Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

[gregpro50]

I have a '80 Glastron GT-150. The boat is in excellent shape but is slightly oxidized on the top portion. I want to try to buff it to get it as close to the original shine as possible but I have never done this before. Should I buy an orbital buffer or one that spins in the same direction? Any tips on what products to use and how to go about doing this? Thanks.

 

[turborich]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

I have always used a high speed type of buffer, I know that a dual action buffer would be better though. I'm sure that somebody will be able to give you the correct advice.

Wow! What a beautiful boat you have there! It sure looks slick for a 1980, Very nice!

 

[DutchMerc]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

I don't know anything about buffing, so i can't answer your question here, but make sure you do it right. You sure have a verry nice boat there, keep it in this shape, there are not a lot left in it's original setup...

 

[gregpro50]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

Thanks guys. I want to keep the boat in great shape. I even left my wedding in the thing so it has alot of sentimental value.

 

[gcboat]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

Now how neat was that? Anyhow:If the brown & gold is a metal flake and the clear has faded then it should be wet sanded with a 400 wet & dry sandpaper & painted with an Imron Clear, two wet coats should do it. The boat needs to have all silicone removed, this needs to be done very thoroughly to avoid reactions in the paint. Wash the boat with a strong detergent and use a solvent wipe as well. Talk to the paint store about available products. If you do not have this experience I would get quotes from local shops.

 

[marine4003]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

Now how neat was that? Anyhow:If the brown & gold is a metal flake and the clear has faded then it should be wet sanded with a 400 wet & dry sandpaper & painted with an Imron Clear, two wet coats should do it. The boat needs to have all silicone removed, this needs to be done very thoroughly to avoid reactions in the paint. Wash the boat with a strong detergent and use a solvent wipe as well. Talk to the paint store about available products. If you do not have this experience I would get quotes from local shops.

Been painting / buffing / repairing boats for 24 years and i couldn't of said it better !!!!

 

[Pierutrus]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

That is slick......

Good job....

 

[triumphrick]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

Man, what a classic picture. Your priest or pastor at the dock with bride and groom speeding away.

Ya gotta love it.

And follow gcboats post. He nailed it to a T.

 

[gregpro50]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

Thanks for the help guys. I have experience painting some old cars I've been restoring so I think I can tackle a couple coats of clear on the thing. I have the compressor and the HVLP guns and stuff. Is it worth it to try to buff out what I have now or should I not waste my time and shoot a couple coats of clear on it?

 

[weider1717]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

Hmm I disagree with whats above but I'm a auto detailer freak..new to boats but I have restored many corvettes so I know some about fiberglass which I realize gelcoat is a completely diff animal....

if it were mine here is what I'd do.

1. wet sand with 1000-1200 sandpaper and use PLENTY of water...a clogged up piece of sand paper can do some damage so keep it cleaned out good with the water. Just sand enough to scuff that slight layer of faded gelcoat up.

2.Hit it with a rotary buffer and some 2m super duty compound.

3.go back over it with some polish.

4.then a top coat of wax.



now you're done and the shine is back without being so harsh on your finish.......dude 400 isn't a joke thats soome ruff sand paper...u know a good compound can only get 600 wet sand paper scratches out on avg.....

don't touch 400 with your boat trust me.

this way not top coat clear coat like they talked about is needed...........

 

[Scorpion 210 LTD]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

Thanks for the help guys. I have experience painting some old cars I've been restoring so I think I can tackle a couple coats of clear on the thing. I have the compressor and the HVLP guns and stuff. Is it worth it to try to buff out what I have now or should I not waste my time and shoot a couple coats of clear on it?

Please please please (sorry) do not spray Imron anywhere but in a booth with an outside air respirator- it is one of the nastiest finishes on the market from a health perspective. Try wet-sand, buff and polish first. If you decide to clear, wet-sand then use something environmentally friendly or bring it to a shop.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

Hold off on the idea of respraying, that's a last resort type option.

Get a buffer, it needs to turn about 2500 RPM or less, Harbor Freight has them for a very low price.

For the best results find a supply house that carries a line of buffing compounds with several grits, start with coarse and work to the fine grit product. Try this first, if you don't get the results you desire use a fine grit paper 800, 1000 or 1200, always use the finest paper you can and sand it lightly, then use the compounds again. You may also have an option on the buffing pads, fast cut, polishing, etc.

Try all of this in a small area first to see what works best for you.

This boat looks far to nice to mess up on, or take a path of no return like spraying with clear coat.

 

[marine4003]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

Hmm I disagree with whats above but I'm a auto detailer freak..new to boats but I have restored many corvettes so I know some about fiberglass which I realize gelcoat is a completely diff animal....

if it were mine here is what I'd do.

1. wet sand with 1000-1200 sandpaper and use PLENTY of water...a clogged up piece of sand paper can do some damage so keep it cleaned out good with the water. Just sand enough to scuff that slight layer of faded gelcoat up.

2.Hit it with a rotary buffer and some 2m super duty compound.

3.go back over it with some polish.

4.then a top coat of wax.



now you're done and the shine is back without being so harsh on your finish.......dude 400 isn't a joke thats soome ruff sand paper...u know a good compound can only get 600 wet sand paper scratches out on avg.....

don't touch 400 with your boat trust me.

this way not top coat clear coat like they talked about is needed...........

See...here's the problem , this isnt a corvette....nor is it standard Automotive paint on 'glass...its MetalFlake..and what gives it its shine and depth is ClearCoat....now with a 28 yr old finish , its safe to say the clear has diminished to the point of its only being 1 - 11/2 mill's thick,and wax aint gonna do it when it comes to protecting the paint...it definitely needs to be re-cleared.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

Classic and classy !
Wish my wife enjoyed the water 1/2 as much.

 

[weider1717]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

See...here's the problem , this isnt a corvette....nor is it standard Automotive paint on 'glass...its MetalFlake..and what gives it its shine and depth is ClearCoat....now with a 28 yr old finish , its safe to say the clear has diminished to the point of its only being 1 - 11/2 mill's thick,and wax aint gonna do it when it comes to protecting the paint...it definitely needs to be re-cleared.

maybe metal flake is diff but with my white gelcoat the info I gave is the best and least harsh aproach compared to what others have said.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

If you go back to the original post you'll see that he says there's a "slight" amount of oxidation on the top portion. Always try the easiest and least involved solution first, buffing is low in cost and easy to try, if that doesn't work go to the next step which is sand and buff. If the surface can't be buffed with good results there's no downside, clear coating is the last thing that needs to be tried. A close up pic of the boat as it is now would help a great deal.

From the looks of the color scheme, I'd say the tan or light brown color would be the most oxidized, the M/F would have a little less.

 

[marine4003]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

Im not trying to start an argument here,just trying to clear-up some misconceptions about MetalFlake paint, On a regular boat the finish is gelcoat..which can be anywhere from 2-3 mills thick and will return to its original luster if buffed/sanded ,thats because your stripping away a "dead" layer and exposing a new one....Automotive finishes..and Painted boats are painted with a paint that will respond to sanding/buffing the same way gelcoat will,the paint itself will give the shine and wax protects it...MetalFlake gets its shine from the Clearcoat,the more applied the "deeper" and shinier it will be,on its own...MF doesnt respond to buffing/sanding like any other finish..in fact you can screw up the finish,thats why folks with AUTOMOTIVE finish experience, and GELCOAT finishes ought to steer clear of offering info that isnt correct, The best advice for GREGPRO50 is to bring the boat to a professional paint shop and have them assess the damage and offer suggestions,'cause otherwise all this info can result in him totally screwing up his boat.

 

[turborich]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

I am not a expert by any means, but I would not sand that with 400 & respray it. I would only have it resprayed as a last option. I really think that a good quality compound & a high speed buffer could due wonders for it. That boat is really nice & it would probally make you sick if you were to mess it up. If the various compounds don't work then you can always move on to other options.

BTW, what is that boat worth? Any ideas?

 

[gregpro50]

Re: Buffing an old oxidized glastron.

The oxidation isnt too awful bad right now. It's just the top portions and if you wax it then it looks great for a couple weeks and then starts to look faded again. I bought a fiberglass restoration kit that has oxidation remover, polish, and wax. I'll give that a shot first. I'm not afraid to get into clear coat work when it comes to that. I just painted a project car last year in base/clear that came out great. I've never worked with gelcoat before though.

I'm not sure what the boat is worth. I see them advertised for up to $10k but I dont think they would sell for that much. I would think it would sell for anywhere between $2,000 to $4000. Maybe more. I just always wanted one since I was a kid and my dad used to take our aluminum boat over to the marina on the lake to get gas and I remember seeing them for sale there brand new. So I found one over the winter to put together and play with as a second boat. But this season I ended up using it more than my newer boat.