Chalky Gel Coat
 

My boat's gel coat is getting a little chalky. What is the best product to bring it back to life. It's not bad at all, but it probably needs a little more than a regular wash.

wax.........3-5 times.

X2

Use a good wax such as collinite 925
Depending on how bad your oxidation is getting you can use presta cutting creme and ultra polish.
Some people swear by the star brite marine polish but I don’t care for. Yes it is really easy to use but it does not last.
The most important thing to keep in mind is you must keep wax on the boat if you don’t want it to oxidize.
If you want to read for days do a search on THT for best marine wax.

Thanks

What kind of boat is it?

Compound it with high gloss gel coat compound then I use rejex instead of wax. It is easier to apply and lasts longer.

Sometimes it takes a good wet sand and buff. I have brought three boats back to a good Zune in the last year like this. Wet sand, buff with wool pad and compound, wax with a good carnuba wax .

Yep depends on how bad it is. A good wet sand with progressively finer paper can work wonders.

It's not really bad at all, just a little chalky.

It's a Caracal. Most folks of probably never seen one as they are no longer made. It's a cat hull that is 19 feet. It's a great boat for both light offshore and inside. I have a 115 Suzuki on it.

I had a problem with a boat but it was in the in the fiberglass and nothing helped. I read a thread and a guy mentioned putting vasoline and rubbing it in. It penetrates the fiberglass then you rub off the excess, then wax the boat. It worked like a charm and saved a lot of elbow grease.

wash with soap (dawn professional from sams/walmart/etc.works great and is cheap) then clean with star brite brand non slip deck cleaner (walmart,academy sports,) then dual action polisher with a wool bonnet, ~$40 @ harbor freight unless you want the super high end Flex (very high quality shelf tool) and use 3M marine compound (green writing on label) which can be found at most auto parts stores or walmart. after it is nice and glossy use rejex as stated earlier, it is far superior to any wax. The polisher and compound will make your gelcoat look brand new and rejex or any high quality sealant will make it last. Although I've personally never used it or seen it's results first hand, Ive heard that "Nu Finish", the cheap **** in the orange tin is supposed to be awesome for fiberglass/gelcoat.***forgot to mention, most people that try compound and polish by hand often report that the products did not work and had to either bring to shop or wetsand ($$$$$). They are right, in MOST cases, the compound will NOT work by hand even though the label states hand use is acceptable, this is marketing BS. The majority of compounds and polishes are designed to be used with a machine. That being said, even if you bought top of the line machine and compounds and polishes, you are still spending far less than bring it to a shop. Not knocking shops, just saying that in most cases, most people can fix the majority of oxidation type issues on their oown, but it does take time. The other side of this coin is if you dont want to spend the time to use the machine and compound/polishes/sealants correctly, then bring it to a reputable shop and let a pro do it, this is a very time consuming task.

Buff with 3m cleaner restorer (found at acadamey) then use a good cununba wax I use mothers comes out good

Better be careful usin' a buffer. If you don't know what you're doin'...you're liable to burn swirls into the finish. Really looks like crap then.

If its real light, just get a compound/polish combo and hand work it. It's not hard and will look great


Sent

It is pretty light. I bought the 3M rubbing compound yesterday but Salty makes a good point. I have a buffer, but have never used it. I don't want to rub swirls into it. I am thinking I should have just picked up the restorer/polish combo instead of the rubbing compound and hand rubbed it.

Salty, what is the trick to using the buffer?

Where can I find Rejex? Academy didn't have it.

PM sent.

Olmstead shipyard has rejex

Thanks

Exactly what I do.
Harbor Freight polisher and a big wool pad.
3M Color Restorer and Wax
And a coat of Rejex.

A high speed polisher is a must.

Check out www.protecproducts.com these products have worked wonders for years. They were developed in Kenner, La. due to the harsh environment there.

this is a 100% proven cant go wrong, get excellent results formula.
hint..hint..

Do you do the whole boat with the star brite non skid deck cleaner or just the floor? Do you compound and rejex the floor too? Please share tips on using a dual action polisher. I've never used one.

You can use the Star Brite anywhere. It will remove wax though.

What kind of nonskid do you have? If it's the moulded diamond pattern then you can compound and wax. You can't with the painted on nonskid. Do Not put Rejex on the nonskid.

For nonskid I use Woody Wax.

I smear on the 3M compound/wax with and old sock. Then use the polisher on a moderately low speed and keep the buffer moving until all he dried wax is buffed off.

I work in 2' wide sections from rub rail to chine.

Mine's the molded diamond pattern. What kind of polisher is necessary? Does it have to be dual action or can it be one of the cheaper ones like this, or some where in between? Also do you use foam, wool, etc.?

What makes Kenner's environment so harsh??

Mine's the molded diamond pattern. What kind of polisher is necessary? Does it have to be dual action or can it be one of the cheaper ones like this, or some where in between? Also do you use foam, wool, etc.? **see below**

A random orbit don't have enough power, you need a high speed polisher. They (Harbor freight) make an inexpensive yet very good machine for the $$. You will want to use wool..The 3m marine compound that is sold @ walmart , academy, works really good but is very mild (low cut). It is always advised to start of with a milder cut first, especially if you have no experience, it will let you learn the machine. Also, gel coat is not car paint, it is much much thicker and VERY forgiving while using a high speed polisher. (DO NOT EVER use a high speed polisher on a car that you care about if you don't know what you are doing!!! You WILL damage the paint) Use the low cut 1st and get some super duty (3m) once you get used to the machine, you may not need it..the milder stuff works really good but the low cut will take longer.

Something like this? So dual action is not necessary? They also have one similar to the one below that allows you to digitally fine tune the speed for like 10 more bucks. I've never used one. Would that be a nice feature?

I meant to actually look up the model # of the polisher with the digital control and paste it up for you but forgot all about it.,, that is the one you want. I think its $50 bucks or so but WELL worth it. Just get that polisher, some wool bonnets , your 3m marine compound (white bottle with green writing) ice chest full of cold beer, some tunes and you'll be all set. Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any more questions. Make sure you take good before and after pics.

Will do. Thanks for all the help. Now if you can just tell me where to find the time lol.

That's what I have, it works great.

Dual action doesn't produce enough speed.
You don't need the digital but it would be nice.

Get a good thick wool bonnet and this wax.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...gl61DX49BF0Hbl

This is the stuff I was talking about, 3m marine compound, white bottle/green writing! it works VERY well.

I realize the OP has likely already done the work on his boat, but I want to make this recommendation to anyone else who may encounter light oxidation. I used it side by side with two different 3M oxidation products recently. It out performed both of them. It is cheaper, easier and for light oxidation, you won't even have to use a polisher if you are willing to apply a little elbow grease. With a polisher it works amazingly well.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...LAID=112288538