white and red baja

can anyone tell me about the gel coat on baja boats. I have a 2004 outlaw 25 that is mostly white but has red accents down the sides and interior is red and white. the red in the gel coat is fading. Do they put the red on the boat and then spray gel coat over it or is the gel coat red in those spots. I am wondering because i don't know if wet sanding and polishing will work to restore the color. If the red is under a clear gel coat, i don't guess there is anything i can do to restore the red color short of striping gelcoat and repaint so on... I would appreciate any information on this. thanks in advance.

Re: white and red baja

Your 25 Outlaw has in-gel graphics.....meaning the colors are gelcoat, not paint. Unless someone painted it after it left the factory the red accents are gelcoat. Wet sanding and polishing may help bring back the color, but red is a hard color to keep; believe me!

Re: white and red baja

You can absolutely wet sand that boat. I did my 89 3 color Baja this spring. Gel coat is color, no clear in there. I did an apprenticeship in auto body as a kid so I have some idea how to sand. Apprentices spend a lot of time sanding.
To give you a thought, I suggest that you watch a video or 2 unless you are already a body person.
Do 2000 grit wet sandpaper wrapped around a flat sided closed cell flexible wet sanding block. It cuts very little, just removes the oxidation. Soak your sand paper a while before you start. When you sand use a squeegee to remove the water and inspect your work every so often. Do a section that's below waterline first & then polish & wax it out to get an idea how it all goes.
I used Meguiars cutting compound and then some regular green compound before I waxed it. It was worth every minute of the 4 mornings/afternoons I spent because it's now nice and shiny.
If your boat has gouges it won't fix em ,but red, no problem. My boat has gray, powder and claret red on the sides and it came out very well.

Re: white and red baja

Thanks. Much appreciated. wasnt' sure of the process used in the colors.

Re: white and red baja

NHGuy thanks for the tips. I have done a little bit of sanding, but definitely not a body guy. I will brush up on everthing a little before I start. Was trying to sell this boat, guy came and looked and gave me lowball offer on the basis the boat color was trashed and beyond point of no return. Color is light in places, but on the water it still gets compliments all the time. So, I am going to have to shine it up and get some darker red back in it to sale I guess.

Re: white and red baja

For the hull it will cost about $250-350 to rub and polish ..

Decks are more like $15-17/ft.

YD.