Compounding hull with Presta Gel Coat compounding product

P

Plane 2 Sea

Member
Apr 15, 2009
138
Traverse City, MI
Boat Info
1996 330 Sundancer
Engines
twin 7.4L 454's V drives
Has anyone here used the Presta Gel coat compounding product? Several folks in our parts have reccomended it and I am going to give the 'Dancer a make over this spring before we launch.
 
Plenty of discussion on buff magic . . .

I've recently read good stuff on the Presta line. No personal experience though. There are some other forums where people swear by it. I might get a bottle and compare side by side with Buff magic on the top of my arch . That's where polishing is needed most. I'm adding a step this year of using some swirl mark remover as outlined here, again with Presta. I noticed some buffing swirl marks in the right light.

http://www.anything-sailing.com/showthread.php/4538-Tips-For-Buffing-amp-Waxing-Gelcoat
 
Presta Super Cut is absolutely the best rubbing compound period. I have buffed hundreds of boats, and used to use all 3m products (3m perfect it III Extra Cut was my product of choice). I've used every compound known to man, and they aren't even close to Presta. I know everyone has their favorites, but I've used them all. Last summer I buffed a 44' Trojan that hadn't been compounded in 12 years. It had no shine whatsoever when I started. When I was done, the owner was so excited that he said I saved him an Imron job. I used the Gelcoat compound on mine last year. It's a good product too, but I recommend the super cut simply because it has a diminishing abrasive, and will buff siwrl free. It is absolutely fantastic. I'll take the Pepsi challenge on Presta vs. anything else, period.
 
That is one thing I like about buff magic, it starts as a 1200 grit and breaks down to 2400 and leaves no swirls at all! I tried many things over the years since I am always buying a project boat, fixing them up, selling them, and move to a bigger one. Buff Magic really saved time.
 
Presta Super Cut says on the bottle it will effectively remove 600 grit and finer sanding scratches, and it's 100% true.
Everyone should absolutely try it. You will not be sorry!
 
Thx guys, I've worked with Buff Magic and liked it, but heard really good reports from folks using Presta products, and there available locally. I'll report back after I work with the Presta products.
 
Plane 2 Sea said:
Thx guys, I've worked with Buff Magic and liked it, but heard really good reports from folks using Presta products, and there available locally. I'll report back after I work with the Presta products.
Click to expand...

I would love to see some before and after pics.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'm very impressed with presta gel coat compound, followed with presta cutting cream, followed with colonite fleet wax. Very nice deap shine.
 
390x said:
Presta Super Cut is absolutely the best rubbing compound period. I have buffed hundreds of boats, and used to use all 3m products (3m perfect it III Extra Cut was my product of choice). I've used every compound known to man, and they aren't even close to Presta. I know everyone has their favorites, but I've used them all. Last summer I buffed a 44' Trojan that hadn't been compounded in 12 years. It had no shine whatsoever when I started. When I was done, the owner was so excited that he said I saved him an Imron job. I used the Gelcoat compound on mine last year. It's a good product too, but I recommend the super cut simply because it has a diminishing abrasive, and will buff siwrl free. It is absolutely fantastic. I'll take the Pepsi challenge on Presta vs. anything else, period.
Click to expand...



390x.--- Would you recommend using the super cut on a hull that that has a decent shine with slight oxidation?
 
Well, it would work, but you don't need to be that aggressive on something that already has a decent shine. I'd probably recommend their Gelcoat compound, or their Ultra Cutting Creme for that. All of their products work great. I've been buffing boats for 15 years, professionally for 7. I've used every compound there is, and I can only say that I wish I had found the Presta stuff sooner. Last year I did an old Trojan, and the guy I took the job over from was using Meguiar's One-Step compound. He swears by that stuff and says he gets good results with it. Compared to the Presta Super Cut, you might has well have been peeing on the boat and hitting it with the buffer pad. He was shocked and went and bought a gallon of the Presta the next day after seeing me buff a 2'x2' section. I'm using their liquid wax on mine this year, so we'll see how it holds up for a full season. I used it for a half season on another boat last year, and it seemed to work well. When I say it is a liquid, it is a liquid. It goes on like water, dries, and wipes right off with no rubbing. I hope it holds up because it is so easy to use.

Hope this helps.
 
I used Presta Gel Coat Compound last week for the back (stern) of my boat. It was initially bright and chalky. After using the low speed then to high speed polisher, it came out wonderful. I mean I was really impressed with the results. I then proceeded to protect it with Meguiars Flagship Marine wax with 2 coats.

Before the compound job, I couldn't see any reflection from the back (stern) of the boat. Now I can see my self in the reflection.

So +1 on the Presta Gel coat compound
 
I'm glad to hear all the positive feedback on the Presta products because I've decided to change it up this year and try something new instead of buff magic. No real criticism there but try as I might, I never felt like I got a showroom shine on deck and upper arch. Could be technique I suppose but I seem to have read more professionals (dealer included) using Presta. So, here's what I picked up today from my a MOBILE detail truck.

6106330f.jpg


So, for the pro's out there (390x) couple questions. Let me know if this plan sounds right. On areas with direct sun exposure (top arch and some deck areas) that show some fading I'm using the super cut with a wool pad and my rotary. After that, I plan to use the polish with a yellow foam polish pad on my porter cable on the entire boat. Then, I'm consider using a glaze (maybe 3m's) based on this post . . .http://www.anything-sailing.com/showthread.php/4538-Tips-For-Buffing-amp-Waxing-Gelcoat with a black finishing pad.

Then, last, but not least, 2 coats of collinite fleet wax by hand. Sounds exhausting but for great results I'm willing to do it. Sound like a good plan?
 
Well, to be honest, the diminishing abrasive in the Super Cut breaks down so well, I don't know that you even need to follow it up with anything, especially on a smaller area where you wouldn't be able to see a swirl anyway. Give it a shot and see what you think, and how it's going, but I really think you can get away with using their products without the glaze. The wool pad and the Super Cut will strip the oxidation off like you can't believe. When I used to use 3m Perfect-It III Extra Cut, it didn't really break down a whole lot, so you had to come back with a glaze or a polish to get the swirls out. I've not really had to do that with this stuff. Now, if I'm doing a gunnel rail that is going to be highly visible, I'd probably hit that with a glaze or polish and really work it after using anything for a cutting agent just because you want that to shine like a mirror. The Collinite wax will work well, but I really have never found ANY wax that will last a whole season. Since I usually touch mine up a little bit, often, I've just been using Meguiar's Hi-Tech Yellow Wax. It holds up about as well as anything considering I don't expect it to last all year anyway.
 
Thanks for the input! The ultra cutting creme is the 1200 but I don't think I need to be that aggressive on the vertical sides of my hull. So, I will stick to polish there with a foam pad. I only have a few spots where I will need the 1200 so hitting those with some polish before wax won't be a big deal but I'll be interested to see if the polish improves the shine and lessens the swirl marks or if its like you said, an unnecessary step. I may skip the 3m glaze though. I plan on putting two coats of wax on now and at least one more maybe in late July to hold me until the end of the summer.
 
Plane 2 Sea said:
Thx guys, I've worked with Buff Magic and liked it, but heard really good reports from folks using Presta products, and there available locally. I'll report back after I work with the Presta products.
Click to expand...

Where can you get it locally? I see you are in TC also. I am just starting to buff the hull and would like to give it a try. Thanks.

John
 
Ok, early results are in . . . fantastic stuff!!! I couldn't be happier. I worked on the top side of my arch which was admittedly neglected and I can't believe how well it turned out. First, I think where dew lies on top surfaces like that in an uncovered slip realy magnifies the sun effect so it was fairly heavily oxidized. Plus, its tough to get up there without a ladder and I don't have that at the dock. Not sure how these pics will look on here but here was my method.
1) Washed. Surprised to see the grime left behind.
2) wool pad and cutting creme. AMAZING shine. I made two passes over the whole area. Wowza. Simple to remove as almost nothing is left. I used a little water mist to keep the pad from drying.
3) Polishing twisted pad from Presta's site. Not a foam pad but not a cutter like the wool. And that gave it a mirror like shine.4) Collinite fleetwax by hand. Looks perfect.Not sure if the pics will do it justice. It was very bright out. I used a milwaukee rotary for both 1 and 2.

a3a3c8e5.jpg



In this one, you can see how the leading edge wasn't nearly as oxidized as the flat top which leads me to believe the dew that stays on top really effects it.
e2e48c88.jpg


cdc3ad04.jpg


I'm sold. Yes, I was happy with buff magic and saw good results but I don't think it would've cut this area down enough. Plus, I've always had trouble with BM clogging my pad up. This stuff didn't seem to. So, I think my search for the perfect detailing system has ended!
 
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