Wet Sanding

[Sisco Sisk]

Greetings Nitro Owners,

Haven't hit this site in quite awhile. Looks as though Rich has made some great enhancements and member count has really sky rocket. Great job Rich!

I'm looking for some advice on wet sanding a few scratches out of 185SF. It's only a couple of years old and although there aren't many scratches, I'd still like to get rid of 'em if possible. I know that an unskilled wet sander can do more harm than good so I was wondering if anyone has tackled this, what materials were used and how it turned out. Thanks

Tight Lines

Rob

 

[Mebassn]

Rob, I have wet sanded a few scratches out of my gel coat and depending on how deep of a scratch your talking about will determine how difficult the job will be. Personally i didn't use any sand paper under 600 grit wet/dry. First get a block for sanding 3x4 should be good. Lets say your scratch is 2 inches long and 1/32th deep. Start your danding 6 inches prior to the scratch and end about the same distance beyond the scratch. i do this to prevent grooving the gel while taking out a scratch, now sand until the area looks uniform and the scratch is gone. Be very careful not to sand too far your gel might be 1/16th thick before you start to see flakes. Step 2, finish the sanding job with 1500 or 2000 wet, keeping the paper driping wet is best, do this till the grooves from the 600 are gone then stop. Step 3, get a good rubbing compound and apply it to the sanded area until the white haze from sanding is gone (this is ez with a power buffer just be very careful). Final step, apply your normal wax and go fishing. Have fun



Tight lines

Eric H.

 

[John Simonof]

I did a lot on my last boat. Start with 800 until the scratches are minimized or gone. Follow-up with 1500, then 2000, then a fine rubbing compound. Once the finish is returned, apply a light coat of penetrol then wash and wax. I recommend a power sander(random orbital the best) and not hand sanding. With hand sanding, you'll end up with an uneven finish. I kept a wet towel handy to constantly wipe on the boat.