: Hi all-

: A friend of mine just got a really nice Cetus LV. It has some minor
: scratches and she's proud of it and fussy about (because she
: hasn't paddled it yet), so I said I'd buff the deck for her.
: Some of the scratches are deep enough that I would wet sand
: them. Is there anything to know about wet sanding gelcoat? I'm
: using 3M buffing products and variable speed buffer, no problems
: there.

: Also- this kayak has a keel strip which is worn in the stern. It
: appears that it's just thickened material, probably polyester
: resin, and no cloth. It wore down like a piece of chalk. Does
: anyone know if this is the stock setup, or did somebody set this
: up themselves? I'm going to build it back up and then lay on a
: couple layers of dynel cloth. That should go a long ways toward
: solving the problem going forward.

: Thanks in advance for the help!

: m

Go with 2000 grit or finer. Use a little dish soap in your water when you wet sand. From what you said in your post it sounds like you know what you're doing with the buffing, but there is a product I have always used called "liquid ebony" that at least back in the day was the finest buffing compound you could get to remove the last little swirl marks. I can't remember if it was made by McGuiers or 3M or someone else. It's black, very fine, and removes the finest of fine scratches. Then I finish off with a cleaner wax.