Cleaning the blue hull from M 26, year2004

[Manfred]

My MacGregor 26M is 4 years young and "sleeps" daily on a boatlift. We clean the boat after each sailing with fresh water.
But the blue hull starts to get grey from the sun. Who can tell me which material is the best to make the hull nice as new?
Is the hull painted or is the fiberglass blue?
It would be nice to hear from you.
Thank you
Manfred

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Manfred
It's either blue paint or blue gell coat, not fiberglass. The answer to your question is VERY much dependent on whether it is paint or gell coat as each has unique methods of preservation which can destroy the other, e.g., buffing a painted hull can permanently destroy the gloss of the painted finish but buffing is the preferred way to bring out the gloss of gell coat.

You have to find out from whomever you bought the boat what the topside surface is before getting a good answer to your question. If someone does give you an answer without first knowing the surface, ignore it.

 

[Justin_NSA]

The manual isn't much help. It just says to use automotive grade wax occasionally. Is it oxidation or water deposits?

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

The manual isn't much help. It just says to use automotive grade wax occasionally. Is it oxidation or water deposits?

It should be apparent whether it is colored gel coat or paint -
are there any scratches showing an underlying white gel coat?

Assuming it is paint (as I doubt M used colored gel coat), it also depends on what type of paint as some cannot be buffed. If you do so, you will strip it's top coat making it permanently dull.

Typical automobile wax is not as good as a good carnuba based marine wax which, because you don't know what type paint, should be applied by hand or a slow oscillating buffer. Collinite wax is among the best.

In answer to your question whether it's oxidation or water spots, a picture would help but in the absence of that, water spots would appear as just that - spots. Oxidation would be more uniform and easily identified by simply rubbing your hand on the finish - if anything rubs off, it's oxidation.

 

[Phil V25]

Don't want to send you away, but...

go to macgregorsailors.com. Lots of power-sailors there and I bet a few of them have the blue boats. Then come back, we are much friendlier here.:dance:

 

[walt]

I dont have an M so could be wrong...

But Im fairly certain that the blue is gelcoat sprayed into the hull mold before the glass is layed in.

I believe its similar to the black water line and other black accents on the older classic sailboat Mac hulls (which I do own and am fairly certain that the black is gel coat)

 

[Capt. Kermie]

The Video that Macgregor puts out specifically states in its' dialogue that it is blue gelcoat while they show a worker spraying the hull mold with blue gelcoat. It is in fact blue gelcoat.

 

[Manfred]

Hey, All.
Here is Manfred from Bradenton.
A big Thankyou to:
Capt. Kermie from Canada
Don S/V ILLusion from Warwick
Justin_NSA from Wichita
Phil V25 from Rathbun Lake and
Walt from Denver.

I was very surprised that you answered so shortly. So I know now, that my blue hull is painted with gelcoat. I tried 4 products. from Westmarine and from a Advance Autoparts.
The cheepest and easiest way to get the hull nice blue again was Rub. Compound Premium (liquid) from Turtle Wax-Company.
I want to mail here pictures, but I don't know how to do this here.

Sorry about my bad english, but I am from Berlin,Germany. I stay here in Bradenton every year two times for about 3 weeks. But I learn every day more and more your language.
Thank you again
Manfred