Oxidization

BPBOZ

Recruit
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
3
I have a 1993 Chris Craft 238 Concept Cuddy, the fiberglass is oxidized, i have tried regular marine waxes with no luck, can anyone point me in the right direction to get this boat shining again, the gelcoat on bottom half is looking good, needs a wax to start the season. It is the top half that is really bad, all the fiberglass on the top of the cuddy and all around thank you
Also i cannot find any 8 in window support braces for the windshield anywhere, anyone know of a way to get some
 

rickryder

Commander
Joined
Jun 24, 2010
Messages
2,722
Re: Oxidization

Welcome to iboats!

It's your gelcoat that's oxidized. You will possibly need to wet sand with 1000 and 1500 paper.....then compound and buff with a wheel. Do a quick search for gelcoat buffing/wet sanding and you will find many threads on the subject.
 

pjitty

Cadet
Joined
Aug 4, 2009
Messages
26
Re: Oxidization

Wax is'nt gonna do it, you need to compound the gel coat, you might get away with out the sanding part [depends on how bad the chalking is]. Theirs some heavy duty rubbing compound made for fiberglass, then after the rubbing compound you might want to try a polishing compound [you might like the results with just the rubbing compound] .My boat is white and a 2004, some light chalking, hit it with Dupont "Finis it" boat looks new again. I've heard some use Vasoline on the chalking [gel coat] but that might only last a few weeks. Good Luck, and don't be afraid of a little hard work...

Joe D.
 

BPBOZ

Recruit
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
3
Re: Oxidization

Has anyone seen the product Buff Magic or know anything about it. do you think that would work
I am willing to put in the hard work and whatever i have to do to get it looking good again
 

Levinz11

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
726
Re: Oxidization

3M Imperial did a pretty amazing job on my 24 yr old gelcoat. Especially considering it is a one-step/ diminishing compound product. The sides of my boat are nice and shiny again. Some of the gel coat on the cap is faded completely through, though. I thought I could sand/compound through the faded stuff but my girl let the bow hit a dock the other day and it chipped the finish. When I was checking out the damage you could see the red had faded to the bone so to speak.
 

pfatyol

Recruit
Joined
Jun 28, 2010
Messages
5
Re: Oxidization

Has anyone seen the product Buff Magic or know anything about it. do you think that would work
I am willing to put in the hard work and whatever i have to do to get it looking good again

Buff Magic is great, a captain friend of mine turned me on to the stuff, he said several OEM's use it prior to sending the boats out of the factory. My wife and I picked up a 83 four winns a few years ago, she thought the boat was white, due to all the oxidiation on the hull. A couple of hours with the polisher and buff magic and the hull is Blue and shiney. My wife did not believe it was the same boat. I highly recommend the buff magic. Just remember to give it a coat of wax or polish afterwards to seal the gel coat.
 

25thmustang

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
1,849
Re: Oxidization

Has anyone seen the product Buff Magic or know anything about it. do you think that would work
I am willing to put in the hard work and whatever i have to do to get it looking good again

I used Buff Magic on the Silverton in the sig. This is my father going over after using the Buff Magic and the follow up Pro Polish.

f6cd3728.jpg


And on the top side.

IMG_0293.jpg
 

Thalasso

Commander
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
2,876
Re: Oxidization

I have a 1993 Chris Craft 238 Concept Cuddy, the fiberglass is oxidized, i have tried regular marine waxes with no luck, can anyone point me in the right direction to get this boat shining again, the gelcoat on bottom half is looking good, needs a wax to start the season. It is the top half that is really bad, all the fiberglass on the top of the cuddy and all around thank you
Also i cannot find any 8 in window support braces for the windshield anywhere, anyone know of a way to get some

You have to get the surface as shiny as you can and then polish. I use DuraGloss 561 Compound and then DuraGloss 501 polish. To apply the compound use a wool pad on a Variable Speed buffer. A orbital buffer won't do the job. I bought mine at Harbor Freight for $29.00.When i was done i applyed Collinite 870 liquid fleetwax.Put the Collinite in warm water for a few minutes and it goes on easy. Remember your shine is going to be what it is when your done buffing with compound. Polish and wax is just for a little more protection. They do not make shine.I got my stuff from Auto Geek.
 

choppywaters

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 27, 2012
Messages
127
Re: Oxidization

Has anyone seen the product Buff Magic or know anything about it. do you think that would work
I am willing to put in the hard work and whatever i have to do to get it looking good again

When we bought our boat it wasn't oxidized too bad but non the less, very dull. I tried a regular car polisher and that did very little so for my birthday my Wife ordered me a Shurhold dual action buffer (check it out on youtube) and a few extra pads along with their Buff Magic and Pro Polish. Well all I can say is after 1 go-a-round with both products it was very shinny. You could see your reflection everywhere and its a white boat. I looked at getting it buffed out by a pro but at 15 bucks a foot it was way cheaper to just buy the buffer and extras.
A little elbow grease and this buffer will be worth it. Ive also hear a lot that 3M Imperial does a great job, I might try that next. Just remember, after compounding it you should seal it with a good polish/wax.
 

acarroll89

Cadet
Joined
May 9, 2012
Messages
24
Re: Oxidization

I used some 3M compound on my boat and it worked pretty well. My boat is HEAVILY oxidized and probably needs to be wet sanded. Wool pad at 3000rpms does a decent job. I need to go back over everything as I forgot to polish and wax it. Was too excited to get it in the water lol
 
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