Polishing Royalex

[PaulC]

Hi. I'm a woodworker, not a plasticworker.
However, I have an RO-90, and I have a canoe that looks pretty foggy.
The boat is Royalex, which I understand to be ABS (?).
Looking for specific guidance on how (if) I can clean it up.
What pads, what polish, specific schedule/instructions if possible.
Thanks, all!

 

[PaulC]

Anyone?
Trying to get my feet wet in the world of polishing, and just need a little nudge in the right direction.
Help!

 

[peter halle]

I can't give advice but I can move this to the Ask Festool section which might get you some advice from Festool directly.

Peter

 

[PaulC]

Thanks Peter!

 

[peter halle]

My guess is that Festool will give some advice.

But in the meantime - and it might not be relevant - here is a thread that you might be interested in:

http://festoolownersgroup.com/finishing/polishing-a-fiberglass-kayak/msg140688/#msg140688

Peter

 

[w802h]

I was in the canoe industry for a decade.  We would brighten the faded color of Royalex with a product called 303 Protectant.  It's like Armor-all, a UV protectant.  It only needs to be wiped on to a clean surface with a rag, although you could use a polisher if you really wanted to.  I would trim any deep gouges/loose plastic with a utility knife.  If the outer skin is damaged you can put on a fiberglass or Kevlar patch or skid plate, but these tend to adhere best at the bow and stern where the curves of the boat have little flex, because epoxies tend to be less flexible than a Royalex hull.  As tough as they are - the outer layer can't really be renewed like a gelcoat, so in general, the polishing techniques for fiberglass or other composites don't apply to Royalex. 

 

[TylerC]

Interesting question. Honestly, this is a new one for us. Because this isn't a primary purpose for the Rotex, I'd suggest that you contact Royalex. They surely have more experience with cleaning and polishing their canoes. If you hear anything from them, let us know. If you need additional advice from there, we'll help as we can. (Also, I'm just curious about what you find out.)

 

[Cheese]

[member=1264]PaulC[/member]
First thing... [welcome] to the FOG.

I've used my RO 90 to remove the yellow haze and polish out the headlight covers on a couple of cars. I believe the material was Lexan (a polycarbonate). I started with 240 grit and moved through the grits to Platin 4000 and then finished off using a liquid compound. I did keep the surface wet by using a spray bottle with water in it. The addition of water seemed to give me a more uniform scratch pattern.

Here are 3 Festool Polishing Recommendation sheets. The Festool Surface Finishing 11 brochure, includes all the part numbers for the polishing pads and polishing sponges & accessories for the RO 90.

Good luck and let us know how this project turns out.

[attachthumb=1]

[attachthumb=2]

[attachthumb=3]

[attachthumb=4]