1998 Oxidised boat. Opinions Needed!

**gabrielgiggs** · 08-06-2013, 11:12 AM

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I'll be working on these suggestions and shall post back my results soon.

**Shtexas** · 08-12-2013, 09:37 PM

Good Luck on your boat. I'm finishing up my summer long restore of my Sea ray 340.
You should think about rebedding all of your deck hardware and checking all your through hulls for any signs of leaking while its out, if you haven't already. Should be done every few years. I had to deal with damage caused by slacking in this area.

**jmorlan** · 08-13-2013, 01:39 AM

My boat was pretty neglected and oxidized when I got it.
I can vouch that the marine 31 is decent stuff.
I went to town on most of the boat with only a PC 7424 and yellow lake country pad. Took a while. But it got 90% of it out.

To make it perfect i hit it a bit with a rotary and wool and a finishing pad.
I don't have any before shots. But here's a quick snap after

Sent from my futuristic Apple device while in my office doing nothing.

**scrubs147** · 08-13-2013, 06:26 AM

What would you recommend for a finishing pad for a rotary polisher?

**gabrielgiggs** · 08-23-2013, 03:04 PM

Hey Guys,

I finally managed to get round to using a Rotary and a wool pad but I'm not sure what to really expect out of a 15 year old gelcoat.

The finish is glossy, though it doesn't look deep. In a way, it looks flat, like a thin, shiny surface. Is there any way to actually achieve the deep, new look?

I've tried compounding, followed by a polish, followed by a pure polish + wax. Is there a particular thing that I should do to achieve that deep gloss look?

**aplusmarine** · 08-28-2013, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by gabrielgiggs

Hey Guys,

I finally managed to get round to using a Rotary and a wool pad but I'm not sure what to really expect out of a 15 year old gelcoat.

The finish is glossy, though it doesn't look deep. In a way, it looks flat, like a thin, shiny surface. Is there any way to actually achieve the deep, new look?

I've tried compounding, followed by a polish, followed by a pure polish + wax. Is there a particular thing that I should do to achieve that deep gloss look?

If you have compounded, and the surface is clean (no oxidation, or hazy areas).
I would polish with a yellow wool pad, then use 3m's ultra machine polish with a foam waffle pad.

Finish with collinites 925 fiberglass wax, and apply with a buffer. Buff the product in slowly. Hope that helps.

**Nick McKees37** · 08-28-2013, 04:54 PM

Originally Posted by gabrielgiggs

Hey Guys,

I finally managed to get round to using a Rotary and a wool pad but I'm not sure what to really expect out of a 15 year old gelcoat.

The finish is glossy, though it doesn't look deep. In a way, it looks flat, like a thin, shiny surface. Is there any way to actually achieve the deep, new look?

I've tried compounding, followed by a polish, followed by a pure polish + wax. Is there a particular thing that I should do to achieve that deep gloss look?

Can you be more specific about the chemicals used?

**Shtexas** · 08-29-2013, 01:21 PM

After all of that compounding and polishing your test spot should shine like a diamond. It's very hard to polish through gelcoat which is sprayed between 15-30 mils depending on the quality. It is possible though. Do you see any small pores in the finish when you look closely? If so don't polish anymore, it's too thin. If that's the case there are other options you have for finishing the boat.

**ken tuep** · 08-29-2013, 01:24 PM

You wont really get depth on gelcoat, its basically like a single stage with the pigment in the gel. If you had clearcoat over the top, then you could get depth.

If you want it to look really wet, put it in the water and enjoy it!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using AG Online

Mike Phillips · 10-30-2013, 11:02 AM

Hi Gabriel ,

Just read your PM, going to reply to you here as I prefer to keep typing time on the public side of the forum not in private messages.

Like mentioned, you won't get a lot of depth or sharp reflections out of a white, gel-coat finish but you can get great gloss.

Gel-coats tend to like wool pads better than foam pads for correction and polishing work. I have not used the Presta Super Cut Compound you mentioned but I've read that this is an aggressive and fast cutting compound which should work to remove the oxidation.

If it's not getting the gel-coat as clear and glossy as you like then the next thing you can try is wetsanding the hull as this will completely remove any old deteriorated gel-coat. Then compound out your sanding marks and you should be to a clear, glossy surface.

Next you can either use a less aggressive polish or go right to a one-step cleaner/wax.

The goal is to clean up any scouring or haziness left by the aggressive compounding step and both approaches will work.

The benefit to using a one-step cleaner/wax is after you're done the hull will have some protection on it. If you polish only, then you'll still have to come back and wax.

I'd recommend getting the Marine 31 Gel Coat Heavy-Cut Cleaner Wax, this with a wool FINISHING pad, not a cutting pad should be more than enough to remove any of the deeper swirls left by the compound and the associated haze with compounding while restoring a clear, glossy surface that's protected.

I'd do all of the above via Test Spots and be sure you have dialed-in a process that works to one small area before buffing out the entire boat.

No sure where you live but I have an upcoming boat detailing class just have not set the date yet.

Next Boat Detailing Class - 24' Shearwater Extreme Boat Detail

The black gel-coat hull on this boat is oxidized...