TOPIC: wax and shine

I have a 1966 Glasspar which the gel coat has turned a faded yellow color instead of being white. What does everyone use to get some of the luster back and how? A few years ago a "boat guy" showed me a product but I don't remember the name of it. It seems he just brushed it on and let it sit, then wiped it off. Sounds to good to be true. Anyone have any tips how to get my boat looking good?

Thank you

If you want the full, no holds barred, dear-God-shot-me version, read THIS thread over at sailnet. This is from a guy that makes a living polishing up yachts.

My boat has some heavy oxidation on a dark color so I'm going to start with 800 grit wet sanding, work my way back to 1200 grit. After that it will be a series of Mcguire's cutting /polishing compounds in decreasing cut values. The topsides with lighter oxidation came back well witha little medium cut compound and a RO buffer.

But there are simpler approaches that I'm sure someone here will chime in with, pariticularly for a white boat.

I really want to learn that pro method, but I think I should first experiment with an old junk snowmobile hood first so I don't ruin my good glassic. Until then, I have tried the Flitz product that can be applied by hand or with a buff ball. There are many videos on line for it. I am sure this is not what the experts would use, but for my first try, it was my safer choice. With just a light fine kitchen pad and LIGHT pressure, I did a sample location and it came back what looked to be 70 plus percent... maybe more. It took the cloudy haze out and brought out shine and color on my light robin egg blue gel coat. Again, I am very amateur and the pro way above is what I want to learn... that was just my first try. I saw it at a trade show and brought home a single pack sample the size of a single restaurant wet napkin. I tried it next to where the previous owner did some wet sanding that he was not yet done with and it looked better at that stage enough for me to be ok taking the boat in public to use until I learn how to finish with the pro method.

Old Guy. 800 grit sounds like it would be a little too aggressive and you just might go too deep, you'll be spending more time trying to buff out scratches.
I would wet sand with 1500 and the go to 2000. Those can be found at most auto stores like AutoZone etc. or body shops then power buff with Mcquires polish. A little more elbow grease but a good wax job after should get a satisfactory result. If you want it to look good for a day on the water without all the work just wipe it down with WD40. Wont solve the oxy problem but is a quick way to look good.

Not "Old Guy" ... "Experienced Guy!" Cal.

Well not to burst anyones bible but you can try all the different solvents you want but they are really only temp fixes, more or less. Yes I am of the old school elf grease method. My '60 Wagemaker was extremely oxidized and I did the wet sand method starting at 400 but I had pretty thick gel coat. Worked up to 2000 grit, then rubbing compound then polishing compound and a good wax job. Been that way for over 6 years now. Here is a before and after.


Bob

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. There probably is no short cut for the old fashion elbow grease method, which I am running out of! Maybe I can find some at napa along with a can of some napa know how. I might try and tackle it this winter and see how it goes. As far as the "old guy" moniker goes it just came to me when I registered without much thinking, funny thing though a friend of mine calls me old man even though he is 4 years older than me.
Thanks again for the tips.
Roger

yeah, this is definitely a winter project kind of thing for me too. I bought a nice electric random orbit buffer just for this purpose because my elbows just ain't as greasy as they used to be. I'm planning on "damp" sanding - using low speed on the buffer with a trigger spray bottle on the boat.

Agree and all good info here. When I learn how to do the pro way BEFORE I try it on my original boat and ruin it, Mine was just a light haze, so the Flitz worked for me at this point. Even took the yellow haze off my Jeep headlights in 2 minutes that the multi- stage 3-M kit took me 20 minutes to do. I want to learn the professional way because I am paranoid after what happened to my car. Someone wanted to have my car detailed as a surprise...I picked it up to find paint burned through to primer in 8 spots about 4 inches long on edges and even the arbor chattered swirl scratches on my spoiler. Found out the old expert that did detailing once a week at a car wash was sick, so dumb manager picked an 18 year old off the wash line to do it. That was 15 years ago and my car is an original survivor, so it just eats at me every time I drive it and see it. When a pro or experienced hobbiest does things, they do it right. I need to learn on something junk before I ruin my original boat. Just my bad luck experience. Now I take baby steps. ...well after reading my own post, I think I need therapy to let the past go! Time to go boating!