Chalky Gel Coat

[Natural Light Kid]

Originally Posted by newguy

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.

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.