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Started By
Message
How to restore shine to older boat?
Posted on 7/10/13 at 6:46 pm
Posted on 7/10/13 at 6:46 pm
Need to polish the old boat. I've searched a bit and this seems to be a pretty popular method. Any other tips to renew the shine to the gel coat?
quote:
1) Remove all loose dirt and grime
Hose off the boat.
Wash the gelcoat with a sponge and special boat soap or a mild solution of dishwashing detergent and warm water. Add bleach if the surface is stained.
Rinse and allow to dry. You can use a squeegee to speed up the drying process.
2) Get rid of sticky spots and grease
Use lacquer thinner, varsol or a special degreaser to remove sticky adhesive spots or greasy buildup.
Rinse again and allow to dry.
3) Eliminate old wax
Use rags soaked with toluene or another dewaxing solvent to remove traces of old wax, which can keep polish or rubbing compound from working evenly.
Sweep the rag in one direction, applying light pressure.
Allow the solvent to evaporate before buffing.
4) Determine whether you need polish or buffing compound
Both polish and buffing compound are abrasives. They restore the shine to your boat’s fiberglass gelcoat by removing imperfections, discolorations and scrapes in the surface, increasing the reflective shine. Be very careful when using a rubbing compound. Gelcoat is extremely thin and an aggressive compound can burn through it quickly, necessitating an expensive and time-consuming repair job.
Choose polish if your boat only needs light refinishing.
Go with a stronger rubbing compound if the surface is excessively pitted or chalky.
5) Buff
If you’re using a buffer, start at the slowest speed. Touch the pad lightly to the surface before starting the buffer so the polish or compound doesn’t spray in all directions.
Buff until the surface becomes glassy looking. If you can see through the gelcoat, you’ve gone too far.
Follow up buffing with polish
Hose off the boat and the work area to remove the dust raised by polishing and compounding.
5) wax following manufacturer's instructions. Allow wax to dry to a haze before removing with a soft cloth.
This post was edited on 7/10/13 at 6:48 pm
7
Posted on 7/10/13 at 6:57 pm to poochie
Get a buffer and some rubbing compound. Hit it heavy with the compound. Wax afterward.
Posted on 7/10/13 at 7:29 pm to poochie
The 3M set of stuff works really well. they have a rough compound, light compound, and wax. Jamestown distributors has all three
Posted on 7/10/13 at 7:39 pm to bbvdd
I bought Meguiar's Marine & RV Fiberglass Restoration System from amazon for $27. Worked very well on a 30 plus year old fiberglass vw kit car.
Before
After
Before
After
Posted on 7/10/13 at 9:28 pm to poochie
Island Girl products worked really well when I had an old boat.
https://www.islandgirlproducts.com/productlist.html
https://www.islandgirlproducts.com/productlist.html
Posted on 7/10/13 at 9:32 pm to tight lines
3M Super Duty compound is what most of the boat detailers use around here. 3M Part #5954. It's much harder to screw up gelcoat than it is to mess up an auto paint job. Get a rotary buffer that spins @ 1500 RPM, and use a wool pad. Follow with a good hand wax.
Posted on 7/10/13 at 9:46 pm to poochie
This shite works miracles.
LINK /
BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE!
You don't have to buy that shite because the exact same compound is THIS...
LINK -
Go to Home Depot. Buy a gallon of it for about $20. Will last your the rest of the life of your boat and it will pretty much eliminate all the trouble of wax. No more buffing. No more polishing. Wash the dirt off and it looks great. When you decide it's faded, just wipe more of that on it and you'll look like new again.
We have a dock full of fiberglass sail boats from the seventies and eighties that live in the water. Not out of it. For years at a time. The boats with that stuff on it are damn near maintenance free and look better than the ones with wax by a long shot. I didn't believe it till I saw it myself.
Save yourself the trouble and the expense. Go down to Home Depot and buy that shite. Apply like it says in this thread where they discovered it...
LINK
And thank me later.
LINK /
BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE!
You don't have to buy that shite because the exact same compound is THIS...
LINK -
Go to Home Depot. Buy a gallon of it for about $20. Will last your the rest of the life of your boat and it will pretty much eliminate all the trouble of wax. No more buffing. No more polishing. Wash the dirt off and it looks great. When you decide it's faded, just wipe more of that on it and you'll look like new again.
We have a dock full of fiberglass sail boats from the seventies and eighties that live in the water. Not out of it. For years at a time. The boats with that stuff on it are damn near maintenance free and look better than the ones with wax by a long shot. I didn't believe it till I saw it myself.
Save yourself the trouble and the expense. Go down to Home Depot and buy that shite. Apply like it says in this thread where they discovered it...
LINK
And thank me later.
Posted on 7/10/13 at 9:55 pm to faxis
I've used ZEP on old shatty sailboats, but wouldn't put it on nice stuff.
I always used PTEF wax and the 3M micro finishing compound. I loaned a friend my box trailer or I'd throw up a photo of it. That stuffs great to restore the shine and have a glossy finish.
I used the 3M to bring the shine back on repair spots on my boat.
I always used PTEF wax and the 3M micro finishing compound. I loaned a friend my box trailer or I'd throw up a photo of it. That stuffs great to restore the shine and have a glossy finish.
I used the 3M to bring the shine back on repair spots on my boat.
Posted on 7/10/13 at 10:06 pm to eng08
Yeah it's not going to be showroom, but if you've got an older boat, it's probably going to be more than you'd get without ten times the effort and way the frick more expense. We use it because it makes it simple. More sailing, less cleaning.
Posted on 7/10/13 at 10:08 pm to faxis
Yeah I had a small boat and I hated seeing all the dings in it.
We were also going for speed so we wanted it perfect.
We were also going for speed so we wanted it perfect.
Posted on 7/10/13 at 10:10 pm to eng08
Oh I wasn't talking about the bottom paint. We use various different things for that. Freshwater so it's not that big a deal but they do live wet so you need it. I doubt it would hold up below the waterline like we need.
Posted on 7/10/13 at 10:20 pm to faxis
No bottom paint, dry sailed it. Longest I would leave it in was 10 days then I had to pull it out to wash and wax. 2 coats of wax to make sure I got everywhere.
Posted on 7/10/13 at 10:38 pm to eng08
Ah gotcha. Yeah I've done that with mine in the water and it's just not as good an option as the Zep. Wax is gone in three months in the summer or sooner and you have a hard time waxing near the water line in the water. That's all we ever used till we found this shite. Not going back. I'll take smearing this shite on once every year or two over washing and waxing constantly any day.
Posted on 7/10/13 at 10:50 pm to faxis
Use 400 wet with a little dishoap in the water. It will prevent the paper from clogging up. After that, wash down with 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. Dry it off. Then 600 wet then vinegar water wash, then 800 which should be plenty. Use 3M imperial paper, it is the best, doesn't load up real easy and lasts a long time. You will need a lot. Change pieces often. After the 800 grit, go to an aggressive rubbing compound, like 3M Imperial Compound and apply with a variable speed orbital buffer. Spin it as fast as you can without building too much heat on the hull. Use a good thick wool bonnet on the buffer. Once you finish that, go to a finishing compound, like 3M Finesse it II. Same rules apply, but don't use the same bonnet. After that is wax time. Collinite is the best, but a high quality automotive wax like Mothers Carnauba Cleaner wax will do, just may not last as long and/or require more coats.
I plagiarized this method above but it does work like a charm
Plus if you want shoot a few coats of clear over it great uv protection that many of the older polyester resins didnt have few years back.
I plagiarized this method above but it does work like a charm
Plus if you want shoot a few coats of clear over it great uv protection that many of the older polyester resins didnt have few years back.
This post was edited on 7/10/13 at 10:53 pm
Posted on 7/11/13 at 7:22 am to Cracker
The above is correct. If you have heavy oxidization in the gell coat, it is going to take wet sanding to get the oxidization out.
If you take the time to do it, the boat will look brand new when you get done. I did my old Nautique a few years ago starting with 500 and going 500-600-800-1000-rubbing compound - polish - wax followed by new pinstriping, decals, etc and people comment on it all the time when im on the water.
you will want an air sander - but must be very careful with it that you dont put too much pressure or leave it in one spot too long. Even with the air sander, your arms and shoulders will hate you for a month.
If you take the time to do it, the boat will look brand new when you get done. I did my old Nautique a few years ago starting with 500 and going 500-600-800-1000-rubbing compound - polish - wax followed by new pinstriping, decals, etc and people comment on it all the time when im on the water.
you will want an air sander - but must be very careful with it that you dont put too much pressure or leave it in one spot too long. Even with the air sander, your arms and shoulders will hate you for a month.
Posted on 7/11/13 at 7:32 am to Cracker
quote:
Use 400 wet with a little dishoap in the water. It will prevent the paper from clogging up. After that, wash down with 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. Dry it off. Then 600 wet then vinegar water wash, then 800 which should be plenty. Use 3M imperial paper, it is the best, doesn't load up real easy and lasts a long time. You will need a lot. Change pieces often. After the 800 grit, go to an aggressive rubbing compound, like 3M Imperial Compound and apply with a variable speed orbital buffer. Spin it as fast as you can without building too much heat on the hull. Use a good thick wool bonnet on the buffer. Once you finish that, go to a finishing compound, like 3M Finesse it II. Same rules apply, but don't use the same bonnet. After that is wax time. Collinite is the best, but a high quality automotive wax like Mothers Carnauba Cleaner wax will do, just may not last as long and/or require more coats.
It's gonna take some time and effort but will give the best results IMO
Posted on 7/11/13 at 7:48 am to poochie
Posted on 7/11/13 at 9:01 am to poochie
I put a fresh coat of wax on mine yesterday and do not envy what you are about to do. Prayers.
Posted on 7/11/13 at 9:17 am to weadjust
That made ahellofa difference 
Posted on 7/11/13 at 9:18 am to poochie
may need a new gel coat
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