What to expect with boat gel coat?

[Montyx5]

Ok, I received my Flex rotary(PE14) father's day gift and DG products to help with 35' 5th wheel and boat. I started with my oxidized boat today which is a 2000 248cc Crown Line, white and maroon gel coat. I started with DG561 with a wool leveling pad early in the day looking to move onto DG501/601 followed by 105/601. A test spot the previous day showed good results, but looking at it today, with the sun moved, it looks swirled(holograms?). I noticed that I had swirl marks from the compounding midday as the sun moved, really noticeable in the moron gel coat. I needed to find some pin stripping that separated the gel coat colors and went to locale body shop supply. Talking to an employee that had experience with his boat and suggested Wizards Turbo cut. This removed the swirls and worked longer than the DG561. As the sun set I used halogen lighting and seen that the areas that I did earlier looked orange pealed as well as swirled. I have been able to remove the Orange peel with 2-5 applications of the DG561 combing the two for the final application or two brings a fairly flush surface without heavy swirls or scratches. I am assuming that DG501/601 followed by 105/601 will bring the boat out to perfection.

The boat looked perfect on delivery (ordered it new) and am wondering if what I am seeing (a little orange peel effect) is normal for a boat. Am I just being to picky? What would have been a better choice of produces and in what order? I know that it should look better than it ever did after compounding, since it looked awesome when it was new. What can I do to simplify the process? Products?

Monty

[Montyx5]

Nothing from those that have used these DG products?
Worked on it for a while yesterday evening into the dark. In the day light it looks great using the Wizard product but at night under halogen light I see the orange peel. Again using DG561 first removes it in one or two applications. I am wondering if DG501 would work the same as the Wizard product in removing the marks left by the DG561. I am trying to avoid applying any wax at this point as I need to replace the pin stripping that separates the different color gel coats.
Also what is the working time once DG501 and DG601 is mixed. I am assuming the bonding that is stated for the DG601 will cause the mixture to gel or harden to some point. What have other experienced with this? Is it known whether oxygen plays a role in the reaction. If it is than purging the bottle that contains the mixture with nitrogen would retard the reaction allowing sections to be completed as work progresses.
Thanks
Monty

[KKYS]

Generally I don't expect to see orange peel effect in gelcoat. The reason is, how the boats are made in a mold. You could have some orange peel effects if you have a painted hull or graphics, but you don't.


As far as DG products, I'm not real familiar with thier products to
give any meaningful advice. I did buy some 561 for my sons to try and
they like it , but more of a heavy cleaner not as a compound.

[davidc]

I have been playing with a 32' gel coat 5th wheel for more years than I care to remember. Not sure about the orange peel as the only way I have alleviated that on paint was wet sanding. Now for oxidation I work in the shade and the best I have found to date is DG 652 then apply 601 then top with 105 in that order. All compounding done with a wool pad and a rotary. 501,601,105 applied by hand with cotton applicators. If the oxidation is very severe 3M's rocks in a bottle may qualify followed by 652. I have tried quite a few products over the years, Carnuba's are worthless in Arizona, Liquid Glass, Klasse, Zaino AIO all lasted at the most 3-4 months. The Duragloss 601/105 is going on 7 months now. I have one section that I mixed 601/105 then applied 601 then 105 to see what it looks like when everything fails or the next time I have enough ambition to polish 900 + square feet of fiber glass.

Dave

[glen e]

Duragloss great for gelcoat;

Oxidized gelcoat makeover (Pics) - The Hull Truth - Boating and Fishing Forum

[Montyx5]

As far as the orange peel, it is the only way I can describe it. It is no where the depth normally seen on paint, its much shallower. I can only see it with the light by its shadowing and removes with the DG561. In the same place on both sides of the boat it is a little heaver and gave a very visible dull look that I had been trying to remove with products that were not aggressive enough to do so. I suspect that it is the result of the tension at the surface that was created when the gel coat cures. I also looked at the fiberglass nose and tail cones on my 5th wheel with the light and it was there in places also. Looking at the boat in the day light there is a very slight difference in the shade of white where the orange peel was removed and is adjacent to the areas where it remains. So I guess it is something that I didn't need to worry about except for the two problem areas.

Sounds like the DG562 (thanks Dave) is what I will need for the 5th wheel side walls as they are Owen Corning fiber glass panels and suspect that the gel coat is much thinner. As far as the 601/*** applications, I was going to try and save steps by mixing them. From reading through the forum I was under the impression that this is as good as doing them separately. Yes, No, Maybe? Any idea how the mixtures stores for short periods of time? This is something I do not recall being mentioned, may have missed it.

Glen I have already read almost all your posts in researching this endeavor. When it comes to boat and especially camper care there is limited information compared to the automotive areas. I will take some pictures of the before and after to post as well as the processes. I will also document the 5th wheel project that will follow the boat. It requires a thorough cleaning/polishing as well as some maintenance as allot of the caulking is dried and cracking.

Thank you all for your replies.
Monty

[davidc]

I tried mixing 601/501 and it became a lot thicker fast. It was harder to work on the fiber glass with the rotary than just the 501. The Arizona heat may have caused the problems I was having. I finally went back to applying 601 seperately which worked better for me and since It was on my own equipment time and money was not a factor.

Dave

[primo spaghetti]

i worked as a patcher at Neptunus buffing boats and prepping molds 20 years ago. if your not familiar with Neptunus, they were a major manufacturer of million dollar yachts. the only thing that we used to repair the gel in any of the patches/repairs/restorations of hulls was meguiar's professional mirror glaze products, and therefore to me, meguiars was always synonymous with marine care, unitl i found it retailing for automotive use..

ive kinda left meguiars for any of my automotive details in the last couple of years due to the silicones and fillers, but the stuff we used to get in years ago was amazing on gel. the heavy cut compound was orange and gritty (# 2 i think), then the polish was cream coloured and smooth, (i think it was called medium cut cleaner).

Also, i didnt get it from your post, but you may want to try foam pads for the polishing step with the DG. the wool may be too aggressive and may be causing your holograms.

[KKYS]

i worked as a patcher at Neptunus buffing boats and prepping molds 20 years ago.

Hi Primo,
I was just wondering if there is a differance in mold (tooling)gelcoats and final product gelcoats?

[KKYS]

Looking at the boat in the day light there is a very slight difference in the shade of white where the orange peel was removed and is adjacent to the areas where it remains. Monty

Often what can happen in gelcoat, is that the pigments fade before the polyester/resins
breakdown. So you may to have to cut a little deeper in to the fresh polyester/resin
in order to bring back a consistant color. We see this more in the white and pastel pigmant
gelcoats.