- Location
- buffalo ny
Looking for any info on restoring/buffing the old gelcoat on my blaster. It's lightly faded as it sits now. just planning on doing the lower half, white section. So what materials and methods do I need to do a decent job?
Buffing old gelcoat?
- Thread starter brylon644
- Start date
- Location
- Cleveland, Ohio
Was just going to post something about this.. Would love to hear/see some info.
3M Imperial compound is very good, after it use gel coat polish and a final coat of wax. (If too faded instead of rubbing compound you can manually wet sand with 1500/2000 grit)
www.jamestowndistributors.com has its own line of products (total boat) that are not so expensive compared to 3M and good instructional videos .
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
www.jamestowndistributors.com has its own line of products (total boat) that are not so expensive compared to 3M and good instructional videos .
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
- Location
- buffalo ny
It's not horrible, but I'm painting the upper half and want the white to look better. Just doesn't have much of a shine to it. I know it can be buffed out to be much better.
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
I am going through the repaint phase this year too. Just a heads up but the Blasters and SuperJets do not have gelcoat. Because the bottom decks are made of SMC (sheet molded compound) the colors used are just pigment added into the compound. The gloss is just a mold release sprayed into the mold before the SMC is laid in. This release agent much like gelcoat speeds up the cure time and solidifies the pigmented compound with a shiny semi-durable finish. Unlike gelcoat though, if you sand SMC it comes off much like body filler in a white powder-like dust and has a bit of a sweet smell to it. Gelcoat also has a high chance of not sticking to the SMC, it could last one season, it could last 4 seasons, or it could last half a ride. The reason being that gelcoat is a polyester resin compound which will not stick to SMC for long...especially if a spot gets missed and water gets in behind it. Much like doing hull repairs on these skis, you need to have an epoxy to bond to the SMC when using two part compounds like this. If your clear coat is just starting to break down then you might be in good shape as you are not trying to bond clear to raw SMC, but it will come down to the quality of the prep work if you decide to spray a new layer of clear on. I am by no means a professional on this but I have been fighting with keeping colors and clear on my ski for the last 4 years now. This time around I am spending the dough up front and hoping for long lasting results by going with a professional grade auto paint and clear coat. It was quoted at $150 total for base (color), activator and hardener, and clear with the curing agent. If I remember correctly it is a polyurethane based package, I have read that some of the jet ski guys that are now retired professional auto painters have been using this method with good long term results. I hope this helps offer a bit of insight, it is by far not as easy to get that nice finish back as we would like it to be 
scottie mac
X-
Don't know about Canada, but every blaster I have owned (7 different skis) has had a fiberglass top deck with gel coat, not smc. The hoods are and without gel, that's why they constantly chip. The only things smc on a blaster hull/too deck are the inner liner and bulk head. We often cut the rear platform out to reinforce and I can tell you for certain, it's glass.
SM
SM
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ USA
^^ Yes as Scottie says, Blasters are all fiberglass with gel coat except for SMC hood and the inner liner pieces for motor mounts etc. RN SJ's have a SMC bottom with white paint and the top deck is fiberglass with gel coat.
SN SJ's are metton top deck and hood, bottom hull is SMC with white paint.
So @brylon644, get some good heavy duty buffing compound for oxidized gel coat and "go to town" with a machine or by hand. If its really oxidized you can wet sand starting with 1000 grit wet sand paper then buff.
SN SJ's are metton top deck and hood, bottom hull is SMC with white paint.
So @brylon644, get some good heavy duty buffing compound for oxidized gel coat and "go to town" with a machine or by hand. If its really oxidized you can wet sand starting with 1000 grit wet sand paper then buff.
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scottie mac
X-
Guess I could have actually answered the original question, lol. For me, I always wet sand with 1500, then 2000 grit, then hit with a medium buff compound and then polish with polishing finish coat and polishing pad on my electric buffer. Gel is extremely durable, so you can really hit it with some speed, just be careful around corners. I have taken red blasters than were full on pink and made them look like they were new. If you go all the way to 2000 grit, the buffing and polishing goes much quicker.
Scottie
Scottie
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ USA
Ya, you'd have to be a uber moron to burn gel coat with a buffer..lol Now paint is another whole can of worms.
- Location
- Miami Beach, Fl.
- Location
- deland fl
I just saw a red blaster my buddy wet sanded and it made a huge difference. Don't know what he used just that he wet sanded by hand and it shines like new and was pretty sun beat before
- Location
- buffalo ny
Thanks guys
scottie mac
X-
Definitely some good stuff, but I have gotten just as good results using the Turtle Wax rubbing compound and polishing compound for a lot less.
And, I forgot one step to my post earlier, when you are done with all the wetsanding, polishing, etc. put a really good coat of wax on it and do it often. You can even use the stuff like Formula 2000 liquid. Putting a quick coat of wax on a couple times a year will go a long way to saving that finish you just worked so hard to get.
Scottie