best way to bring life to tired and neglected gelcote?

[Capt. Tobb]

My gelcote is in bad shape. I used Polyglow two years ago when I got her and I was not too happy with the results. I would prefer to compound / wax. I plan to remove what is left of the Polyglow and use 3m extra cut to compound. After that I am not sure (that is where you guys come in). I have tested some areas, compound once, then again, then wax, then a little more wax. It looks a heck of a lot better but I would like more shine. Should I use a polish after the wax? I dont know if there are better products for each step, any help will be greatly appreciated.

Tobb

 

[stormchaser]

5 steps and it will look like new (assuming the gel is still nice and thick)... wet sand with uni-grit sanding of a minimum of 1500 grit, compound/polish, scratch & haze remover, wax, wax again. Yes, it will need 2 coats of wax...the first coat will be absorbed FAST and will leave the surface looking blotchy, 2nd coat will make it shine almost as good as new...then a fresh coat of wax every 6 months for maintenance. For the wax, I highly recommend Meguiar's NXT Generation™ Tech Wax 2.0™ paste or liquid.

 

[Trojan]

I have a friend that uses nothing but mineral oil on his boat and his Corvette. It only works on gelcoat. All of his spiderwebbing has disappeared and it looks new. I have no gelcoat boats or cars or I would be doing the same. Maybe try a small area and see how it works.

BILL

 

[stormchaser]

I would think that any oil on the surface would attract dirt like crazy. I HAVE used MOTOR OIL on a highly oxidized car...just to make it look better...It would shine like new for about 2 weeks, but when it got dirty (dirt sticking to the oil)...when you washed it, all the oil would come off and you'd have to re-oil it. But it did look nice for a week or two after being oiled.

 

[Mike36c]

With a variable speed buffer start with 3M heavy duty rubbing compound, then onto 3M Perfect-it followed up by 3M Finesse-it. Now it has a gloss so top it with wax, I personally like Collinite insulator wax. It's a LOT of work to regain the shine but once completed just keep up on the wax every few months.

 

[ron6785]

My gelcote is in bad shape. I used Polyglow two years ago when I got her and I was not too happy with the results. I would prefer to compound / wax. I plan to remove what is left of the Polyglow and use 3m extra cut to compound. After that I am not sure (that is where you guys come in). I have tested some areas, compound once, then again, then wax, then a little more wax. It looks a heck of a lot better but I would like more shine. Should I use a polish after the wax? I dont know if there are better products for each step, any help will be greatly appreciated.

Tobb

Do you have paint over gelcote or just gelcote???

 

[rrrestorer]

You dont have to paint over gelcote, however gelcote tends to get hazy over time, almost all high line boats these days are painted to give them brighter colors that "pop" out at you.
Also never heard of a corvette that was not painted over the gelcote so don't see how mineral oil would help, and talk about a mess if the mineral oil does indeed get into the fiberglass cracks and permeates it, you would have a hell of a time getting paint to stick to it again.
My personal favorite for wax is any brand with a high carnuba content, always like the smooooth feel it leaves on the surface when your done waxing it.

 

[Capt. Tobb]

Thanks for the help, I used the 3m products and it looks great....well, a lot better. It is a heck of a lot of work, I am having to do one section at a time maybe I will be done by winter. I dont have much gelcote left, on the bow I have some green showing through. The problem is that right now I dont have enough green to paint over the green...lol

 

[ron6785]

Thanks for the help, I used the 3m products and it looks great....well, a lot better. It is a heck of a lot of work, I am having to do one section at a time maybe I will be done by winter. I dont have much gelcote left, on the bow I have some green showing through. The problem is that right now I dont have enough green to paint over the green...lol

If you have a painted surface, then you might consider using penetrol reducer. You simply wash the surface with Acetone to get rid of dirt, grease etc. When I say wash I mean use a rag and wipe surface. Then with a clean rag just wipe on the penetrol. I have a 53MY and did the port side of the hull in 2 hours last thursday. The paint is over 30 years old and looked better when I finished than some 90's boats in the yard, including some that had just been compounded and waxed. The Penetrol lasts for about a year to 18 months. Penetrol does not work on a gel coat surface however. I did the entire Port Side with less than a pint. It is important to get the surface clean before applying Penetrol as it will lock in what ever dirt you don't remove, so make sure you keep the rag clean. I got the tip on Penetrol from a guy who paints boats in Florida. Also I don't was the boat with stringent cleaners.

 

[eze2bme]

If you have a painted surface, then you might consider using penetrol reducer. You simply wash the surface with Acetone to get rid of dirt, grease etc. When I say wash I mean use a rag and wipe surface. Then with a clean rag just wipe on the penetrol. I have a 53MY and did the port side of the hull in 2 hours last thursday. The paint is over 30 years old and looked better when I finished than some 90's boats in the yard, including some that had just been compounded and waxed. The Penetrol lasts for about a year to 18 months. Penetrol does not work on a gel coat surface however. I did the entire Port Side with less than a pint. It is important to get the surface clean before applying Penetrol as it will lock in what ever dirt you don't remove, so make sure you keep the rag clean. I got the tip on Penetrol from a guy who paints boats in Florida. Also I don't was the boat with stringent cleaners.

Has anyone tried this, and if so, what were your long term results? Did the penetrol attract dirt? Thxs.