Help make it Shine again!!!

[wjd]

Help! What can i do to make my boat have that new shine again without having to paint it. It has what i call oxidation look to it. Is there a way to make it shine again?

 

[Lrider]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

have any pictures?

is it the gelcoat that is oxidized?

There are a lot of threads here regarding that including Vaseline

 

[commander315]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

i found that Vaseline helps minimally. I used 3m Restoration/wax compound. Also, Meguiars makes a Gelcoat resto kit with a heavy duty oxidation remover. good luck!

 

[IronOutlaw]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

i found that Vaseline helps minimally. I used 3m Restoration/wax compound. Also, Meguiars makes a Gelcoat resto kit with a heavy duty oxidation remover. good luck!

my gelcoat was very rough feeling and had no shine at all so today I...


Wetsanded by hand with 1000 grit until smooth.

Wetsanded with 2000 until smooth.

Cleaned all excess dust off

buffed using turtlewax brand polish compound

put a good coat of wax on


Now it has a nice glasslike finish and reflects very nicely. I doubt it looks as good as new but I have to say you won't find another original 1983 gelcoat that looks better. It took me and two other guys about 4 hours to complete. Boat is a 83 ranger 330v and we just did the top half, the bottom half still looks good.

 

[commander315]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

my gelcoat was very rough feeling and had no shine at all so today I...


Wetsanded by hand with 1000 grit until smooth.

Wetsanded with 2000 until smooth.

Cleaned all excess dust off

buffed using turtlewax brand polish compound

put a good coat of wax on


Now it has a nice glasslike finish and reflects very nicely. I doubt it looks as good as new but I have to say you won't find another original 1983 gelcoat that looks better. It took me and two other guys about 4 hours to complete. Boat is a 83 ranger 330v and we just did the top half, the bottom half still looks good.

I willing to put my hull up against yours...lol..its an 84 and A lot of hull. It looks damn close to new for 26 yr old boat..I buff it out every spring so, its not easy to keep it that way

 

[IronOutlaw]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

I willing to put my hull up against yours...lol..its an 84 and A lot of hull. It looks damn close to new for 26 yr old boat..I buff it out every spring so, its not easy to keep it that way

lol you might have me, but I do have the cleanest in my area. I do have to think part of it is the quality of the ranger brand. I know a guy with a late 80s procraft that's been covered most of it's life and it looks no where near as nice as my old ranger. I also have an 82 performance judge that I'm gonna do to try and get it to sell. There's too many cheap boats around and mines just a dime in a dozen.

 

[commander315]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

lol you might have me, but I do have the cleanest in my area. I do have to think part of it is the quality of the ranger brand. I know a guy with a late 80s procraft that's been covered most of it's life and it looks no where near as nice as my old ranger. I also have an 82 performance judge that I'm gonna do to try and get it to sell. There's too many cheap boats around and mines just a dime in a dozen.

yup, I agree Rangers are and always were great boats.. I believe he same thing about Chris Craft...however their outlook on things now is much different than it was back in the 80s

 

[PS94]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

i used 3M Marine Rubbing compound, as I didn't like how poorly the Meguiars kit worked. after the rubing compound, I used the Meguiars system, and the boat looks pretty damn good.

With the Meguiars alone, the boat didn't really shine, and had a chalky appearance still.

 

[scutly]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

Marine "One Step" Fiberglass Restorer and Wax and a polishing wheel

 

[commander315]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

i used 3M Marine Rubbing compound, as I didn't like how poorly the Meguiars kit worked. after the rubing compound, I used the Meguiars system, and the boat looks pretty damn good.

With the Meguiars alone, the boat didn't really shine, and had a chalky appearance still.

I agree... I never used the Meguiar kit before. When I let my hull go, I use the 3m restorer wax then use rubbing compound over it...that works great

 

[wjd]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

Help! What can i do to make my boat have that new shine again without having to paint it. It has what i call oxidation look to it. Is there a way to make it shine again?

Yes it is gelcoat. Its an 86 Renken fis and ski.

 

[Even Flow2]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

Use Collinite waxes and cleaners

http://www.collinite.com/

the stuff is amazing. I use the fiberglass cleaner and it works great. For wax I prefer paste, but both last a long time and a great shine. If it is really far gone you may to do wet sanding, but I would at least give this a shot first. The wax is also great for autos as it lasts a very long time and can be layered.

Can get it at some auto stores or best deals online. If you need it quick you can get it at west marine if you are willing to grab your ankles while they ring you up.

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

I've been using a heavy duty 3M cutting compound. You really have to let it sit in the sun for about a week to see if the chaulkiness comes back and then see if you need to do it again.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

i used 3M Marine Rubbing compound, as I didn't like how poorly the Meguiars kit worked. after the rubing compound, I used the Meguiars system, and the boat looks pretty damn good.

With the Meguiars alone, the boat didn't really shine, and had a chalky appearance still.

I used the Meguiars kit on my hull sides. It worked very well in bringing the shine back. On the top sides, the kit didn't fair so well. I stepped up to their harsher compound and it brought the shine back, but still left a chalky, uneven look to it. At that point I tossed some wax on it, and focused on getting her in the water.

My plan is wet sand and try the compounds, polish and wax again. This might wait until after the season has ended though.

 

[PS94]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

Odd, my topside was hard to get to shine, and I gave up....I doubt it was from the sun, I think it's my Top Cap is a different material or gelcoat than the hull....I'm going to be a scab and try the vaseline method on it...as the cutting compound was taking forever, and still not producing decent results...

 

[woosterken]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

check this out , Mark did a fantastic job on his...............

http://www.shareaproject.com/pages/projectTut,p,27,00.html

woosterken

 

[thedanimal]

Re: Help make it Shine again!!!

i used the 3m heavy oxidation stuff. a lot of elbow grease (actually i used an air buffer and it was still a lot of work). it did an ok job, after a couple of weeks, i noticed the oxidation starting to come back... so then i tried the Vaseline............rubbed Vaseline into hull, let it sit in the sun for a couple of days, wiped the Vaseline off with clean paper towel, immediately applied a decent car wax, buffed it out. it has held up great the rest of the summer.