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Gelcoat Revival

sastephens

Junior Member
I am trying to revive the shine on my 1973 Ericson gel coat. It has oxidized badly and leaves a white chalk on everything. This is what I have done so far with disappointing results:

1. Washed fiberglass with TSP solution.
2. Wiped down with Acetone.
3. Rubbed/polished with automotive polishing compound.
4. Applied wax.

Results are less than stellar. Gelcoat is still dull and very porous. Can anyone recommend a product or technique to polish up old gelcoat? I am trying to avoid wetsanding the entire boat.

Thanks.
 

Sean Engle

Your Friendly Administrator
Administrator
Founder
Rubbing Compound?

Did you try rubbing compound? I know that my hull has patches of areas that are dull (not chalky), but I used heavy duty rubbing compound to take away a little more material than solvents, but less than wet sanding....

This pic shows the hull area after it was done - before it was kind of blotchy, etc.

Good luck!

//sse
 

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escapade

Inactive Member
gelcoat revival revisited

I agree with Sean, I've used DuPont Heavy Duty rubbing compound with good results on 3 older Ericson's now. I use a power buffer rather than hand rubbing to get good results. The gelcoat should be about 20 mils thick (the thickness of the cardboard backer in a legal pad) so you have a fair amount of material available to get a good shine. The trick is to keep moving the buffer around as you work an area so as to avoid "burning thru" the gel coat. Clean the hull w/soap & water and remove the old wax with a wax remover for best results. The old wax will build up and keep the rubbing compound from doing it's job. Any dirt will be ground into the gel coat preventing a good shine, also. It's a lot of work but the results are worth it when your finished. Remember though, DO NOT apply any wax until you're satisified with the shine. It won't make it look any better, it just protects it from oxidizing sooner. Good luck, Bud
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Putting a shine on it...

I agree with the other posters on buffing out the hull and then waxing. We do this at each haulout.
3M PRODUCTS Finesse-It II Finishing Compound is a product used by the local yard after they "compound" the faded gel coat with rubbing compound. All this is done with a power buffer.
After that, paste wax is applied.

Loren
 

cruis-n

Member II
One additional note to add. Stay away from products like Newglass (looks like acrylic floor wax).

We did that to our boat after compounding the hull several years ago. It looked great for the first year or two, then it started looking bad. We re-applied the product, but the problems still came back and it didn't look so good the second time around.

We use 409 to clean up and found that it would temporarily soften the product, enough to mix with what we were trying to clean, and then re-harden. Yuk! Over time, the sun worked on it and it started looking really blotchy. Last spring we tried to take it off (don't ask what the yard charges to remove it). We tried elbow greese and commercial acrylic floor wax remover. It still has areas where it refuses to come off. We'll let the weather finish the project!

One other thing. Even though the gelcote is thick, it's not unlimited. Try to avoid using products like softscrub. It's very abrasive and while it removes stains and dirt, it also removes gelcote. This 'light sanding' action opens up microscopic pores in the gelcote which in turn attract dirt which causes you to use more softscrub which opens more pores... Well, you get the idea. If you need to use softscrub, do it and then use some sort of wax. Don't wax the deck areas though, you'll hurt yourself!
 

Sean Engle

Your Friendly Administrator
Administrator
Founder
Stay with proven methods (wax)

I vote against the 'bottle' solutions also - that stuff was on my hull - it cost me almost $2k to get it removed! :mad:

//sse
 

Nigel Barron

Notorious Iconoclast
Last ditch sollution

Although everything said so far relates to how to improve the look of the gelcoat, there is one last option. When I bought my 1974 Ericson 27, the gelcoat was so badly deteriorated, that buffing was not an option. Instead, I chose Brightside polyurethane.

From their website: "Brightside® is a one-part polyurethane topside finish that has the ease of use of an enamel with the high gloss of a two-part polyurethane. Brightside® contains Teflon® to resist staining and improve abrasion resistance. Brightside® is available in 24 bright colours"

I have to say, the results were very impressive. Anyway, just another thought.

Nigel
 

Bob in Va

Member III
Another Alternative?

I'm also planning some serious gelcoat work on my E23, and have been reading the literature on "Island Girl" products. Has anyone out there tried them? Sailboatowners.com has quite an extensive write up on what causes and cures gelcoat oxidation and pitting in their "Island Girl" write up, and I am impressed by their apparent understanding and approach to the problem. I intend to buy one of their multiple product kits (cleaner, resurfacer, wax) and give it a try unless I hear something negative from someone who has already been there. No abrasives are involved in their process - just cleaners that dissolve the crud down in the pits. So no gelcoat is removed, unlike rubbing compound or scrubbers.
 

Troy Gattis

Junior Member
as much as I hate to say it 400 grit then 600 grit wet did a great job on my gel I was tired of using the 3m heavy ox remover and tried it. Now my captain wants me to do the whole thing not just the front half:devil:
 

tilwinter

Member III
polishing hull

There was a long discussion of this on the sailnet user group last spring, and I followed the instructions of one contributer as follows: (results were excellent) I bought a Makita polisher (quite pricey but nice...constant low speed, often 400-600 rpm...you can get a feel for this as you work. It has a thumbwheel to adjust the speed. Low speed keeps you from burning through). I used a wool polishing wheel, which cuts the oxidation better than foam. I then used a 50-50 mix (approximate) of 3m liquid compounding solution, and "Finesse-it" The latter keeps the solution moist longer, and does not seem to decrease the efficacy of removal of oxidation, even though it doesn't seem to have any grit in it.
 

Jim Baldwin

Member II
Come on now... 1973 gel coat, complete with cracks and all. (Do the math, that's thirty years ago.) Forget about polishes, pastings and perfume. You'll need to paint it if you want it to look good like it did in 1973. I agree with Nigel who suggests a Brightside Polyurathane@ coating.

My 1973 E27 looks better than new thanks to that stuff. The previous owner didn't even recognize it and now he thinks he wants to buy it back. "Forget it, she's mine now."
 
Last edited:
I used a Makita variable-speed polisher also. I polished my 38 hull in one day (a long day!), and the results were great. The thick wool bonnet is a must for this job. Don't let it get clogged with dry compound. Clean it by gently rubbing it with the tip of a blunt stick while rotating the bonnet at a couple of hundred rpm to throw off dry compound.

Follow up with a coat of good wax.
 

Martin King

Sustaining Member
Blogs Author
Trying to "polish" chalky 30 year old gelcoat is a waste of
energy. I agree that you should paint it, but don't use
Brightsides. If you are going to do all the required prep work,
you best be using Awlgrip, Sterling, or Imron.

Martin
 

Jim Baldwin

Member II
Tell me why

Martin, can you tell me why you prefer Sterling or the other brands over Brightside coatings? Tell me the truth, I can take it. (Oh please don't tell tell me my paint is due to fall off next year.)
 

Nigel Barron

Notorious Iconoclast
Painting

Also, I am curious if the other products mentioned are two part or one part. I was taken by the simplicity of Brightside in that it was as simple as paint it on... Actually, much like painting the bottom of my boat, I prefer to roll on with the foam rollers from West Marine and then tip with a foam brush... Just curious. Next hallout I might paint the hull again, thinking of a different color than white, and am curious about other products.
 

Hobbster

Junior Member
Dull glass/gelcoat

Gelcoat is porous. When the finished surface is gone, the small little holes come into play. When this happens, it is easy to buff a shine on the boat but hard to keep it there. It is time to paint. There are a number of two part poly paints. Most should be sprayed on. A 23' boat hull in good shape could be painted for around $2,300.00+/- with a two part urethane paint. I use "nason" by DuPont. I get great results and the Al-grip nonskid works well with it. People are amaszed that they can see thereself in the finish.

I painted a 1976 Cape Dory with it and the Owner is offten asked if it is a new boat. I am in the process of painting my 27' Ericson now.

Good luck

Glen
Ericson 27
 

Martin King

Sustaining Member
Blogs Author
Well,
Sterling and Awlgrip are 2 part linear polyurethanes and Brightside is a cheap enamel. Since materials are the smallest
expense in a paint job, why wouldn't you use the highest
quality paint available? LP is without question, the most
durable, highest gloss coating currently available. Since
you like to roll and tip (use a good china bristle) I would
suggest the Sterling paint system as it is particularly
suited for brush application.

Martin
 

Hobbster

Junior Member
Paint

Martin:

I agree with what you stated. Materials are the least cost in a painting project. However, both Sterling and Awlgrip are still very $$$$$$$. Nason is a two part Urethane. The cost is about 50%-60% of the others you mentioned. I have never rolled and tip a paint job, we always spray. I have seen some very good roll and tip paint jobs. There is also alot of personal preferance involved. Regardless, I always use primer and paint from the same manufacturer.

Thank you for your reply.
Glen
 

Martin King

Sustaining Member
Blogs Author
Hobbster,

I am not familiar with Nason products. I am familiar with both
Awlgrip and Sterling. I have both sprayed and brushed them
and gotten great results. Sterling in particular offers the
weekend warriors who want to brush a good system. Yes
LP paints are expensive but since the labor involved in prep
work is the same no matter what topcoat you are using and
also the biggest expense, the longevity of the coating more
than makes up for higher initial investment in materials.

Martin
 

escapade

Inactive Member
I'm with Martin on this one! Having done auto body work for years before I decided to go broke and buy a boat, prep is everything!! Any defect that you can see will be magnified when you put paint on it. The shine really makes things show up. Therefore I always buy the best possible products available and save money with labor (will work for beer). I'm not familiar with Nason products, but would do a LOT of homework to determine why the cost is so much less. Typically, the markup on these products isn't that large, so that big a difference must lie in the materials used. There is nothing I hate more than a miserable job, except to have to do it over again cause I cut a corner. Good luck and keep us informed on progress. Bud
 
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