Need Help Removing OXIDATION on white boat

[NoFearEyes]

Mike --

I've looked through the products on your site that will Help Removing OXIDATION on my white boat and there are too many choices !!

One that seems to get good reviews is McKees RV Heavy-Cut Oxidation Remover.

Is the McKees too difficult or too abrasive for a first time user? I've tried some stuff I found on a marine site called Aqua Buff and it didn't make a dest. The boat's been iu the Florida sun for 5 years or so since it was detailed last.

Thanks for help

Bill Miller

[Mike Phillips]

Mike --

I've looked through the products on your site that will Help Removing OXIDATION on my white boat and there are too many choices !!

One that seems to get good reviews is McKees RV Heavy-Cut Oxidation Remover.


Is the McKees too difficult or too abrasive for a first time user? I've tried some stuff I found on a marine site called Aqua Buff and it didn't make a dent. The boat's been in the Florida sun for 5 years or so since it was detailed last.

Thanks for help

Bill Miller

Hi Bill,

Sorry for the late reply, I just now found this thread.

First, Aqua Buff, at least the compound is some pretty aggressive stuff. I would personally take a different approach to restore an oxidized gel-coat surface than buff with such an aggressive product.

For example, when oxidation is really bad I would machine sand first and then buff. The difference in this approach is machine sanding is EASY on you and does the same thing as YOU pushing a wool pad on a rotary buffer against the side of a boat hull with a lot of muscle power for hours, something that is hard on you.


Either approach will work, tackling the project via machine buffing only or wet sanding and then machine buffing. But if you used one of the Aqua Buff compounds and I'm ASSUMING you applied this with a wool pad on a rotary buffer - and it didn't make a dent in the oxidation then it sounds like the oxidation is severe.

White gel-coat is also probably one of the hardest surfaces to have to buff so you have that working against you.


Before going any further, do you remember which Aqua Buff compound you used and how did you apply it?


Also, where are you and the boat located?

[danh52]

Mike, why do you say white gel coat is one of the hardest surfaces to buff?

[Mike Phillips]

Mike, why do you say white gel coat is one of the hardest surfaces to buff?

When talking about the hardness of a coating, the pigment used to create the color becomes a huge factor.

Gel-coat is pigmented polyester resin.

Now follow me...

The resin by itself, has a known hardness, (whatever it is isn't the point it's just our "control".

When you add a pigment to it to give it color, the pigment itself can change the hardness or softness of the resin.

Historically, the substance used to create a white color is titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxides in an of itself is a hard substance. So when mixed with the polyester resin it makes the resulting mixture harder than just the resin by itself.

This is also why single stage white paints are from my experience the hardest paints to remove defects out of.

The softest gel-coats and the softest paints would be black gel-coats and black single stage paints. And the reason for this is the pigment used to make the color black is Carbon Black, which is similar to the soot that you would find inside of a chimney or in the lid of your barbecue grill.

Keep in mind I'm not a chemist but over the years I pay attention and do my best to learn from others that are smarter than me and then try to regurgitate what I learn in a way that's easy for others to understand and thin if it applies, take the information and use it to help them with whatever project they are working on.


In this thread, the OP or Original Poster, TS Thread Starter, stated he tried using a VERY aggressive compound on a white gel-coat boat and added,

I've tried some stuff I found on a marine site called Aqua Buff and it didn't make a dent.

I've used Aqua Buff. It is aggressive. I would never use it myself for any project I undertake because I know a way of working smarter than harder.

The OP didn't say which Aqua Buff product he used or how he applied it so I don't know if it was by hand, a rotary buffer or a traditional orbital polisher, (TOB or Wax Spreader), but even with all the facts I know what he's up against.


In trying to help this guy I added a little information and then asked some follow-up questions.


Makes sense?