HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

[Ki Ki]

I tried to follow many threads already started on this topic. I used Fiberglass restorer and rubbed in one test area on this 40 year old fiberglass boat, with no luck.

I have BON AMI, steel wool, vaseline, all the stuff that is mentioned. My question is... can I use steel wool combined with Bon Ami? Or will that strip the paint too?

Any ideas? This boat sat in sun for 2 years and is heavily oxidized. I'd hate to repaint it though, as the original paint can be seen in patches and is quite sharp.

Thanks

 

[Lyle29464]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

If it is gel coat not paint and a heavy duty "white" rubbing compound applied with a buffer will not do it your next shot is a very find grade wet sanding. Maybe 1200 or so. The old boats had a thick gel coat and many have been brought back doing this. go eazy in a spot that is hidden. then wax.

 

[Ki Ki]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

If it is gel coat not paint and a heavy duty "white" rubbing compound applied with a buffer will not do it your next shot is a very find grade wet sanding. Maybe 1200 or so. The old boats had a thick gel coat and many have been brought back doing this. go eazy in a spot that is hidden. then wax.

Excuse my ignorance on this topic, but does wet sanding mean you wet the sandpaper itself or the boat then sand? Also, do I need a buffer for this or can I do it by hand? Simply sand with wet sandpaper, or should I sand with a coat of my fiberglass restorer? I'm completely new to this.

On a similar topic, does this work for dark brown water lines?

Thanks!

 

[tschmidty]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

You can do a search here and on the web for wet sanding, but wet the paper and boat and keep it going. Some people will keep water running continuously. Maybe use a sprinkler Keeping it wet and clean is important, the goal is to keep sanded debris from scratching the finish. Your fiberglass restorer is for afterwards, my guess is it is a rubbing type compound which is really just a super fine sandpaper. The rubbing compound/restorer is for getting a shine back on the sanded finish.

Buffer is almost a requirement, would be a lot of work to do it without.

 

[dingdongs]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

if you have deep scratches you can start with a 240/400/600/800 and then go to 1200 or 2000 wet and dry if you have it.keep paper in a bucket of water with some washing up liquid to make it slide easier.surface must always be wet.do an area say a topside then cut it with a cutting compound then finish with your best quality polish staying away from silicon based.if you speak to a someone who makes boat hulls they may reccommend a good buffing compound.me over in the uk use aquabuff 2000 but you may get an alternative in the states.this one is water based and you can keep spraying a fine mist of water as u buff.this gives a quality buff and i personally finish with autoglym car polish.

 

[iop]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

Excuse my ignorance on this topic, but does wet sanding mean you wet the sandpaper itself or the boat then sand? Also, do I need a buffer for this or can I do it by hand? Simply sand with wet sandpaper, or should I sand with a coat of my fiberglass restorer? I'm completely new to this.

On a similar topic, does this work for dark brown water lines?

Thanks!

Buffer =
hand =

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

Buffer =
hand =

True!

Hey IOP....we need a close up of your avatar picture!

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

I went through the process of working through the oxidized surface. After trying various restorers, surface finishes, and polishing compounds, finally got it right using 3M Super Duty Rubbing Compound.

I wasn't comfortable using sandpaper so went with the equivelant in a wet compound. It's a matter of determining how aggressive you need to be and how deep into the surface you need to go for your particular circumstance. You might want to try the heavy duty compound first and see if you need to go through all the steps of wet sanding. Any brand will work as long as you're getting what they call a cutting compound instead of just a polish or rubbing compound.


A buffer certainly helps but you still need to finish it by hand.

 

[popeye58]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

I have an 86 Starcraft 191CSF Cuddy that was "VERY" highly neglected.
It was very chaulky blue Found this product called Vibra-Cut made by Fountain Of Youth Products
locally in the 1000 Islands. I wouldn't have believed it but my wife buffed my boat with that stuff and it looks brand new, Navy Blue! It's not cheap about $20 a qt. but well worth it. Its like super rubbing compound (real gritty), then she sealed it with a product called Vitreo from the same company.

 

[Ki Ki]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

One thing I read about online was mixing toilet bowl cleaner with hydrogen peroxide for stains on the boat hull- water stains? Is this true, or is the combination toxic?

Thanks

 

[Sixmark]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

I have an 86 Starcraft 191CSF Cuddy that was "VERY" highly neglected.
It was very chaulky blue Found this product called Vibra-Cut made by Fountain Of Youth Products
locally in the 1000 Islands. I wouldn't have believed it but my wife buffed my boat with that stuff and it looks brand new, Navy Blue! It's not cheap about $20 a qt. but well worth it. Its like super rubbing compound (real gritty), then she sealed it with a product called Vitreo from the same company.

Well aren't you the lucky one, you get your wife to work on the boat, now does she get mad if you just sit back and supervise?......lol. I can't get mine to do anything on the boat except complain.

 

[Wingnutt]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

you can start with a 240/400/600/800 and then go to 1200 or 2000 wet and dry if you have it.keep paper in a bucket of water with some washing up liquid to make it slide easier.surface must always be wet

If you boat is as bad as you say, this ^^^^^ may your best choice. I've had to result to doing that to my old Bayliner. It's a LOT of work, hot, sweaty, wet, dirty work. Then after the sanding, follow up with an application of rubbing compound followed by a dose of polishing compound then wax.

One thing that I've found to be extremely helpful when wet sanding, is to get the biggest peanut sponge that you can find and use it to dribble a constant but light stream of water on to the area that you are sanding on. Sure saves you from having to constantly fight a garden hose and keeps the area constantly flushed which is vital when wet sanding.

All that work becomes worth it when you wipe that last application of polishing compound off to revel a better than new glossy finish! FWIW, I've got about 50 hours worth of sanding, compounding, and waxing into mine, and I'm only 3/4 done; but you oughta see the shine on her!

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

I did the wetsand thing with great results. You have to work for it! I burned up a buffer!

 

[Ki Ki]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

I did the wetsand thing with great results. You have to work for it! I burned up a buffer!

Yah, I'm doing it by hand. I know that sounds crazy, but I prefer things that way. I figure I get a workout in too.

 

[Sixmark]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

Yah, I'm doing it by hand. I know that sounds crazy, but I prefer things that way. I figure I get a workout in too.

Actually I would recommend doing it by hand, so you are doing just fine.

 

[109jb]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

One thing I didn't see mentioned is that the sandpaper you use has to be "wet or dry sandpaper" Ordinary sandpaper will fall apart if you wet it. If it is really bad I would start with 320 then 600 then 1000 grit. I'd personally skip the 400 and 800 grits. If you are going to polish by hand then I would probably add a 1500 grit sanding before polish. If using a machine buffer the you can buff after the 1000 with a medium cut compound and then a fine cut compound.

 

[slag]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

One thing I read about online was mixing toilet bowl cleaner with hydrogen peroxide for stains on the boat hull- water stains? Is this true, or is the combination toxic?

Thanks

Might work. I use muriatic acid in a bucket with a sponge tacked to a dowel rod. Works great.

 

[Ki Ki]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

Here's an update... Last night I tried the toilet bowl cleaner, sponge, and hydrogen peroxide combo. $4 total. It worked PERFECTLY. The water stains from years ago on the hull came right off. I do warn; however, to use gloves as it's pretty potent solution.

Here's a question about the oxidation on the top of the boat. I bought wet sand sandpaper 3m brand. Should I use that now since it's a 40 year old boat, or first try Meguiars Oxidation Remover? I've tried a generic fiberglass restorer with zero luck.

 

[Ki Ki]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

Okay, now I'm confused on the next step. I'm reading tons of different things to restore some of the color out of this 40 year old fiberglass boat.

I have tried fiberglass restorer wax type stuff, no luck at all.

Should I go straight to wet sanding OR should I try a product like a rubbing compound from 3m super duty or Meguiars?

Ideas?

 

[109jb]

Re: HEAVY oxidation, Fiberglass Restorer failed. What next?

You can try the Meguiar's oxidation remover by itself on a small area. It has some abrasive in it so it can scrub off a bit of oxidation. If that doesn't bring the shine up how you would like it then go ahead with the wet sanding. The wet sanding will remove the oxidation and level the surface, but will leave a dull finish. Follow up with a polish to bring out the shine. The Meguiar's oxidation remover will work for that.

Older boats are probably better able to take the wet sanding because the gel coat is thicker on the older boats. Even on the newer boats the gel coat is probably 10 times thicker than a typical car paint job. If you are just sanding enough to get rid of the oxidation then you will be fine.