UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

[hollowch]

Previous owner let her sit under the west TX sun for about three solid years and the finish on the boat has turned rather dull. There were a couple areas that were covered up and if you look at those areas, there is a real nice shine and sparkle. Is it possible to restore the sun damaged coat and restore it? What products are recommended? Thanks.

 

[Chris N]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

I use 3M heavy duty rubbing compound and Maguire's wax. Neither is cheap but the combination works. Our "new to us" '89 Sea Ray 230 had been sitting in the sun for so long that the finish was just powder on the port side. We washed it with dish soap and water to remove dirt and most of the powdery stuff. Next we used the 3M compound as per instructions (it's for "heavy oxidization and it has a green label). Just do a very small patch at a time for best results, and you'll need hundreds of small rags 'cause they tend to clog up real fast. Next, use the Maguire's wax and buff to a shine. Some spots got 3 coats of wax. It took a while to get the hang of using the rubbing compound but once you actually experience the way it works it seems like magic. Just keep rubbing and keep flipping or changing rags. I cut a bunch of 6" X 6" rags out of old towels that the Admiral gets from the thrift stores for 50 cents each. Seriously, to do the whole boat it seems like you need hundreds of 'em. Okay, I just searched the rubbing compounds from 3M and you will have to specify 3M "MARINE" rubbing compound. For some reason the stuff doesn't show up on the sites that sell 3M products for the auto body industry. We get it through our local Sea Ray dealer but you might get a better deal if you have a West Marine outlet near you.

 

[Chris N]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

Hollowch,
West marine does carry the stuff and at a way better price than the Sea Ray dealer here. Order at least a quart of it.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

Previous owner let her sit under the west TX sun for about three solid years and the finish on the boat has turned rather dull. There were a couple areas that were covered up and if you look at those areas, there is a real nice shine and sparkle. Is it possible to restore the sun damaged coat and restore it? What products are recommended? Thanks.

That ^^^ makes it sound like it's probably metal flake gelcoat. Correct? This boat:

It's an Evinrude 115 1985 Phantom Bass boat. The old fella I took this off hadn't started it in three years, but when he shut it down, it ran fine.

^^^ from your OB Johnson motor questions thread....

Depending on it's exact condition, it may be more involved then a sanding, a buff & possibly a waxing, much more. Esp when compared to what can be done to a solid (likely white or off-white) gelcoat.

Do an advanced search from the resto forum homepage: Metal flake gelcoat
Been a few threads, and a good bit of discussion about metal flake gelcoat.....

As always, a few pix & a year/make/model would help, unless it is the '85 Phantom.

Pix that show the 2 different gel conditions: those that were covered & are in pretty good shape, and the uncovered that are dull....

Dull, but not chalky & not cracked/crazed?

 

[hollowch]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Here's a picture of a spot that was covered



Yes, you're right it's the 1985 Phantom Bass Boat. There are some spots on the back that are spider cracked from extended sun exposure.. Call me crazy, but I've contemplated the idea of throwing a torch to it and seeing if I could re-fuse the gel coat and fill the cracks in. In the picture you can see that nice pretty shine and sparkle and what kind of damage the sun has done to it. I spilled some gear oil on a spot and it brought back the sparkle a little bit, so I know there's life left in her.

I've heard of a cheap trick: rub vaseline all over the boat and let it bake in the sun for about 5 hours, then go over and rub it off and seal it with a buff and shine. I'm not sure if that would apply to UV damage.

 

[hollowch]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

I use 3M heavy duty rubbing compound and Maguire's wax. Neither is cheap but the combination works. Our "new to us" '89 Sea Ray 230 had been sitting in the sun for so long that the finish was just powder on the port side. We washed it with dish soap and water to remove dirt and most of the powdery stuff. Next we used the 3M compound as per instructions (it's for "heavy oxidization and it has a green label). Just do a very small patch at a time for best results, and you'll need hundreds of small rags 'cause they tend to clog up real fast. Next, use the Maguire's wax and buff to a shine. Some spots got 3 coats of wax. It took a while to get the hang of using the rubbing compound but once you actually experience the way it works it seems like magic. Just keep rubbing and keep flipping or changing rags. I cut a bunch of 6" X 6" rags out of old towels that the Admiral gets from the thrift stores for 50 cents each. Seriously, to do the whole boat it seems like you need hundreds of 'em. Okay, I just searched the rubbing compounds from 3M and you will have to specify 3M "MARINE" rubbing compound. For some reason the stuff doesn't show up on the sites that sell 3M products for the auto body industry. We get it through our local Sea Ray dealer but you might get a better deal if you have a West Marine outlet near you.

I do have a West Marine right up the street from me! I'm going to go put hands on that stuff here in a few hours.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

The heavy metalflake Gelcoat is the worst stuff in the world to try and restore. You can try...Anything, but... your results will be fair to middlin at best. My recommendation is to sand her down, use some high build primer and then paint her. Just my 2?!!!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

The heavy metalflake Gelcoat is the worst stuff in the world to try and restore. You can try...Anything, but... your results will be fair to middlin at best. My recommendation is to sand her down, use some high build primer and then paint her. Just my 2?!!!

Yep ^^^

There is a huge difference between fixing/repairing it and hiding it (that's really all the gear oil & vaseline would do). And probably a short term hide that will need frequent attention....

BTW: Go the oil or vaseline route, and you'll have a ton of extra prep work to remove it if you later decide to 'fix' it instead. Gonna have to get all that carp off to get anything else to stick (primer & paint or gelcoat)

Metal flake is tough. That's why I said it is probably much more involved then 'just' a light sand, buff & wax.....

Look for those metal flake threads like I suggested. Lots of discussion in some of them.. ...

Maybe you'll find an alternate method in 1 that sounds like something you'd like to do on yours.

 

[hollowch]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

So the 3M heavy duty rubbing compound won't do anything if it's a flake gel coat?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

There are 5 links at the bottom of your page right now that are similar to what you are looking for. Scroll down to the bottom of your page and you'll see em in the Similar Threads section!!!

 

[hollowch]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

Ok I went to West Marine and talked to a guy who seems very savvy with boats and restoring them. Once I told him about my metal flakes, he immediately said that the boat isn't coated with a gel coat, instead it's covered with a clear coat like a car. He told me the marine compounds would be no good for me because theyre all made to be used on gel coats.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

What Year is your Boat?

 

[hollowch]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

What Year is your Boat?

1985 Phantom Bass Boat

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

I could be paint but is suspect it's probably gelcoat. Created by laying down a color coat of gelcoat folowed by clear gelcoat with metalflake added. Either way, Sanding and compounding it, when it's heavily oxidized will usually not yield satisfactory results.

 

[hollowch]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

I could be paint but is suspect it's probably gelcoat. Created by laying down a color coat of gelcoat folowed by clear gelcoat with metalflake added. Either way, Sanding and compounding it, when it's heavily oxidized will usually not yield satisfactory results.

I just threw some vaseline on there and have been letting it sit in the sun for a few hours... looking pretty sexy, I might just go the poor mans route and not risk cutting through the clear coat. Vaseline, then I'll clean it off real good and do a wax and buff to seal it. This boat it too old to justify paying for a new paint job.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: UV damaged gel coat. How do I get that shine & sparkle back?

It Will work Temporarily. But as previously stated will cause issues later on if you decide to paint it.