Can anyone recommend any products for restoring gelcoat? I'm trying to find out if there's a product that can restore slightly crazed gelcoat to a smooth and shiny condition. Or is a respray the only option?
Thanks
Try POLIGLOW. Not too sure about the crazing, but on my 30+ year old gelcoat it has come up like new! Hard work doing the cleaning, and really need 6 coats, but very quick & easy to apply, and the finish is brilliant. Sorry not up to creating a link, but here is the webaddress. http://www.poliglow.co.uk/
Best of luck.
Mike
I've used 3M products on some badly neglected grp and it's always done a great job. Start with Restorer and then use "Finesse it". Cleaner is the intermediate product to use where the grp is not too bad.
The most important thing though is to get an electric polisher. Don't use a drill, it's too fast, will get the polish warm and discolour the surface. I bought a commercial machine for £90, and can polish a 40' boat in one day no trouble. The Halfords cheapo jobbies just haven't got the power to turn the polishing head with a restoring product on badly oxidised surfaces - you need the "grunt". And at the end of the day you realise that you've had some great aerobic exercise swinging the polisher all day!
I purchased an electric polisher (1.5 hp) on EBay. - It is a Chinese made look alike of a Makita but it was only 36 pounds!!! Get the polishing pads from Flexi-pads (.com) since they stock the 16mm shaft diameter pads (UK & Europe is usually 14mm).
Does an excellent job - I have seen the guy on Ebay advertise these regularly too...
Try Maguiars boat cleaning products - brilliant!!, (and no hard rubbing). They do a product specifically for lightly dulled/faded gelcoat. Last year available from Aladdins cave.
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you just wipe on with a clean lint free rag/pad, is a liquid much like kitchen floor polish, you will prob need 6+coats to get final luster. be sure that hull and other areas to be coated are REAL clean as the stuff will seal the dirt in and show up later. stuff can be cleaned upo/removed with amonia (NH4OH) i mist the hull with bleach for final whitnening and good wash down before applying. may need a touch up cote in mid year, but just wash and apply
you just wipe on with a clean lint free rag/pad, is a liquid much like kitchen floor polish, you will prob need 6+coats to get final luster. be sure that hull and other areas to be coated are REAL clean as the stuff will seal the dirt in and show up later. stuff can be cleaned up/removed with amonia (NH4OH) i mist the hull with bleach for final whitnening and good wash down before applying. may need a touch up coat in mid year, but just wash and apply
Starbrite polyester cleaner and colour restorer -worked a treat on my 1977 Rasmus, nearly bleached white restored to vanilla colour with a deep shine - easy to apply, just like any other cleaning agent. Within two weeks, apply Starbrite Marine polish (Teflon) for long duration shine and protection. The effect is even more dramatic on dark coloured boats. Wouldn't know about badly crazed hulls though.
And no, I don't have any shares in the company, just wish their products would come a bit cheaper, but then a respray would cost you the earth!
Willothewisp
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If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, I've been there and back...
My dark blue Cornish Shrimper had lost its shine after 15 years and faded to a grim grey matt finish. After trying something new each year I finaly bought a large Makita angle polisher (this is a pro tool costing around £200.00 not one of those £16.00 jobs from Woolies) I had tried one of those. It is fitted with a compounding head (its a firm sponge disc to on a backing pad) just add a very small amount of very fine grp rubbing paste to the hull and spray it with water with fairy liquid in and set to work.It took about 1 1/2 hours to bring the original shine back it now looks like new and each year just needs a very quick once over to keep it looking good.ps Finish of with a good coat of wax and dont run the polisher too fast or it will scorch the grp
Paul
buffing is the only way to remove them, just be careful that you don't buff into the glass. poly glo will fill them in and make new surface, but won't remove them. the 'pg' needs a second/fresh coat during the year here in florida.
try toolstation for polisher and pads.. think they do grades of compound too.. half price of chandleries.get plenty of pads as they tend to disintergrate if you catch any fittings!
Gelcoat colur restorer
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