Paint Finish restoration HELP ideas...how about thousand grit sandpaper?

[pacificnwrider]

I love this site!! I will be updating my profile with pictures of the ol yeller soon. here's my question....
I've got a yellow (yuk) 1977 24' Fiberform Flybridge....in addition to being an ugly color, it's oxidized and faded very badly. I don't have the budget to paint it, and I've had luck with restoring automotive finishes in the past, however, this is a pretty extreme circumstance. I've tried rubbing compound on it and its nearly useless. It takes about an hour to clean up 1 linear foot on just one side; not including the top and other side, haha.
I have a friend who took thousand grit sandpaper to a paint job on a semi tractor and cleaned it up pretty well. I was thinking about wet sanding the finish with this thousand grit paper and then putting a couple coats of paste wax on it. I wonder if anybody has any good ideas or knows if this "thousand grit" idea might work ok?
Any info would be greatly appreciated

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Paint Finish restoration HELP ideas...how about thousand grit sandpaper?

i'd give it a test try. wash it down with Cascade with Dawn dishwasher soap, dissolved in a bucket to clean before you start. you'd be surprised what it takes off.

 

[TheWoodCrafter]

Re: Paint Finish restoration HELP ideas...how about thousand grit sandpaper?

What you are trying to do is remove the oxidized surface. It seems it is too deep for rubbing compound. Next step is sand paper, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500 or 2000. You will have to test which one works best. But after you finish sanding you will have to buff out all thoughs sanding scratches with rubbing compound.
I hope you have an electric buffer. Way too much work by hand.
You didn't say if it is paint or gel coat. If paint you may not be able to bring it back without cutting through to the primer. Gel coat should be way thicker and you may be able to bring the shine back.
Automotive paint stores will be able to supply you with a coarser grade of compound you can use on the buffer so you may not have to resort to sand paper.

 

[VintageBlueOval]

Re: Paint Finish restoration HELP ideas...how about thousand grit sandpaper?

Go easy on the 1000 grit... Start with 2000, then move to 1500 once you get more comfortable. If you've got to cut through that much oxydation, it's easy to get carried away and ultimately cut through the color coat, or at the least you can leave hair-line scratches that are difficult to buff out. Even though it doesn't seem like it, 1000 grit is pretty agressive. Start with a less agressive paper and go from there.

Good Luck!

 

[wca_tim]

Re: Paint Finish restoration HELP ideas...how about thousand grit sandpaper?

if its gelcoat and it's chalky with oxidation you can probably get away with taking quite a bit off. I went as far as wetsanding with 320 on mine, worked up to 1500, finished p with buffing and it came out looking great. Note that's with thick clear gelcoat over metalflake, you'de have to test some sections and see if you've got enough thickness... go easy and only take off what you need to. Aquabuff 2000 is a great buffing product that works really well, washes off with water and isn't full of waxes that will hide remaining porosity (giving you the impression that you've got all the oxidation off only to find in a few weeks that it's dull and chalky again...

That's if it's gelcoat... paint's a lot thinner. my two cents...

 

[oops!]

Re: Paint Finish restoration HELP ideas...how about thousand grit sandpaper?

pacific north west rider and vintage blue oval.......


WELCOME TO I BOATS

and i agree this is a fantastic site.....

looking foward to reading your posts

cheers
oops

 

[rockyrude]

Re: Paint Finish restoration HELP ideas...how about thousand grit sandpaper?

You will find using wet-or-dry paper with water will do an amazingly fast job of removing that oxidation. I started with 400 grit moved to 600 and was able to buff out the 600 marks.

 

[Camlocker]

Re: Paint Finish restoration HELP ideas...how about thousand grit sandpaper?

Noob, here.

I have a '84 Venture 15' Bassboat. Blue with Goldflake on the top. I've had the boat for three years and it has the chalky look on the blue gelcoat. I tried using a rubbing compound to clear it up, which it made it look better, but no drastic improvements. Here's the funny part, the fiberglass is very smooth, but still shows the white oxidation. Should I try 1000 grit wet sanding? If this does the trick, what type of compound and wax should follow to make it look better?