acid wash vs. compounding....

[CliffA]

today i learned that an acid wash of a gelcoat hull will remove oxidation from the hull....one product mentioned listed phosphoric acid as the main ingredient....

so this started me thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of using an acid wash on an oxidized hull instead of the traditional time consuming and tiring method of compounding the hull with a rotary buffer....

if the results are similar (i.e. the oxidation is removed equally well) from both methods wouldn't it be much faster and easier to use an acid wash?....of course this assumes the boat is on land and not in the water....

after the acid wash i suppose all that is needed is an application of a polish and wax/sealant to put the shine and protection on the gelcoat....

am i missing something?...i know acid washing would not remove scratches in the gelcoat but the polish would/should remove light scratches .....

cliff

 

[Lazy Daze]

I have yet to hear of acid washing completely replacing compounding/polishing. However, I could see where it might remove the "chalkiness". But oxidation is more than just that chalky substance - it's a true degradation of the gelcoat. Essentially, oxidation creates nooks and crannies in the gelcoat (hi and lo spots). Those hi and lo spots are still solid gelcoat, though. Acid washing, to the best of my knowledge, does not "eat away" gelocat. If it did, we'd all be in trouble! And further, if it did, it's not smart enough to eat away ONLY the hi spots.

Think of compounding like starting out with a rough piece of wood, then progressively using a higher and higher grit sandpaper.

So... while it could remove that chalkiness and the gelcoat will look better than it did, it's not going to compete with a true compounding/polishing.

If it's done right, the gelcoat should shine WITHOUT the wax - the wax is there primarily to protect the gelcoat and... keep it from oxidizing Those waxes that add a considerable shine to the gelcoat are doing so because they have oils in them... which evaporate after a short while and the shine goes away.

 

[Almightys]

Yep what he said.
The best way to avoid heavy compounding is to do it once really good, then keep up your finish with good polish and wax coats.

 

[sbw1]

I've never heard of acid washing removing oxidation. Maybe it does, but I've not heard that before. We have washed our boat with with vinegar water before we polish it. That is done to remove all of the water spots built up from running the boat in Lake Michigan which has a lot of desolved solids in it. This makes polishing and waxing the boat much easier. Maybe the "oxidation" you are seeing removed by acid washing is really hard water spotting.

 

[Phasma]

Agreed! Nothing beats a buff and polish

 

[WV 320 Dancer]

I like the mental break of the mindless work...

 

[DB360]

After a good compounding, love the way two coats of polish go on so easy!

 

[Quint4]

A friend swears by simply wiping down with acetone and then waxing. I cannot confirm or deny.

 

[HUMPH]

Yep what he said.
The best way to avoid heavy compounding is to do it once really good, then keep up your finish with good polish and wax coats.

Especially if you use Presta Supercut to compound a rough looking gel coat.

 

[douglee25]

You may be gettings things confused if you heard this from someone. Acid washing is good for the water line where algae can form as well as on the bottom side.

In regards to removing chalky oxidation, I have used straight acetone with a rag on customer's boats to remove heavy stuff. Some need that even before wet sanding. It depends what kind of condition the surface is in before you make a plan of attack. If the surface is heavily oxidized but doesn't have chalk on the surface, you can jump right to compounding or wet sanding.

 

[Almightys]

Especially if you use Presta Supercut to compound a rough looking gel coat.

That’s what I went with, then the light cutting creme with the ultra polish last. Ugh then that damn two coat of collonite fleet paste wax. But dame it looks like glass mirror now

 

[Socks]

Wow, I got real excited --- wiping on acid or acetone --- then waxing -- seems so easy -- Guess I will go back to applying compound and buffing!!!!