[Mr. Sandman]

I hear ya... last year I bought the surehold marine kit that had the random orbital buffer and all the misc magic buff stuff. It came out pretty good but when I saw the pro's do the boat a few down from mine I was in awe. I thought that boat should have gone to the paint shop not get a compound. The results were fantastic. I picked their brain and asked them exactly what to use. This year I gave the surehold kit to my son for his car and I stepped up to a makita unit and going with 3M's Imperial compound, finessit and pro wax and 3 kinds of wool pads. I have not broken them out of the box yet but the results I witnessed from these products were amazing. I figure it will take about 4-6 hours/side + another weekend for the inside but it will look great when I am done.

Re: Sanding bottom paint can be a real health hazard. I would bet money it took a more than a few years off my Dad's life sanding that old copper bottom paint. Even with respirators it is a hellish job. IMO this is money well spent, paying a boatyard to do it.