Hull oxidation

[Warren]

I have a factory blue 89 Catalina 30 that is badly oxidized. I plan on Alwgriping next season if I am unable to get it looking good. I have used Island Girl on my last boat (white hull) with fairly good results, however this boat is in much worse shape. I purchased some PolyGlow, and it did not remove the oxidation as I had expected. I needed to reomove some painted on letters yesterday and did some wet sanding, much to my suprise the area that I sanded looked fairly good when I was done. I would rather not wet sand the entire boat. Does anyone have a good solution to my problem. The PolyGlow folks have a new product called T-L Sea, which is a white powder you apply with a wet abrasive pad. I was only able to do one small area, then the rain came in. First impression, not a lot better than their PolyPrep had done. Perhaps a second treatement might do better, however I am running out of time.

 

[John Olson]

Island G irl

I have a1989 C30I Island girled this weekend and It looks great my blue stripe came back about 90% last year I tryed to do the hole treatment but It rained and got cold .And the stuff was looking nasty with about million bugs stuck to it.I called Jim W at Islandgirl and he fixed me up with anew super glase wax In asmall bottle to try and Its great drys faster I just had enough In the small bottle to do the transem of the boat The rest of the boat was done with the regular IG wax. but it was sunny so the dry time wasabout 1 hr .It was raining bad this morning so I did not take the tarp off to see the boat dry . but It looked real good the night be for. John Olson

 

[david]

Try Vertglas

Once you remove the oxidation, try using vertglas. It's not a wax, but a fiberglass restorer. Basically its a liquid that you paint on (6-8 coats) which fills in the pours and then builds up a tough finish which makes my boat look (1988 c-30) look brand new. Apply a maintenance coat in the spring and you're all set. No waxing or compounding again! The kit also includes a compounding agent, but it sounds like you need something strong. I've been using vertglas for over 5 years and I can't recommend it enough. Check out the link. You can also buy it at west marine.

 

[Allen Schweitzer]

I second Vertglass

One thing to note is that the Vertglass kit comes with its own scrub pad & a special abrasive oxidation remover. My 1977 C-30 was so bad that I needed to scrub the hull with a black scrub pad (the roughest kind) and soft-scrub to remove all of the oxidation.Once I did, I applied 8 coats of vertglass (it took about 4 to 5 hours to do the entire hull from the rub-rail to the waterline) and it made the boat look like new. It lasted the entire season. This year, all I had to do was apply 4 fresh coats over the existing vertglass to bring it back.I highly recommend this product.Allen Schweitzers/v Falstaff (formerly Drambuie)C-30 Hull# 632

 

[Randy]

Meguiars line

I've never used the Island Girl or Vertglass products mentioned, but I've had experience with Meguiars. The Meguiar's system consists of several steps. Once the hull is washed and dried, use a cleaner to remove oxidation. There are various strengths to choose from. Fine Cut cleaner will remove minor oxidation and scratches. Heavy Duty color restorer will remove heavy oxidation and scratches. Use the mildest one that will do the job. After cleaning, a polish will add oils to the gel coat that will rejuvenate it, adding color and shine. They have at least one polish designed specifically for fiberglass. Once polished, apply a coat of wax for maximum protection, shine, and durability. Again, there are various choices in their line. They also offer One Step Cleaner Wax. It works well for a quick and easy wax job when your hull surface is already in good shape. It's also good for cleaning up bird stains, water spots, and other stuff that accumulates during the season. Meguiars is at the link below:Randy

 

[Lauraine]

Elbow grease...

There's only one way to get it right and you've already discovered it - wet sand. Especially on the darker colors. Either do it yourself or hire someone to do it. If your hull is badly oxidized, anything else will give you a blotchy finish which will be a complete waste of time, energy and cash.