3M product ok for gelcoat????

[Tanner]

I've got to sand and buff a little 1Ft by 1FT section in my gelcoat that the repair guy missed. He sanded down with 800 but didn't see it. No big deal, I've got some 1200 and 1600 grit laying around.

My question is, I've got some 3M Imperial 39001 Medium cut rubbing compound. Will this work on Gelcoat to pull out 1200 grit swirls?

Gonna be going over top of it with 3M marine finesse it. Actually going over the whole boat w/ the finesse it after. I just wanna know if the 39001 is safe to use on gelcoat, or if it will even work for that matter.

[TriValleyMarine]

gelcoat

I would just try 1200 wet sand and then FinesseIt II and then a finish polish. I think the compound may be too much. I wouldn't use it on your whole boat!

[Tanner]

NO NO NO .... was only gonna use the finesse it on the whole boat... not the rubbing compound. Got some LIGHT oxidation, and the finesse it always leaves it looking great (I do it at the beginning of every spring after pulling the boat out of storage).


I just wanted to use the rubbing compound on the 1'x1' area.

I didn't think finesse it would pull out 1200 grit scratches. What RPM???

[kko]

As long as you know what your doing with the buffer the compound should be fine. I have seen a many of boat detailed and when they have oxidation thats how they get them back compound and a buffer followed by a polish. the trick they say is to keep buffer moving and at correct speed so you dont "burn" the gel coat.