Monday, June 13, 2011

Gelcoat Maintenance-Waxing, Buffing, Polishing Hull and deck; Topsides. Part 2

Ok, so you've tried the easy stuff and still can't get a high shine.........The problem is the oxidized, "dead" top layer of gelcoat. This layer has been broken down by the UV and must be removed to get a high shine. The best wax job will result if the bare gelcoat is  already shiny! 3M, Meguires and others make a product they advertise for "heavily oxidized" finishes that has a light duty compound mixed in with the wax. Sometimes this will be enough to get the job done. Try a little of this by hand using vigorous polishing. If that is not enough try it with a high speed buffer and a wool pad. The random orbital buffers sold for waxing cars will NOT do you any good for this, they do not have the power nor RPM to be effective. You need a 7" right angle grinder with a wool buffing wheel. Be careful with this tool, it's very easy to get hurt or damage the finish of your boat as this tool is capable of burning right through the gelcoat if misused. (If you are not comfortable using one of these now may be the time to hire a professional.) If the gelcoat is still not shining then even more aggressive methods are called for. The next step is to use a high speed buffer with straight rubbing compounds or even wet sanding. In the worst cases I have wet sanded the whole boat with 1200 grit paper (It goes faster than you would think), buffed it out with 3M's heavy compound followed by buffing with 3M's Finesse (a very fine compound) to remove the swirl marks left from the heavy compound, resulting in a high shine that can then be coated in wax for a lasting finish.
Even the chalkiest of hulls can be brought back to life using the methods above provided there is a thick enough layer of gelcoat to allow it and even hiring a professional to do it will be far less expensive than painting the boat.
If you have any questions or need advice feel free to use the contact page on my website at: www.bluseallc.com.

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