Buffing & waxing Gelcoat/Imron paint

[DarkHorseFarmer]

Hi all,

About 10-15 years ago I bought an Adams kit with a porter cable buffer. At the time I was doing a lot of auto detailing.  That has since changed and I'm looking to detail the boat pictured below.  It was buffed and waxed last year, but will need to be done this spring again.  The company I hired last year used wool pads, which I have no experience with.  It still has some chalkiness to the gelcoat, but the imron paint looks good.  The boat does sit under cover during the summer so it will stay out of the UV rays during the week more than it did the first 16 years of it's life (prior owner).  Now that my kids are getting older, I want to save a few bucks and do it myself.

 

So my questions:

• What pads do you recommend for my Porter cable buffer?  I currently have the yellow, orange, white, black foam pads.  But I hear wool pads are best.
• What products (polish/wax etc.) work best on imron paint and gelcoat?  I want to get the gelcoat to a really nice wet looking glossy shine.  Last years buff made it look better, but not great.
• Any other tips/tricks to this... I got pretty good with paint correction on cars, but want this to turn out well.  It's going to be a multiple day project this spring on a nice weekend, and I want to spend my time wisely. 

[mc2hill]

Try the Adams or Rupes Wool pads.  The Wool pads cut better than Microfiber, run cool, and finish like foam pads.  Grab some updated polishes and you should be ready to tackle that boat.  Probably 2 Coarse pads & 2 Medium pads, and 1 each of Compound & Polish.