Polishing, waxing, compound??

[keegster17]

Hi guys i am a little confused on detailing my seadoo, it is a 2004 GTX, in good condition. I have confused myself now, about what steps to take to wax, polish or compound, I know waxing is last, but what should I use prior the compound or polisher? I purchased 3m cleaner and marine wax, and meguiars ultimate compound. my thinking was use compound first then apply the 3m wax and cleaner? I also purchased a simoniz 7" polisher, can i apply wax using this or only for polishing and sanding as it is called polisher sander. very confused on all of this. lol.

 

[BMANN06]

Cleaner, then compound then wax.

Buffer is fine, with fiberglass you can "Buff the piss out of it" ... not like the paint on your car where you'll burn up the paint if you buff too hard.

 

[devonte007]

It really all depends on how bad the finish on your hull is. If it's really bad you may need to wet sand, compound, then wax. I take it that you bought a buffer which is good if you need to use compound, otherwise you would need a whole lot of elbow grease...

Best way we can help is for you to post a few pictures of what you are working with. Once we have an idea of what you are up against we can give you better advise.

Not sure what your what your experience level is when it comes to buffing/polishing cars, but gelcoat is different in some respects and similar in others. One good note is that gelcoat is relatively thick and very hard which makes it a bit more forgivable than the finish on your car for instance.

Also, to answer your question: I do not use a buffer to apply wax or take it off. Wax, as you know, is the last step and it is best to apply and remove by hand.

Give us some more info and some pictures and we'll do our best to point you in the right direction.

 

[kicker]

I would be careful on the painted plastics with the compound depending on what cut you bought, that will burn up a bit easier then the gelcoat. If the plastic hood is not to faded i would skip the compound.

 

[keegster17]

thanks guys for the responses, the colors on the unit are mainly white, and black bottom, I would say to other people my unit is in good condition, I take care of my stuff. however some oxidization on the black from the water, the upper half of the unit not bad shape. So if I have a electric polisher and one recommendation is not to use one to remove wax and apply, where would I use the buffer? Also can someone recommend what I should buy compound and wax? sounds like all I need? thanks.

 

[racerxxx]

You might be able to pick a few tips up from [MENTION=51350]Jetskigoodies[/MENTION] thread, pretty much the end all be all of what to do. No you don't need to strip your graphics, you can tape over them with painters tape and be extra careful around them just in case.

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?57274-Pictorial-On-how-to-buff-your-faded-nasty-hull

 

[3pedalmini]

im going to be correcting and polishing my skis in the next few weeks. If you have some time to wait ill do a write up on what/how to do it.

FYI: your not going to get much polishing out of the 7" buffer you bought. It isnt designed to correct the finish, just to apply waxes. Look at the Porter Cable 7424xp, and a 4" pad plate http://www.detailersdomain.com/Backing-Plates_c_109.html

Gel Coat is insanely hard but with the right tools and products it can be handled

 

[racerxxx]

im going to be correcting and polishing my skis in the next few weeks. If you have some time to wait ill do a write up on what/how to do it.

FYI: your not going to get much polishing out of the 7" buffer you bought. It isnt designed to correct the finish, just to apply waxes. Look at the Porter Cable 7424xp, and a 4" pad plate http://www.detailersdomain.com/Backing-Plates_c_109.html

Gel Coat is insanely hard but with the right tools and products it can be handled

Not sure how you won't get much out of the 7", that's what I use but mine is from Harbor Freight, I hit my local body shop supply and get my wool pads there and got some foams at HF. Works like a champ. Here's my HX and my XP both done with a 7". The HX I wet sanded and finished at 1200 because the white was so stained, the XP was straight buffed with heavy cut. The PC is a nice piece, I'll call it "paint" safe so you don't burn through with the orbital action. The average guy with a conventional buffer will torch through his paint in the blink of an eye because it's not orbital, you need to have a good eye/hand. If you check my previous post in this thread there is a great tutorial done already by [MENTION=51350]Jetskigoodies[/MENTION], check his 98 resto thread and his 99 SPX resto thread, the results are amazing done with a 6" wool pad and a dewalt drill. It's always nice to have other write-ups, learn a different process, the more the merrier.

 

[Jetskigoodies]

im going to be correcting and polishing my skis in the next few weeks. If you have some time to wait ill do a write up on what/how to do it.

FYI: your not going to get much polishing out of the 7" buffer you bought. It isnt designed to correct the finish, just to apply waxes. Look at the Porter Cable 7424xp, and a 4" pad plate http://www.detailersdomain.com/Backing-Plates_c_109.html

Gel Coat is insanely hard but with the right tools and products it can be handled

Lol, seems to work for me

Here are a couple more after shots, and trust me most of mine start out in really poor shape.

Before and after

Before and after

I may have done this once or twice and it works just fine.

 

[Jetskigoodies]

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?58353-Yet-ANOTHER-96-xp-restoration

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?58779-98-spx-restoration

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?59226-99-SPX-Resto


These resto threads will show where they started to what they are now

 

[3pedalmini]

Those are some seriously amazing restorations!

 

[keegster17]

racerxxx looks amazing, just curious do you see minor scratches up close, because the pics show it looking flawless. man i polished mine, and it is in good shape but still doesn't look as good as yours.

 

[KK40384]

Whenever you're free you're welcome to come over and do mine. I'll feed you anything you want and all the beer you can drink