Restoring faded colored gelcoat; best fast option

[Jackdaw]

While getting BlueJ's bottom done, I got to see how much her Gelcoat had faded. The picture shows the original color on her bottom after the soda blasting.

So here is the question. While I would like to have that darker blue topsides, its not a HUGE deal for me. AKA I'm not going to spend a ton or time and money on that; I want to get her in the water and spend money making her faster. SO..... is there a quick and kinda easy way to get most or some of the dark blue back? Is it possible?? I'm OK if it takes two people (crew!) a day.

What say you??

 

[LeslieTroyer]

wet sand, compound, polish, wax -- I went with the Marine 31 method - others swear by Maine Sail's method - Marine 31 uses a random orbit on 5" pads - both sanding and compound/polish/wax - Maine Sails uses a circular buffer (~10") and sanding by hand or RO.

The biggest trick is to figure out how far to go I did some 800 in the worst areas - the 100% 1000 and up. I have an 1983 and was worried about sandthru.

It took me 2 9hr days to do the sides of my 36' Catalina - yours being smaller could probably knock it out in a day with two people and still have time for a beer when done.

Les

 

[Sailm8]

I would try gel toilet bowl cleaner from the dollar store to remove oxidation then NU-Finish car wax. This is not the best way but it would be fast.

 

[Gunni]

Two people, one day, one Makita 9227C 7" polisher, one heavy cut wool compounding velcro bonnet, one wool polishing velcro bonnet, one bottle of Presta Gel Coat Compounding, one bottle of Presta Ultra-polish, 6 ultra-fiber clothes, bucket of clean water. You will have her at full gloss! Spend another 1/2 day with a can of Collinite wax and seal the shine in..or not.

 

[Parsons]

I did the MaineSail method over the winter, and got really good results. https://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/tips-for-a-great-buff-wax.117266/
My blue gelcoat boot stripe is beautiful! Cost was about $300 in tools, and $70 in supplies. Took a painful 20 hours for a Catalina 36. I could hold that buffer on to the hull for about 3 minutes before tiring - this is not an older guy thing.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

You need new decals, too. Wet sanding with 1200 - 1600 grit can be as time consuming as you let it be. I would probably start with a once over by hand but not spend more than an hour for the boat. Compounding with the Makita set-up that Gunni suggests will go a long way toward bringing the color back. Compound / Polish / wax is a quick fix with good results. What better way to spend a day? I've got to fit time in for that myself this spring, somewhere along the way.

 

[Ned Ludd]

It is not that bad, I second Gunni's approach. I spent 14 hours with a dual action Porter Cable polisher and a tub of Buff magic, topped off with a coat of McGuires. Boat looks 1000 times better than it did. I was not going after a high gloss finish, she's 41 and it's the original gel coat.

 

[rgranger]

I would try gel toilet bowl cleaner from the dollar store to remove oxidation then NU-Finish car wax. This is not the best way but it would be fast.

I had an odd experience with NU-Finish. I used NU-Finish last year on my Starboard side and when I buffed it off, I was underwhelmed by the results. Since it did not seem to do much, I decided to just wax the entire hull with McGuires and I used a hand-held buffer once the wax dried. When I was done, both sides of the boat looked good but the starboard side (the side on which I had previously used NU-Finish) looked AT LOT nicer. It looked nearly new. I was kind of surprised and a little bummed since the difference was so noticeable. I thought maybe it was just the fact that the starboard side had two applications.... So I put a second coat of McGuires on the port side and buffed.... still not as nice as the starboard side. So I tried a small patch of NU-Finish on the port side over the wax job but it still did not look as nice as the starboard side where I had used NU-Finish first.

I can't say for sure that the difference was the NU-Finish.... maybe the P.O. tied off the boat is such a way so the starboard side was in the shade more than the port side or some such thing. But this year, when I wax and buff, I'm going to try NU-Finish on the entire boat first, then wax and buff. I'll see what happens and let you know.

 

[CloudDiver]

Capt Don swears by Poli-Glow; http://poliglow-int.com/
Available on Amazon, it is a good solution for owners who are time constrained to remove surface oxidation and a quickee wax job. The product is a chemical process (de-oxidize and wax), so there is no physical process of wet sanding which makes the surface smoother. Ultimately this a band-aide that has to be repeated annually.
I'm a perfectionist, I want the mechanical smoothing of wet sanding and results will last for years (just like your original gelcoat shine did). Main-Sail's method is the bee's knees and the Makita Polisher is the tool for the job, but as an alternative DeWalt Makes a really, really good variable speed polisher/buffer, Dewalt DWP849X. I got mine for around $120, Amazon I believe. There is a less expensive Porter Cable version too. All three of these should use the same standard 7 inch cutting/buffing/polishing foam pads.

For cutting/polishing pads, also automotive waxes & compounds (as well as automotive paints, paint supplies, body work stuff, etc), use this company, great prices and great customer service; http://www.tcpglobal.com/
(I cheat, their brick & mortar storefront is in San Diego). I never by the 'marine' polishes and waxes, there is nothing 'marine' about them. Automotive detailing products are the same stuff at half the price.

 

[CloudDiver]

I would suggest taking photos of the boat name and exact measurements so you can have them re-made. You'll find darker gelcoat under the removed letters. Better yet, if you can re-order from the original source if they still have the dwg file, perfect fit. No shadow of letters sticking out like a sore thumb.

 

[capta]

I so admire the industriousness of you all who polish your topsides. First haul out @ Powerboats in Trinidad they did it for free and boy did she look great, for about 20 seconds! Actually it did last until, or should I say it began deteriorating when, the next boat boy came alongside. Then the next, and the next, next and so on, until it was a 35' or so local fishing boat who'd lost engine power. At that point WE lost the will to keep our topsides polished and looking great.
Don't get me wrong, I like the boat boys coming by, being friendly and even having some service or thing I can use, at a reasonably fair price. Some have even become friends. I'm sure that a couple would happily polish the topsides for us. And Skipping Stone would look just great again, until they came by to collect their money for the polishing job.
So if you're sailing by, don't think too badly of us and our multi-colored, marred, unpolished topsides.

 

[Ward H]

I did my 1980 O'day the first season and have done touch ups each season since. Followed MS's procedure and it looked great. My problem is not putting an after season coat of wax on it. Needs the full treatment now but I'm not going to have the time this season. Next spring I'll have plenty of time to get that shine back.

Hey @Scott T-Bird , You can borrow my Makita if you need it. Let me now and I will bring it down to your boat.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Hi Ward, no need, I still have my own Makita with the wool bonnets. Sue was about to put it out for garage sale when we were unloading power tools, but I managed to rescue it!

 

[JRT]

I saw this, results look very good like a wet gloss.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Glass-Fiberglass-Compounding-Beautifier/dp/B00UQOMB1Q

 

[JRacer]

I don't sand. I use Aqua Buff Compound - comes in a 1000 grit and a 2000 grit. Jamestown has it in 1 gallon size, others have it in quart sizes. Just google it. Here is the link to Jamestown. https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=6352
I use a Porter Cable 7424 orbital polisher and the foam pads (they vary by how much "cut" you need) AutoGeek is my source for all things polish http://www.autogeek.net/hk7424.html

I also use a Makita polisher like shown above for the waxing - I use both the foam pads and wool covers with the Makita. The Lake Country foam pads are great, they don't clog up and using their cleaner and conditioner you can get a lot of use out of them. When one gets dirty, into the bucket of water and cleaner it goes to soak, squeeze it out, spin dry on the buffer and set out in the sun to dry while you continue working with a fresh clean one, rinse and repeat. I usually use pads ranging from the Yellow down to the black and generally not any finer. I keep at least three of each in stock so I can have clean ones to work with while the used ones are soaking and drying.
I use the Porter cable and aqua buff to get off the oxidation then immediately follow it with the Makita and Mothers Liquid Wax.

 

[Gunni]

Nothing says spring commissioning like a good spit-shine. This is BEFORE wax, and that is flag blue gelcoat:

 

[CloudDiver]

Nothing says spring commissioning like a good spit-shine. This is BEFORE wax, and that is flag blue gelcoat:

View attachment 135514

Somehow I'm going to get Gunni to adopt me so I get that 411 when he kicks the can... Then again, I don't believe he has any interest in adopting a 38 year old Squid.

 

[capta]

View attachment 135514

No need for mirrors on your boat. Just hop out onto the dock or into the dink for your morning shave.

 

[JRacer]

Looking Good, Gunni.

 

[Scott B]

Two people, one day, one Makita 9227C 7" polisher, one heavy cut wool compounding velcro bonnet, one wool polishing velcro bonnet, one bottle of Presta Gel Coat Compounding, one bottle of Presta Ultra-polish, 6 ultra-fiber clothes, bucket of clean water. You will have her at full gloss! Spend another 1/2 day with a can of Collinite wax and seal the shine in..or not.