No shine on gell coat

[bluebell]

Can someone please help i need to revive the gell coat on my 1990 maxum 270 the colour shade is a off white but it is very dull and has fine scratches all over it and has no shine<br />which is the best way and with what materials do i use.<br /><br /> Liberty 1

 

[woosterken]

Re: No shine on gell coat

Liberty1,try going to shareaproject.com do a sherch<br />there you will find directions and pictures on what you want.<br />hope this helps ken

 

[bluebell]

Re: No shine on gell coat

 

[ladano]

Re: No shine on gell coat

DUX 65, you can pick it up at a bodyshop supplier. Its better than any 3m product.

 

[bounder4465]

Re: No shine on gell coat

z

 

[DangerDan]

Re: No shine on gell coat

3M Rubbing compound followed up with 3M Finess it II will work wonders. Afterwards seal it with a good sealer and you should be good to go for maybe two seasons. Use an eletric buffer, not one of those cheapo osilating types either. Be sure to mask off all your hardware to prevent transfering the metals to your pad.

 

[LubeDude]

Re: No shine on gell coat

I actually just got through doing this to my boat. I have not used the DUX 65 product, but if you use a 3M product,Use the Super Duty 05954.<br /><br />If its a dark color like black, you may have to go over it with a finer polish when done, but if its a lighter color you will be fine. Seal it with Meguiars #7 Show car glaze,(This really richens up the color), then follow up with a carnuba wax.<br /><br />Now, here is a tip. Rubbing compounds have oils and a lot of moisture in them that will penatrate the gelcoat while you are polishing. Soak a kitchen towel sized towel with laguer thinner and polish a small spot about 20 X 20" then wipe the area with the laquer thinner. This will remove any oils or moisture from the area and show spots that are not done yet. Hear again, lighter colors wont show this so much, but my boat is a dark grey on the sides and it was a B*itch to polish to the point that it looked new. If its really faded, (rough to the touch), you should actually wet sand the finish with 1500-2000 grit wet paper before polishing.

 

[Realgun]

Re: No shine on gell coat

Use the comet method. This was deveped by Mark42<br />Get those 3M green pads and a bit of comet cleanser with the pumice? Then scrub the darn boat till your arm falls off. Then after you epoxy your arm back on go back with some rubbing compund Turtle wax rubbing or 3M rubbing works well. Then Polishing compound then wax to hold the beauty. <br /><br />Better yet get a polisher so your arm does not grow too big. <br /> Search results. <br />And yes I am serious.

 

[Eggkr8]

Re: No shine on gell coat

What about the ever contraversial method with the buffer and two compounds? I saw JustMrWill perform this on his heavily oxidized Regal and it worked amazingly!

 

[brownies]

Re: No shine on gell coat

There are enough polishing/finsish restoring products in any store to sink a battleship.<br />"six of one/half dozen of the other". Really makes no difference.<br /><br />OF all of these products, the ones that work best, have one thing in common.<br /> <br />You must mix them with elbow grease.<br /><br />If you get one that doesn't seem to working very well, check the label....if it says it's "easy", that will be why it's not working very well.

 

[Mark42]

Re: No shine on gell coat

What ever you do, don't waste your time with a drill and buffing wheel. Get a polisher, even a cheap-o $39.95 polisher like the ones at harborfreight.com work great. I know, that's what I used on mine....<br /><br />40 year old gelcoat before ....<br />

<br /><br />40 year old gelcoat after... <br />

<br /><br /><br />OOPs, sorry for the big pics, but I felt it necessary to show the real impact of before and after.

 

[bounder4465]

Re: No shine on gell coat

Z

 

[gregmercer]

Re: No shine on gell coat

Can you tell me on how to get that shiny finish on a weathered gel coat?<br /><br />Greg

 

[Mark42]

Re: No shine on gell coat

Greg,<br /><br />This is how I did it.<br /><br /> Restoring Old Gelcoat <br /><br />If your gel coat is really old and oxidized so bad it leaves powder on you hands when you touch it, this should get you going. Depending on how bad the gel coat is, it may or may not work. I have received many emails from people with 30 and 40 year old boats who were told they can never get a shine back on their boat, but this method worked.

 

[Cayo Boater]

Re: No shine on gell coat

Originally posted by Mark42:<br /> Greg,<br /><br />This is how I did it.<br /><br /> Restoring Old Gelcoat <br /><br />If your gel coat is really old and oxidized so bad it leaves powder on you hands when you touch it, this should get you going. Depending on how bad the gel coat is, it may or may not work. I have received many emails from people with 30 and 40 year old boats who were told they can never get a shine back on their boat, but this method worked.

 

[Cayo Boater]

Re: No shine on gell coat

I'm going to try and remove oxidation from my blue boat. I read "Restoring Old Gelcoat" and want to try your method, but here's my question: did you use Comet WITH bleach (do they make Comet without bleach?). Also there are all kinds of Scotchpads. Which one do I use (are they color coded)? Finally, how do I know that I've scrubbed long and hard enough. I sure don't want to scrub through the gelcoat. I really appreciate your help and advice!!

 

[thunderroad]

Re: No shine on gell coat

Use the one with bleach. There's bound to be some mold, mildew or tree sap on it and bleach will help out on that end. It will probably ruin whatever clothes you're wearing at the time though, so leave the mauve polo shirt and khaki Dockers in the closet.<br />

 

[dmarkvid2]

Re: No shine on gell coat

Mark42 How long does this whole process take, in hours? Thanks. you boat looks great btw.

 

[dmarkvid2]

Re: No shine on gell coat

Mark42 How long does this whole process take, in hours? Thanks. you boat looks great btw.

 

[Cayo Boater]

Re: No shine on gell coat

Originally posted by thunderroad:<br /> Use the one with bleach. There's bound to be some mold, mildew or tree sap on it and bleach will help out on that end. It will probably ruin whatever clothes you're wearing at the time though, so leave the mauve polo shirt and khaki Dockers in the closet.<br />