Wet sanding

[macames]

Any good comments on wet sanding varnish coats? including final coat. How about buffing?

[Greg Wallace]

I would not wet sand between build coats or otherwise "green" varnish. I have wet sanded seasoned varnish that is revealing grain in anticipation of buffing/polishing. Opinions may differ.

[maritimeclassics]

We sand at coat 5, 10 and 15 with 320 grit, on coat 15 we wet sand the whole boat with a sanding block before the name and numbers are painted. After that we coat 3-4 more coat then wet machine sand with 1500 then 2000 then 4000 and then buff it back to a show shine.

[macames]

We sand at coat 5, 10 and 15 with 320 grit, on coat 15 we wet sand the whole boat with a sanding block before the name and numbers are painted. After that we coat 3-4 more coat then wet machine sand with 1500 then 2000 then 4000 and then buff it back to a show shine.

Very helpful reply, thank you., Clif Ames

[cenger]

Once the final coat is sanded and buffed it does look great but do practice first to get the feel for how to buff out the sanding scratches. I burned through 12 coasts of varnish on an edge during my first attempt. One thing I found helpful was to have a spray bottle to mist the surface during the buffing.

[Tightline5]

Read the instructions during buffing as Perfect-it calls for water spray mist while compound buffing but NOT during Polish buffing . Also I always try to stay away from the edges or apply VERY MINIMAL pressure at these areas. This is ALWAYS an easy place to cut through.