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gelcoat

S

speedy

Member
i have a really faded navy blue im trying to restore on an 85 convincer. ive wetsanded a 1 by 2 section of the roughest area with 600 and was impressed by the brilliant blue that came out but took about 2 hours. just wondering if anyone had some time saving ideas.
 
Use 1000 grit wet, and you won't have to buff as long. Also make sure you are using a wool pad and some quality compound like 3M perfect-it 3 rubbing compound. After you are done with that, go over it with a foam pad and the perfect-it pad glaze, but its really slippery when you get it wet. Its a long process, but worth it, just watch you edges.
 
There is a faster way. It is a buffing compound called Aqua-Buff 2000 and 1000. You actually mist it with water and you must buff over 2500 RPM with a rotary buffer. First with 1000, then with 2000. Seal with a polish. It is as effective as wetsanding, but a lot faster and leaves the gelcoat shiny not dull. It is a product used in the fiberglass industry to prep molds. You can buy it online. I've tried them all, its the best for a badly oxidized boat.
 
when wetsanding i noticed the darker faded blue was raised or recessed in the gel is this normal and will the aquabuff do the trick
 
Its pitted from years of oxidation. If you try to sand it right smooth you will go through the clear coat. Aqua-buff will give it a smooth orange peel finish. Its the best you can expect w/o re-clearing the hull.
 
It depends on what the alternative is. Once a gelcoat is pitted, the oxidation has eaten right through the outer clear, there is no way to get it flat and smooth again without removing all the clear gel. Buffing can at least smooth it out and the BEST you can expect is orange-peel, which beats no clear at all. I did one that had some bad pitting on the deck with Aqua-buff and I was really happy with the outcome. You have to look closely to see the pitting, but the main thing was I got the shine back.
 
I must agree I'd rather live with a bit of oragne peel on the surface than dull spots where the clear has been taken away. It will look fine from a short distance and not too bad up close while the dull spots will look bad any way you look at it.
 
Have you tried vertglas gel coat system, it seemed to work pretty well on my dads 1960 lonestar, his gel coat was heavily pitted and pretty white in color. its a three part system a chalkyness remove a wash that removes it and a sealer. all with out the buffing. you end up with a shiny gel coat. I'm not sure how well it holds up, I used just this season, and my dads boat is garaged, so that helps, his wasn't for 11 years, hence the pitting and chalking. the other drawback is the price $65.00 for the kit.

hope this helps

Will
 
The sealer is an acrylic finish like clear nail polish. It eventually peals off and can be a nightmare to maintain. Your gelcoat needs to be beyond what buffing can do before you go the Vertglas route. A 1960 Lonestar was probably a good candidate.
 
thanks for all the help. when rubbed heavily a brilliant blue comes out, what is the dark almost black color that covers it.
 
I haave a 1988 spectra 170. the clear is bad on the top the sides are ok. gtrumpet talkes about that vertaglass! the guy I bought the boat of tryed that and now it is peeling off! I have got the clear looking good but everywhere that vertiglass is peeling looks terrible! I wish I could get it off! time has weathered it!
 
I'm not really sure how vertglas holds up I only tried it this year, and the boat it is on is stored inside. when you buy the kit there is a remover part of the kit, that removes the acrycllic sealer. I'd look into getting some of that part of the kit.

So far I've been happy with it. that 1960 lonestar of my dads was pretty damn chalky and pitted, it seemed to be the only thing that has worked. eventually I'll get around to posting som pics of it.
 
Hey coop this thred has you're name all over it.
icon_biggrin.gif
 
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