Misadventures Spiffying Up My Boat-gctid368819

[Guest]

First Off: Happy Easter everyone Hopes that you all have a wonderful day with family and friends

Oh man , oh man,,,,,,,what destruction I have wrought!

I have been focused on trying to make the outside of my boat more pleasing to the eye. Tons of marks, dings, scratches, ripped pinstriping and a dull, chalky finish. Sounds nice doesn't it?,,,,,don'tcha just want to buy it after reading that description?

I had ordered a heat gun for the pinstriping prior, going to remove every inch of it. But first I started on the marks, no amount of cleaning would make them go away and so I wet-sanded,,,,and it worked! Wow, I must have sanded off 500 ugly marks and all was looking terrific! I quit for the night very pleased! But the next morning the light had changed and I could see every single spot where I had sanded - the surface was totally inconsistent. So I figured that I would have to wet sand the entire boat. Okay, I can deal with that but I figured that I may as well remove the pinstriping first.

Removing it was supposed to be easy w/the heat gun and it wasn't too bad except now all of the glue was left behind. Tried a putty knife: no that didn't work. Tried a razor blade, nope doing damage with that. Mineral spirits, brake fluid, goof-off, adhesive remover - no way. So then I hit on rubbing compound on my cheesy buffer (el cheapo model) and slowly that did work! SCORE!

SO I now try for the wide pinstriping and that is super resistant to the heat gun as it is very thick and I get discouraged and go inside. SOme guy on youtube is using Easy OFF oven cleaner and it looks soooooo easy that I run out and buy 4 cans. Rushing over to the boat I spray a 4' section - give it 5 mins - and expect it to work magically, just like on youtube.......WRONG !

So my boat now sits with pinstriping partially off, glue in many places and all of these damn swirls scattered around wherever I wet-sanded.

APPARENTLY I am trying to match my Butt Ugly Dinghy here by further destroying the appearance of my boat! AARRRGGGHHHHH

And so now I see this groovy looking "Strip Off Wheel" from 3M that attaches to a drill,,,,,,,so I suppose that I will order that next......

UGH,,,,,,,,WHAT HAVE I DONE ???

Just shoot me now......:bang-

Sarah

[Guest]

3m wheel will work but be careful not to get the hull to hot and make sure there is no acrylic paint underneath the stickers, also a rag soaked in grease and wax remover will remove the glue and wont hurt the hull.grease and wax remover is available anywhere that sell automotive paints.

[Guest]

OZDAVE wrote:
3m wheel will work but be careful not to get the hull to hot and make sure there is no acrylic paint underneath the stickers, also a rag soaked in grease and wax remover will remove the glue and wont hurt the hull.grease and wax remover is available anywhere that sell automotive paints.

Thanks for the tip, Mate!

I will give it a try!

[Guest]

Sarah, don't be discouraged.

The wet sanding is a useful tool, but be careful. There is only so much gell coat available before it is gone.

My experience is that feeling the surface w/ the palm of the hand (last Sunday would have been better for that task) is the best way to determine if the surface is smooth, both for wet sanding and for polishing. As you've described, lighting is not controlled and almost never optimum.

When I wet sand to remove problems, like blemishes or surfaces at different heights due to removal of decals I am very cautious. I have sandpaper from 600 to 2,000. I start out w/ the finer grits to see if those will work and continue progressing to more coarse until I find the required grit. I then progress back up to 2,000.

Remember that the "ghost decal" cannot be removed by wet sanding or by polishing. The "ghost decal" exists because gell coat fades dark. The boat needs time in the sun and it will disappear.

When I polish I use a coarse wheel and a fine wheel w/ compound through polish. Large motions and all is good.

[Guest]

Unfortunately, there isn't a "majic tool or solution" that cures all. If there was, I would be offering to sell it to you. From experience, it takes lots of hard work (elbow grease) and patience. I have always started with the least agressive compound or method and progressively worked to a more agressive method in trying to cure scratches, marks, and decal removal. I still find it amazing what a good wool buffing pad on a good rotary buffer with the compound of your choice (my favorite is Buff-Magic - because the abrasive breaks down into a polishing compound as you work it - it is forgiving). I have pulled decals off, used goof-off/acetone/etc to try to remove the adhesive and ended up buffing the remaining adhesive off with Buff-Magic.

I then go back over the surface as a last step with Starbrite Marine Polish with PFT for the final shine.

I am not trying to start a buffing/polishing thread (Lord knows there are plenty of them already out there!). Just how I have approached the challenges that Sarah is currently facing.

[Guest]

When I was removing some decals and blemishes from my boat I had no problem getting to the bare gell coat w/ rubbing compound and the coarse version of this wheel.

Do NOT use a wheel in a drill on the large flat surfaces on your boat. It will never be flat again and that new problem will look horrible.

[Guest]

wingless wrote:
When I was removing some decals and blemishes from my boat I had no problem getting to the bare gell coat w/ rubbing compound and the coarse version of this wheel.

Do NOT use a wheel in a drill on the large flat surfaces on your boat. It will never be flat again and that new problem will look horrible.

Good advice - when I was refering to a wheel, I meant a quality wool buffing pad affixed to a rotary buffer.

[FISHIN00]

Sarah...been there and done that with my other boats. Part of your problem is that you are doing all this stuff in coldler weather. When I lived in the UP of Michigan I had a 68 Starcraft Arrow..As soon as the snow started meltling ,I'd dig it out, and attempt to do the same things you are. I always had to wait until the Temps got into the 60-70's or higher to get any decent results. My current boat has pinstripe issues as well,I'm going to wait until this summer 90's+ as the hull will be warm and the glue and pinstripping will be soft. I have a stain on my front deck from a oak leave that got under the cover,I've tried everything,I just gave up...I call it a "beauty mark". You will probally have to compound the whole boat then rewax with a couple of coats. With the Passion you have for your boat, I'm sure everything will turn out allright!

[FISHIN00]

DaFish wrote:
Good advice - when I was refering to a wheel, I meant a quality wool buffing pad affixed to a rotary buffer.

Sarah....use the rotary buffer at LOW speed to apply the polishes,use your orbital buffer to take it off!

[Guest]

look at these ,they work

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Marine/Home/Products/Catalog/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20S4K7000000_nid=BZVN4V5PK4beRJ5GMFSMV0gl

[Guest]

Thanks guys,,,,know that I haven't given up,,,I'm just PO'd and I can barely lift my arms today!

I have 21 ppl coming over for Easter dinner and I don't know how I will ever put my 22lb turkey in the oven

And Dave, it was 41F and windy y'day and all week long so you are probably right on the money here.

I am going to purchase some more items and get back at it next w'end (most of 'em you guys have listed below)

Thanks for letting me cry on your shoulders! I am beginning to wonder what I once did with all of my free time & extra money before I bought this DAMN BOAT !!!

Have a wonderful Easter everyone

Sarah

[Guest]

Sarah,

3M makes a spray on decal remover and a general adhesive remover which both work very well. Any auto body supply store should have both of them. Good Luck

[Guest]

LazyCrusr wrote:
I have 21 ppl coming over for Easter dinner and I don't know how I will ever put my 22lb turkey in the oven

Bring them to the boat after dinner and put 'em to work. Lots of hands makes small work, or at least that's what the fortune cookie from last night said...

My experience is that I need to use a stick to beat away all the guests I take-out during the season when it comes time to paint the bottom.

[dmcb]

wingless wrote:
Bring them to the boat after dinner and put 'em to work. Lots of hands makes small work, or at least that's what the fortune cookie from last night said...

My experience is that I need to use a stick to beat away all the guests I take-out during the season when it comes time to paint the bottom.

What he really means is he needs a sheep dog to round them up and a stick to beat them into working.

A place that sells auto body supplies is a good friend here. They deal with this stuff all the time and have what it takes to remove decals and stripes.

[Guest]

Sarah,

For the glue residue, I use Goof Off. It will remove any ax you have on the boat too, so only use it before waxing. There is also an orange cirtus one too, it smells better however, it doesn't work as well as regular Goof Off.

Good Luck!

-Jorden