Fiberglass Oxidation Removal is making me nuts..Pics

[Brandon1]

Just got a 2005 20' Center Console boat. I dont think it was ever put under a shelter, or ever seen a wax or a brush since 2005, so needless to say, it is extremely faded and nasty.

Here is where the problems start. I had the dealership compound the fiberglass parts of the boat for me figuring I could just finish up polishing and waxing. Well, I picked the boat up, and while it looks better, its not perfect.

So since I was at the marine store, I picked up Meguiars Oxidation Remover and Boat Polish. Figured that the oxidation remover would, well, remove the oxidation, and the polish would replace the oils in the fiberglass creating a nice shine. So I start off on the boat with the oxidation remover on a wool pad on the rotary at 1500rpms. Right off the bat, I know this will be hard and with terrible results. I then used the polish hoping it would create that "wet" shine. No, did basically nothing. The fiberglass is getting clean, and it does shine more than in the picture, but it's not perfect. It's extremely hazy and not "crisp" looking. I thought it would be the wool pad not creating the finish I wanted, but when I switched to a lo-pro 5.5" ccs pad, same results.

I know this can be made better, just not sure where to start off. What have you boat guys done to create the results? Maybe i'm just asking to much of the fiberglass and it's as good as it will get.

[HMFIC]

The boat can be made to look new again. You just need heavy wool pads, heavy cut compound(I used 3m and it worked well). Boats use a gel coats that are a lot harder then car paint to scratch.

Big wool pads and heavy compound are the only hope for that heavily oxidized paint. The compound itself will leave a almost mirror finish. Do not expect one pass to do the trick.

The water line mark would disappear in one pass using compound. The dealer must of being applying the compound by hand or something...

[Brian_Brice]

Brandon, I did a nasty oxidized red and black boat a few years back that I had to sand multiple times starting with 1000 grit 3m up to 2500k just to remove the oxidation.

Gel coat and fiberglass are very stubborn and vulnerable to having oxidation return shortly after polishing, but they are a lot thicker than automotive clear. Maybe the owner wouldn't mind you sampling a small section to sand down, using megs marina line to polidh? Its worth a shot?

[Jimmie]

Brandon I just went through the same thing last summer with a used motorhome that I bought. Here's my experiences. Started out with compound and wool/rotary. Immediately gummy and frustrating. Switched to PC and orange foam. Pad caked immediately and I kept washing pads. Switched to yellow pad and it helped. Worked PC on faster speeds (part of the problem). Here is what finally worked the best to get rid of the oxidation and splotchy look. I used a chemical cleaner, DG501, PC, orange foam, speed 3 (never faster), knocked the caking off the pad with a brush (almost every pass/area). After that you could switch to polish. I went straight to Collinite #885.

[Brandon1]

Actually, the owner is me lol.

The picture is before the dealership compounded it, it did look allot better after they did it, but overall, its still really hazy.

Thats my problem, most of the oxidation is gone, but the finish is extremely hazy.

[Meghan]

As everyone said Gel coat is a lot tougher then Clear. Its like polishing a vette but worse! You have any Menzerna on hand? Need to hit it with the big guns!

[JAM-FL]

I just detailed my boat last weekend and I used 3M restorer/wax (with the green label) it took off the oxidation and also some diesel stain that I had on the boat since Oct I then followed it up with Collinite #925 which gave it the extra shine.....Good Luck!!!

[tallyho]

I think someone else mentioned it as well. If it's really bad then wet sanding might be your best bet. I would start at 1500 grit on a small area. Follow up with a good wax then a sealer with Teflon.