Sunday, April 20, 2008

Refinish Unfinished

Refinished Swim Platform, Washed & Waxed Hull, 4/19/2008

On Saturday, Michele nearly completed her work on the swim platform. It's looking terrific -- a stunning difference compared to how it looked earlier. After sanding it to bare wood earlier this spring, she put two coats of Cetol Light on it over the past two days. Unfortunately, we're stymied by the weather again: rain for the next three days. I'll try to get out there on Wednesday and get another coat on before launch.

We also cleaned and waxed the hull. Topsides can be done when the boat is in the water, but the hull really needs to be done pre-launch. I had hoped it would be a simple, quick wash and wax this year, but it needed a bit more than that to bring back the shine:
  1. Washed thoroughly with mild boat soap and water, using a soft brush and a terry-cloth pad.
  2. Applied 3M Cleaner and Wax, working it in with a 6" random-orbital machine and terry-cloth bonnet, first going back and forth, then up and down. Wiped off the remaining light haze with a clean cloth.
  3. Waxed with 3M Ultra-Performance Paste Wax, applied by hand, and buffed with the random-orbital machine and terry-cloth bonnet. In a few spots where rain water runs down the hull leaving black streaks, we used some Starbrite Teflon over the wax, in hopes that it would help prevent the streaking (or at least make it easier to clean).
  4. A quick buffing pass over the entire surface with a lambswool bonnet. This goes super fast, and really helps bring out the shine.

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