your going to have to just get a feel for it. everyone thinks that the wool pad gets hotter but that is 100% incorrect!! the foam does. i would start at like a 2 and go from there. there are times i buff at 1 and times a buff at 4. its all up to your feel for the area your working on. it wont be hard to figure out. feel the area to see how hot its getting..."if its too hot to touch, then it too hot to buff." try to do it on a cool day for all you so-cal'ers
since gel coat is so hard, swirl marks from the foam pad are not likely...if there are i would bet you didnt buff enough to clear all the little swirls from the wool pad. buff the same way and make sure you clear your area and examine your work carefully. i usually find about 10 spots that i need to tune into after i get all done. DO NOT WAX THE BOAT TO EXAMINE YOUR WORK!!!! waxing the boat will hide all of the stuff you need to see! use a micro fiber and glass cleaner.
after you are completely done and are satisfied with the job, then you can wax. for this i recommend miquires #27 wax. its really expensive but its awesome stuff. the best i have ever used. it comes in liquid and a paste. i recommend the paste...it helps regulate the amount you apply so you dont do too much. after waxing the entire boat, use BRAND NEW micro fiber towels to remove the wax. cosco sells a bag of 24 for like 20 bucks. best deal on the planet! they are normally about 3 bucks a pop.
i hope this helps anyone and especially you nick...if you or anyone needs any advice feel free to pm me and we can exchange numbers and ill do my best to walk you though any hurtle in your path. its really quite simple but be prepared to spend an entire day to do it right. it is time consuming but if you were to pay for a detailer who can do it right, with the products mentioned above, expect to pay 500-700$$ and it would be worth it.
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mike
