Decal Paint Fade

I searched and searched the forum and didn't come up with anything that really fit my question, so I am counting on some gurus to help me out.

I know dealing with the paint/gelcoat on a boat is like re-inventing the wheel so I am not looking for fundamentals.

I have my own assumptions on what to do but I wanted to be sure before I went diving into this.

Ok here goes.

Its pretty simple really, I removed the 'Celebrity', '199', and the registration decals on my 1989 Celebrity Cuddy. All areas where there was a decal was (obviously) many shades darker than the rest because of fade of the years.

My question is; how do you get it too look somewhat decent without having to re-paint/gelcoat the areas again.

I was thinking that I could buff it out somewhat, or even wet sand it. I have all the 3M hull detail products from there heavy duty compound to the Finesse It 2 polish.

What should I do?

Thanks.

Re: Decal Paint Fade

When I removed decals from one of my boats, I had good luck with buffing compound and a 7" hi speed foam pad.

Re: Decal Paint Fade

So basically what you're saying is the restore it just as you would do with high oxidized gel coat? And I searched the restoration forum for over an hour, I know what the options are for oxidized and faded exteriors, but I just didn't know if it would match up or if the decal fade would always be there and just get lighter.

I guess I will just start with a light compound and see how that works, and then work my way up from there.

The oxidation is not super bad but you can tell now that the decals are gone that the gel coat is pretty faded, but nothing abnormal for a 22 year old boat.