Wet sanding..yet again

T

The year of August

New Member
I know it has been covered a few times, but all fairly vage. So my question is, what is the best way to wet sand the bottom of your hull to get rid of scatches. I was thinking of startiing with an 800grit sandpaper, and lots of water, and then after one run of that just go up to 1200 to finnish it off. What have people done and decided turned out best for them?
 
800 is too smooth to start with. Start with 300 followed by 400, 500, 600, 800, 1000 and 1500. You can skip some, but if you want the best finish do all of them. When you are done with all the sanding, finish it off with a teflon polish.The first grid will be the most work. Use lots of water, and make sure the hull is very clean throughout the process. Also a good working place is vital for your back.
Needless to say, this is a lot of work. Only do this when your bottom really has a lot of scratches and is overall far from smooth. Just a couple of scratches do not make a big difference, and I would not bother about them.
Good luck!
 
Hi,

I'd fill the scratches, then sand. I have white bottoms, so I use either a small tube of gel-coat like material or a 3m pre-paint filler both available from West Marine. I'm experimenting now with the 3m product, which is white, but I'm adding some WEST System whitener to brighten it. It sands nicely, but may end up too soft with the additives.

West Marine and others carry blue, red, or yellow coloring agents if you have an older hull. They sort-of match.

I prefer to squegee on the fillers, and I even use a steel taping knife as a squegee. Due to shrinkage this might take 2 coats to fill. Then I rough sand with say 220 or 300 on a very hard block, finish with finer on a slightly padded block. I would never just sand the scratches, as too much material has to come off.

Al Russell
 
Filling the larger and deeper scratches is a good idea. My $.02 is that you clean the boat very well first. Then fill a spray bottle with water and soap. Squirt that generously on the area and take it small maybe 1'X1' areas at a time. Go with the "grain," if you know hwat I mean. After your done sanding, a good machine polishing with teflon polish will make that baby look new!
 
One tip that was passed on to me is to take a pencil and draw lines (scribble) over the whole hull. Wet sand the whole hull with your first grade of sandpaper until all the lines/scribble marks disappear. Then rescribble and move on to your next grade of paper and repeat. This is supposed to help keep the material removed to a uniform amount over the whole hull.
 
Save yourself the elbow grease. A new sail, and triming it correctly will make a lot more difference than the condition of your hull. Read A Manual of Sail Trim. There are several noted stories of top level sailors winning big races with sub par Laser hulls.
 
^^^ so true, one time at a regatta when i sailed optis (think it was the mjrw) my boat had a hole covered in duct tape and a 7 year old sail and i got like 3 or 4th and my buddy got 1st with the same condition boat. and it was funny cuz we got made fun of by this little snobby kid who had like brand new carbon fiber stuff and we beat him :)
 
Yes, true! Yet my ('74) boat was spray-painted by the previous owner, with the paint flaking off. The boat had been launched off a beach for years and the sand had defintely done a lot of scratching. The bottom was VERY rough and that particular condition was certainly not fast. I sanded it, and it definitely makes a difference!
So, it all depends on the condition. A couple of scratches really don't make a difference, and are not worth all the efforts; rather spend your time on the water! On the other hand, in extreme cases (like mine) it will make a difference. There is of course also the psychological difference: if you beat a much newer boat that will feel good. Likewise, if a newer boat beats you, then you will blame it on the hull (not on yourself, of course) and you will feel less confident. So, if your hull is "nice and shiny" your performance might be better, because your confidence will increase. This is all speculative, though, and you have to decide for yourself, what is more important.
 
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