i'd try 1000 grit for starters and see how that works. it looks pretty faded, you might need 800 or even 600. the problem with more aggressive grit is that you need to follow up with lesser grits to smooth things out. if you use 600 you'd need to follow up with 1000 and then 1500 or 2000. if 1000 works from the beginning, then hit it with 1500 or 2000 afterward.
but, there's always a catch, you really should follow the sanding with compounding and then wax. if you really want it to pop, use polish after the compound ('finesse it' is awesome, and expensive but it works great).
alot depends on how good you want it to look and how much time you want to spend. there are bunches of threads on this if you search.
Enough said Salty you've pointed me in the direction i want to go with this one. Not going for showroom floor pretty but i want it to turn heads to tho lol. Thanks for the advice.
1. when you sand your red..are you actually seeing red in the dust or wet drips ? I mean .. does your arm look like its bleeding ?
if not then your not really sanding Gel. your sanding all your wax crap back off ( you would have to remove ALL waxes before prime and paint).
2. are you waxing ? .. if so, that is one huge mistake.. do not wax gel m8. just polish it to a fine surface. .. it will be fine.. wax will intrap oxygen into the micro pores of gel and will therfore oxidize your coating from the inside out. ( Ive seen such bad porosity from waxing that it would be impossible to restore from simple buffing .. I had to dye and sand and buff the surface of the gel to get it back ot OEM ).
3. Do you have enough gel to resurface.. IE .. sand and buff ? dont sand any radi .. curves .
3m imperial ( purple lable ) thats what your after.. no petro..no silicas..
I know it sounds crazy but try Vaseline. It will soak in and not be greasy. I did it on my boat and was amazed at the results. Almost all waxes and polishes contain petroleum products. This puts moisture back into the finish. I would try a small area and see what you think.
Pink seems proper for a Dawg fan . I feel like somewhat of a target when I where my BAMA shirt and bumper sticker around Atlanta....What part of town are you in?
I had really bad yellowing on mine and I bought some 3M restorer this weekend and the results were amazing. I plan on putting a few coats of wax on as well to really make it shine, but the 3M stuff turned it from a hazy yellow to an light off white where I could see my refection.
The fading and chalking is caused by UV rays, not from internal oxidation from waxing, nor does waxing cause porosity.
If the gel coat suffers from porosity it was there from the start (original gel coat process), it is not created later. Gel coat that is protected from UV rays (as in doors) will last a very long time with little fade or loss of gloss whether its waxed or not. Waxing will help some outdoors, but won't stop the aging process, the oils in it will hide much of the aging though.
Waxing will remove some of the oxidation and if done frequently enough you will sort of keep up with the UV damage by removing a slight amount of the aged surface each time you wax.
Penetrol? I take it that it works well for you, so is it a wax or rubbing compound? Ill check & see if home depot has it since they sign my checks & everything lol.
I had that problem with my 88 Maxum.....tried everything, nothing worked. Still turned pink.....
I tried and ordered a Poliglow kit......actually worked. Had to do 2 or 3 coats but worked out great. Super easy to apply, can easily get a full season out of 1 treatment.
Go to pro body supplier, get wax&grease remover spend alot of time with that. Then get buffing wheel 7," 3m SUPER DUTY RUBBING COMPOUND #05954 work 2x2 area spend time on it.Then wash the whole boat really good. Then use 3m FINESSE-IT II #05928 this is the best in the world!!!! you will fall over when its done. I had the most oxid boat in the world I used acid and every thing else under the sun nothing would get it off old boat. Then u can glaze, wax,etc good luck, buy plenty of beer!
. I feel like somewhat of a target when I where my BAMA shirt and bumper sticker around Atlanta....What part of town are you in?