How to Make Gel Coat White Again
How dull is your gelcoat? Drew Maglio has three ways to revive faded gelcoat and improve the appearance of your boat
Few things irk me more than than dirty, chalky and stained gelcoat. Similar an engine that is corroded – or lines that are chafed – worn gelcoat is a sure sign of neglect.
Fortunately there are multiple ways to restore aged, stained, dirty and faded gelcoat. With a bit of care and a lot of elbow grease, the methods here are guaranteed to drastically better the appearance of your arts and crafts.
i. Cleaner wax/smooth
A boat that looks similar this needs only a ceramic coating, paste wax, or PTFE shine
Tools and materials
- Microfibre towels: 4-8
- Shurhold Pro Polish: £20 bottle
- Non-sideslip deck cleaner: £12 bottle
This is the simplest and least laborious of the three methods, but only applies to newer boats with surface stains, small fading and discolouration of the gelcoat, and little to no oxidation.
To determine if gelcoat is oxidised, wipe your hand across the surface. If whatever 'chalk' wipes off on your fingers, the gelcoat is oxidised and will demand to be washed and buffed before polishing. If you are lucky and all your boat requires is a lite polish, here's what you need to do:
Step ane: Assemble your supplies: you'll need a pack of high quality microfibre towels and a polish. Depression quality towels will shed fibres and go out streaks and residuum.
For boats with slightly more deteriorated or faded gelcoat, a hull cleaner or restoring boat wax may be called – 3M and other brands make a good quality product that tin be used for this purpose.
For boats that take only small-scale gelcoat defects or staining, a smoothen such as Shurhold'southward Pro Polish tin be used. I've establish that polymer polishes work much meliorate than carnuba waxes at sealing the pores in gelcoat and producing a durable loftier gloss terminate. Polymer polishes can last upwards to a twelvemonth, while even the best gunkhole waxes generally only last for a few months at a time.
Step two: Moisture the microfibre rag, wring it out so employ a tablespoon of polish to the rag. This amount of polish volition work for a few square feet.
Earlier buffing, spread the polish evenly across the gunkhole'south gelcoat. It'due south best to work in small areas and work the polish into the surface with a circular motion and lots of leverage. A buffer with wool pad may be used at low speed, but I prefer to buff by manus as it'south much more precise and easy to get into nooks and crannies.
Step 3: When the polish dries into a haze, remove it with a clean, dry out microfibre rag. Be sure to apply adequate forcefulness or a film of swirl marks will remain. Exist sure to get in all the nooks and crannies or they'll be an eyesore.
Note: In the past I've cleaned and polished non-skid decks with polymer polishes, which fabricated my deck highly reflective. Information technology did, however, make the deck a bit more slippery so I'd advise using a product fabricated particularly for this function of the boat. The best mode to polish non-skid is with a wetted bristle brush. But scrub the polish on and and so wipe it off with a dry microfibre towel.
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ii. Compound and polish
Our Chaparral 2335 after an initial polish
Tools and materials
- Pressure level washer: £140
- On/Off hull cleaner: £20 per litre
- Disposable gloves and goggles £10
- Wool polishing bonnet: £30 each
- Spare wool polishing pads: £15 each
- Shurhold Buff Magic (624g/22oz): £22
- Polymer varnish (varies)
For boats 10-20 years old that accept been left out in the elements, this is the most likely method for restoring appearance. Boats in this category volition be oxidised and have many stains. While experts may tell you to wet sand your gunkhole with 600-1200 grit depending on the severity of the oxidation, I have found it unnecessary. Instead, I follow the steps below:
Step 1: Make clean the surface. While dish soap or a degreaser may piece of work, it is best to use a pressure washer with approximately 2000psi and an acid launder to remove any stubborn and deep staining. For this chore, I similar On/Off hull cleaner, but manus and eye protection must exist worn when dealing with any acidic solution.
Stride 2: In one case the hull has been acid washed and pressure cleaned, you will notice information technology is now clean – albeit dull. A mitt vitrify with a buffing manus or microfibre towel for heavily oxidised boats is difficult though do-able. A rotary buffer wool bonnet is much meliorate.
The same gunkhole's gelcoat after multiple polishes – it is of import to polish every few months
Note: Be conscientious non to burn through the gelcoat by working 1 spot as well long. When buffing be sure to apply a expert quality rubbing compound.
I've had expert results with most marine compounds including those offered by 3M and Meguiar's, but my best results have been achieved with Buff Magic by Shurhold. Work on small 3-5ft sections of the hull at a time.
While buffing, the wool pad must be damp. After working the material into one area, you'll notice that the pad is dry and the wool matted.
When this occurs, rake the wool back into form with a pad spur and re-moisture the pad. Information technology'due south prudent to change the wool pad ofttimes.
Footstep 3: After the gunkhole has been compounded to satisfaction, follow up with a polymer polish to chemically seal the now glossy and clean gelcoat.
iii. Wipe-on acrylic sealer
Tools and materials
- Pressure washer: £140
- On/Off hull cleaner: £xx per litre
- Zep Loftier Traffic Commercial Floor Polish: £20 for 5 litres
- Terry towels: £10 per box
While lamenting the heavily worn and stained gelcoat of my 1987 Ericson 38 yacht, I began to research alternatives to painting. As gelcoat ages, it becomes porous and therefore deeply ingrained with stains, but considering nosotros were in the midst of a refit, with too much else to do painting was entirely out of the question.
So something else had to be done about our boat's ghastly outward appearance, which at a dusty boatyard acted like a sponge to soak up every contaminant into its large pores. I tried this method as a last ditch effort and, so far, it has completely rejuvenated our old gelcoat!
Our Ericson 38 stained hullsides earlier…
…and after coating with Zep floor shine
Pace ane: Clean with a pressure washer and an On/Off acid wash to remove embedded stains.
Pace 2: We decided to get with Zep Moisture-Wait Commercial Floor Polish over the more than expensive gunkhole polishes. While you may or may non have better results with 1 of the more expensive options, we are satisfied with Zep, which cost a mere £20 for five litres.
While the instructions recommend application via mop, we decided to utilise terry towels for a more precise awarding.
Step 3: Four initial coats are recommended, assuasive at to the lowest degree 30 minutes of drying time between coats. Since Zep soaks in to the pores of gelcoat and forms a hard, articulate acrylic layer over the gelcoat, grooming is vital for satisfactory results.
Unlike buffing or polishing – which remove imperfections the more you buff – an acrylic sealer seals in all imperfections so be certain yous remove all surface contaminants, bugs and runs earlier the shine dries or they'll exist sealed in until the surface is stripped – a very tedious procedure.
Over the course of a few days nosotros applied four coats to our boat's hull and topsides and were actually impressed with the results.
To maintain the finish it'southward advisable to reapply at least i new coat a yr. If y'all lapse the finish will bubble and peel off, making it necessary to strip the whole surface with a proprietary stripper before re-blanket.
Acrylic sealer will not make your gunkhole look perfect, but it volition breathe new life into ancient gelcoat.
Source: https://www.pbo.co.uk/expert-advice/3-ways-to-revive-faded-gelcoat-62326
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