Polyurethane finish?

I recently purchased a glider which was refinished
in polyurethane and I'm wondering what is the best
way to look after the finish?

Should I put something like wxblock on it or just use
a good automotive wax? should it be hard waxed and
buffed like gel coat?

What about fixing any problem areas? Is sanding a good
idea?

Any advice would be appreciated.

On Feb 5, 11:39 am, Uniform Zulu
<REMOVE_TO_REPLY.uniform.z...@m> wrote:
> I recently purchased a glider which was refinished
> in polyurethane and I'm wondering what is the best
> way to look after the finish?
>
> Should I put something like wxblock on it or just use
> a good automotive wax? should it be hard waxed and
> buffed like gel coat?
>
> What about fixing any problem areas? Is sanding a good
> idea?
>
> Any advice would be appreciated.

We need more information there, Uniform Zulu.................What type
ship, who painted it, how many coats did he shoot on? If you have at
least 3 medium to wet coats, you can wet sand it with a rubber block
using 600, then 800 grit paper, then buff out with liquid buffing
compound and an 1800 rpm buffer with a wool pad. Repairing scuffed
tips requires the edges to be sanded with 220, then shot, when wet
sanding out this repair you may show the grey primer at the
edge..............that's why white primer is the best. PCL Polyprimer
907 white, it's PE.............use any wax that doesn't have silicone,
I use Mothers (milk?), don't like the way WX block goes on after
buffing the ship out.......doesn't seem to spread evenly.
JJ

At 14:12 06 February 2008, Jj Sinclair wrote:

>
>We need more information there, Uniform Zulu.................What
>>type
>ship, who painted it, how many coats did he shoot on?
>If you have at
>least 3 medium to wet coats, you can wet sand it with
>a rubber block
>using 600, then 800 grit paper, then buff out with
>liquid buffing
>compound and an 1800 rpm buffer with a wool pad. Repairing
>scuffed
>tips requires the edges to be sanded with 220, then
>shot, when wet
>sanding out this repair you may show the grey primer
>at the
>edge..............that's why white primer is the best.
>PCL Polyprimer
>907 white, it's PE.............use any wax that doesn't
>have silicone,
>I use Mothers (milk?), don't like the way WX block
>goes on after
>buffing the ship out.......doesn't seem to spread evenly.
>JJ
>

LS-3, I don't have much info on the finish (long story).
The finish is 10 years old and still looks good except
for a few rough areas on the wings. I'm not sure about
the paint thickness but it appears thin in areas on
the tops of the wings. I will probably take it down
to M&H next year to fix since any sanding on the tops
of wings will probably go through. Can you just shoot
new paint on these areas after sanding down and blend
in?

Can you just shoot
> new paint on these areas after sanding down and blend
> in?

Yes, but any wet sanding at the edges runs the chance of going thin
and showing primer through. Not that hard to shoot the tops only with
enough paint to allow a complete sanding and buff-out. I did this on
my Genesis after the re-build, most areas were just scraped up, so I
filled and painted without primer in most areas.........came out good.
JJ

I use Farecla G3 light cutting compound with a splash of water added to make
a toothpaste type consistency. Another splash of water on the wing with the
polish before I buff with a foam buff. Goes on consistently. I then use a
polish like Nu Finish and polish with a lambs wool buff.

I finish sanding with 2000 grade, spanwise. Comes up like a mirror.

Repairs are done by wet sanding the area with 400 (care not to sand through
to the primer outside of the repair area).
If repairing scratches by 'layering in" PU (for small chips or small
scratches), remember that PU will shrink to half its size when it dries.
Generally used for on field repairs.

If the area has not been prepared properly, you will get a shadow/watermark
around the repair when you sand it back.

Chris