What do you use to cut gel coat

[rsmitty814]

I want to bring back the gel coat on a used boat. What type of rubbing compound do most of you use?
I'm also confused on wether to use a random orbit or rotary buffer. I've read that heat cuts the gel coat and that only the rotary gets the rpms needed. If I had a random orbit that has the same rpms....why wouldn't that work?:facepalm:

 

[NPoulos]

Re: What do you use to cut gel coat

its not the machine but the user that burns a gel coat if you keep it moving and don't over do it either will work fine as for compound I cant say what works best Good luck

 

[java230]

Re: What do you use to cut gel coat

I just did mine, Used 3m rubbing 9004 iirc. Didn't cut the oxidation much, just a rotary, but that shouldn't matter too much. Then a polish and wax. I got some shine back and its protected now. Im fine with it for an old boat.

 

[rsmitty814]

Re: What do you use to cut gel coat

I also want to get out some marks and minor scratches. I have used compound on cars before with amazing results just not on gel coat.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: What do you use to cut gel coat

It's difficult to recommend an exact method because every boat will be different, every brand of gel coat will be different, every color will be different, every brand of boat will be done slightly different, every gel coater will do the job slightly different, the amount of time the boat sat outside will be different, plus many other variables. So what worked fantast on one boat may do almost nothing on another one. Some people get away with using nothing more than a fine polishing compound and others need to wet sand and buff, still others find nothing that works to bring back the desired look.

Start on a small area and use the least aggressive method first, then use slightly more aggressive methods and products until you get the look you want.

 

[ponchoman]

Re: What do you use to cut gel coat

I used 3M extra cut/ rotary polisher 2500 rpms on my boat. She shines! Follow with a GOOD paste and it will last the season.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: What do you use to cut gel coat

I had to wet sand with 600, 800, 1000, and 1500 grit prior to cutting and buffing. As ondarvr mentioned. each boat is different.

 

[idonthaveaname]

Re: What do you use to cut gel coat

The question is, do you really need to compound it or just clean off the junk. I would first try some Collinite with a buffer and check the results. If you think you can get old faded gel to shine, well....good luck with that. It could shine for a while but will fade out again; at least that's what I have found although your mileage may vary. What worked for me, once it was clean, was to apply a couple of coats of floor wax (Zep). Yeah, I know. You think I am crazy. I buffed mine with Collinite and then covered it with floor wax 8 months ago and it still shine and beads water.

 

[fixnfly]

Re: What do you use to cut gel coat

My boat had serious oxidation to the gelcoat. I am very skeptical to tv ads and other promotions. I tried a product called Poli Glow, and it worked awesome. I purchased the poli glow kit as well as the poli ox. Dont waste your time and money unless you purchase the poli ox, the difference is huge. Using the poli glow kit helped, but using the poli glow kit with the poli ox was HUGE! (cost was about $100 total ebay)
I have a 19ft boat and it took about 6 hours by myself, with alot of elbow and shoulder grease. Prep work is everything. I would recommend this product to anyone. One kit could do my boat 3 times (Just did the outside).
Im sure there are alot of other great products, this one worked well for me.

 

[idonthaveaname]

Re: What do you use to cut gel coat

The floor wax from Zep will do the same as Poli Glow and a lot cheaper.