Oxidization in gel coat

[stevengagnon]

recently picked up a new to me checkmate maxxum 229 and the hood is showing signs of oxidization/sun fade. I’ve searched the forums and some online sources and found a variety of solutions however I was curious if anyone on here has a solid answer on a product that could bring the finish back to life. Thanks!

 

[Skialot2]

Hi, You can wet sand the gelcoat. It is very thick. I picked up a 1989 Checkmate Spectra 171 in February. Someone had painted the red gelcoat yellow. I used fiberglass paint stripper to get the paint off. But it left a yellow tinge in the gelcoat. I used a DA sander with 320 grit sandpaper to take a thick layer of gelcoat off. Then I used 400 wet sandpaper. Then 800, then 1200 then finished with 1500. Then I compounded and waxed. Now the boat shines like new.

 

[caliburn]

Hi, You can wet sand the gelcoat. It is very thick. I picked up a 1989 Checkmate Spectra 171 in February. Someone had painted the red gelcoat yellow. I used fiberglass paint stripper to get the paint off. But it left a yellow tinge in the gelcoat. I used a DA sander with 320 grit sandpaper to take a thick layer of gelcoat off. Then I used 400 wet sandpaper. Then 800, then 1200 then finished with 1500. Then I compounded and waxed. Now the boat shines like new.

Great job and alot of work someone painted the red on my starflite thats a next year project