Shamrock decals

[Shamrock20]

Where can I get replacement decals for the hull on my shamrock 20' cuddy cabin?
If I repaint the hull with white, what brand of paint is best? The gelcoat does not seem to shine any longer with polish.

[scoffshore]

There are many things you can repaint with, you definitely want to stick with a 2-part paint. I just painted mine with Interlux Perfection and am still impressed with how easy it is to paint with. In the past 2 months I have painted 3 boats with it.

As for the decals, what year is your Shammie? Let s know, I may have the graphics file for your logo that you can take to our local sign shop to have them make up for you.

[steveg]

Check out the decal that came on my 1992 26 footer. Bought her used but will ask the previous owner if he has any info on it.

[stagalv]

Wow, now that's a hardtop !!

[Griffin]

Scoffshore do you have the graphics for the 1986 26 Hard Top.
Griff

[spooled again]

Prior to painting you may want to try wetsanding a section with 600 grit wet paper, than hit the same area with 1000 grit. Once complete compunt with a heavy compound then wax.

I purchased my 97 last fall. It was one big hunk of chaulk inside and out. I did what I explained above, but I used an air sander and an electric wheel for the compounding.

I even brought a shine back to the bottom, after it was soda blasted.

The boat shines like new.

I considered re-painting but I like gelcoat. The reason I like gelcoat is that it is much thicker than paint. If you scratch it the color remains, unless it is a very deep scratch.

[Esmeralda]

I just had my good friend and neighbor use his work rig to clean my boat. It is a pressure washer and a kerosene water heater that can produce steam with a 200 gallon water tank. He uses a mix of dawn and bleach and low pressure with heated water. The boat turned out very clean because he uses the correct mix of low pressure and heated water and he knows what he doing.

The hull needs a coat of wax. But first it needs work on the gelcoat because it is oxidized. He had his employee do the inside cleaning work, but he cleaned the outside himself as we are planning the final steps to wax it, which I appreciated.

The plan is have him do the work which will involve going around the boat 5 times. The last 2 times are for the wax on and wax off.

The first 3 steps are the compound process and one of them is referred to as "cutting".

Can someone post the details of the first 3 steps in the compound process so I can keep a close watch on my hull maintenance?

[ct9a-mr]

Check out the shurehold system. I used it on the contender and it works great.
Its a lot of work but well worth the effort.

[maa. melee]

The first 3 steps are the compound process and one of them is referred to as "cutting".

Can someone post the details of the first 3 steps in the compound process so I can keep a close watch on my hull maintenance?

Step 1 : Rubbing Compound most comonly found in products that claim to remove *heavy* oxidation. Think of this as a lower 'grit' sandpaper. It will in effect cut the oxidation and crap thats on the surface of the gelcoat. It is important that there is no exisiting wax on the surface as you want the cutting to be completley even. Old wax can cause blotching.

Step 2 : Polishing compound (sold under that name) most comply found in products that claim to remove *slight* oxidation, swirl marks, and other blemishes. Think of this as a higher 'grit' sandpaper that will knock down the cutting pattern in the previous step.

Step 3 : Final polishing which is again, an even higher 'grit' of cutting media. Think of 3M Finesse-it II.

A previous step to Step 1 may be to wet sand the entire hull with 2000 grit paper. This should only be done in extreme conditions.

The final step (s) should be to seal the hull under wax, 2 coats at least.