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Wet sand dull "white gray" gelcoat |
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toholthe
Commander Joined: 20 September 2017 Location: Norway Status: Offline Points: 124 |
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Posted: 07 December 2018 at 11:55 |
The gelcoat on the ship sides of my Hanse 400 2007 is quite dull on the foreship. From the shrouds back it looks ok and keeps glossy all season after a good wax in the spring. The boat has a very light gray color. The front part of the boat quickly becomes dull when looking close.
I met a guy last summer who had sanded a small part of his boat and that looked like new. I am therefore thinking of using Abralon wet sanding pads and try and restore the gelcoat to new shape. The light gray is easier to hold than the darker colors, so this should hold a new 10 years. I am thinking of starting with 500 grid then 1000 - 2000 - buff - polish - wax. Have anyone tried this procedure? Is it a lot of work? I am only doing the front part of the boat. It seems unlikely to sand through the gelcoat as it is quite thick, but did you do this if you tried? It does not show easily in a picture, by you can clearly see on the dark decor stripe where the dullness is. |
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Rubato
Admiral Joined: 12 July 2006 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 1791 |
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I was discussing the very same problem with our 2007 light blue Hanse with a local fiberglass repair expert. He recommended exactly as you are proposing. In fact, after a bit of a scuffle on a start line earlier this year, he did this process on a few small sections of one side a and it worked out beautifully. However, as you suspect, it is a lot of work.
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Steve
Hanse 400e, #168 |
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samuel
Admiral of the Fleet Joined: 26 December 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 2683 |
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As well as my Hanse I have a Squib keel boat & my crew spent a few hours sanding the gell coat & that came up as new. So apart from the fact it is a lot of work I think that you will find it rewarding. I did have a problem with the blue strip on my Hanse at the waterline fading very badly. Blue is notorious for the white discolouration in the gel coat. I found that buffing it with an electric polisher, fitted with a lambs wool pad, using an oven cleaning paste (Aspire) & also Ajax, powder, cleaner, worked & restored it to the original blue. Perhaps you might try something like that first, as it is slightly less abrasive & less work to apply.
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Daydream Believer- Hanse 311- No GBR9917T- Bradwell Essex
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Captain Cook
Admiral Joined: 23 May 2006 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 1009 |
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We owners of the older Hanses see the signs of age on the ships - just like ourselves, the ship becomes a little dull in the lines as years pass by. I do not have the energy or patience to sand the hull, but I have used metal polish (for cars) to freshen up the gelcoat. This polish removes anything from the fibreglass, even hard deposits on the waterline. In Scandinavia you can buy it at Biltema, order no. 36-48.
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Freya H400 #27 (2006), 40HP 3JH4E, 2-cabin, 3-blade Flexofold, Aries LiftUp Windvane, Exturn 300, Jefa DD1,Simrad NX40,Icom M603(VHF)+M802(SSB)
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Gaga
Lieutenant Commander Joined: 04 April 2017 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 53 |
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Can recommend : www.renskib.com
I own a Hanse 400 from 2008 in gray Colour. This is My 5 th sailboat They did a 10 years makeover at beginning of season And i have never ended the Sail season with a Boat still shining. Renskib.com products are easy to use and good instructions are available. I choosed to pay for the freeboard done by them and meantime did the deck and cockpit myself. All in all 3 men over 2 days. Or 1 x 6 days. Next season need just the fine polish and sealing which I can do in 1 day myself. Gaga Den808 - Denmark [URL= ][/URL][URL= ][/URL][URL= ][/URL] |
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toholthe
Commander Joined: 20 September 2017 Location: Norway Status: Offline Points: 124 |
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3 men for 2 days. Sounds like they did quite a job. I guess they also sanded as only rubbing, polish and wax would not take such a long time.
What did you pay for the job? Maybe it is worth sailing the boat to Denmark.
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Gaga
Lieutenant Commander Joined: 04 April 2017 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 53 |
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They sanded - as I understood 1000/2000 and 3000 then their product 120 and then 130 a and 130 b
So 6 times through the whole freeboard plus aft incl swimmingplatform etc. I think it’s was around dkk 20.000 I paid. Then I made the deck and cockpit myself without sanding as it is white and I saw no need to sand it to get it shiny. You can contact Martin at Renskib.com . I know they do work also outside Denmark. |
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MarcoC
Admiral Joined: 23 April 2009 Location: Sweden, Stockh. Status: Offline Points: 1617 |
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I recently arranged a polishing course to various boat
owners here in Sweden as I realized that not many boat owners know how to
polish a boat like a pro and that they used wrong pads for the different phases
of boat cleaning and polishing. Now it sounds like I am a pro myself, which is
not, the truth as many of you know. Long story short, I met the right person in
the right time and place who told me one and two things about polishing and as
I listened to him I realized that not only me but also other people I know have
done it wrong for years. Before you start considering wetsanding your boat and by
doing so, thinning out your gelcoat layer, consider to polish like a pro with
pro products. It will be worth while the time and the money. Its all about using the right pads and chemicals in order to
reach a super shiny surface. My boat has been quite dull during last few years and the
grey waterline has been almost white to the level where I thought that I need
to re-paint it. The deck house has been impossible to get shiny and I thought
that it was due to UV radiation. This is what I did and I got some test sport
to shine like a mirror. Step 1. Add the detergent, let it cure for a while and then use a
cloth or sponge to rub the areas clean. If the dirt is too strong, use alkaline
detergent directly on the sponge. Rinse with water when you are done and let it
dry or dry with a cloth. At this stage my boat started to shine so the alkaline
detergent really did its job. Step 2. Take a orbit polishing machine if you have as they are the
best ones to polish with. They do not leave holograms or “suns”. However, an
ordinary rotating machine does the trick to. The essence here is to use “full speed” as the friction
creates heat and the heat reacts with the rubbing paste. Use a sheep wool pad,
as it is the coarsest pad you can use for rubbing. NO, it’s NOT for polishing!!
Sheeps look soft and cute but the wool is made of long fibers that actually are
not soft at all when it comes to a gelcoat surface. Use a medium course rubbing paste to remove all remaining
oxidation on the gelcoat. Have few pads as reserves, a 37 footer need 4 pads approx..
Rub the whole side/boat before you move to next step. Very important that you do
not do small areas at the time. At this step, my areas started to shine like
never before so in general I could stop here but I still need to protect the
now shining areas so let’s continue… Step 3. Move now to a medium hard and coarse foam pad and to a finer
polishing paste. Medium speed on the polishing machine and start polishing the
whole area/boat as above. Step 4. Change to a fine and soft...er pad and use fine polishing
paste and slow speed on the machine. Remember, you need to move the machine all
the time on all the steps so you don’t get burn marks. When you have done this,
your boat should now be shiny like mirror. If not, I do not know what you have
done with your boat. Step 5. Time to seal and wax. Take a soft, soft sponge and apply
polishing paste by hand. Let it dry and remove remaining’s with a micro cloth.
This is the phase where you use a wax with UV protection. We used Menzernas rubbing and polishing products for each
step. They have a series of products where every step is numbered (1-4) so you
know which product to use. I suggest you start with the product numbered as 3
and see how it effects your boats surface. Iif its doing good, use the 4 after
it, if not, move to product 1 which is liquid sandpaper. Do not use the
one-step product, as it will not be as good as all the one by one products. There are off course lot of similar products from 3M,
Autoglym etc etc but this is what we tried and found to be good. They are used
by pros, not sp cheap but if you do it right, you do not need to do step 1 to 3
more than every 3 years. This varies off course depending of where you have
your boat. for you on sunny areas, you need to use the UV protection polish in
order to keep everything in good shape. Let me know if you have questions. Products broschure https://www.menzerna.com/files/Dokumente/Marine/menzerna_Boat_polishes_EN.pdf Pads, this is what I refer to https://www.sgatrading.se/store/category/polerrondeller-291298 |
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"Älva"
Hanse 370#671 Stockholm, Sweden www.wesailhanse.se big wheel, deep draught iron keel, 3 cabins,Yanmar 3JH4E, Sparcraft rig. |
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toholthe
Commander Joined: 20 September 2017 Location: Norway Status: Offline Points: 124 |
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Thank you for your description MarcoC.
I believe my boat needs sanding on the forship, but i will try with heavy cut compound on small area to see how it works. If not ok, i will try 1000 grit and eventually even 500. I will post my results after the winter.
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astarte
Commander Joined: 14 September 2008 Location: Norway Status: Offline Points: 131 |
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Very interesting as I am planning to wet sand. I have tried rubbing with a wool pad on a rotating polishing machine, but was never able to remove the oxidation layer, only to some extent. I have understood that the rpm you run your machine on is important. What did you use on your orbiting machine?
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Kristoffer
Hanse 370e #412 |
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