how to get old letter and pinstripe ghost marks off of gelcoat?

[snake91876]

How can i get the marks were old registration numbers and pinstripes were on a 20 year old white or off white gel coat. I tried 3m p800 wet dry paper and 3m super duty compound with buffer and didnt hardly do anything but it did make my gelcoat look brand new otherwise just still have the marks. Should i go to a coarser grit or what. I guess i can always put new stripes in the same spot but really wanted them gone. any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bondo]

Re: how to get old letter and pinstripe ghost marks off of gelcoat?

I guess i can always put new stripes in the same spot but really wanted them gone.

Ayuh,.... Or Paint it....

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: how to get old letter and pinstripe ghost marks off of gelcoat?

Patience...... in another 20 years they will just about fade to the same color........

re-stipe it, paint it, or learn to ignore it and they will not matter.

 

[SBTOM]

Re: how to get old letter and pinstripe ghost marks off of gelcoat?

If you wanted to buff out the whole boat you could try rubbing compound. Worth testing on a small spot to see if it would work/ is worth the time and effort.

 

[SBTOM]

Re: how to get old letter and pinstripe ghost marks off of gelcoat?

Sorry! forgot step one! Meant to say try and dig a little deeper with 400-600 and THEN buff it out...

 

[ondarvr]

Re: how to get old letter and pinstripe ghost marks off of gelcoat?

There is no way to change the color of the gel coat that was under the numbers and strips, that's the original color of the boat, its the rest of the boat that's off color.

The only thing you can do is sand and buff the rest of the boat, this will (may) remove the discolored surface and get back down to fresh gel coat. It may not always work well, but that's the only option.