posted 07-18-2006 03:16 PM ET (US)        

I have reviewed the Boston Whaler website concerning Fiberglass/Gel Coat Care and Refinishing, as well as a number of posts here about restoring gel coat, and polishing and waxing. Right now I’m trying to figure out exactly what I did, and how much work it’s going to take to get my boat looking good again.

In order to help you help me, here is the rather short history of storage and cleaning of my boat: I purchased the boat in April 2002. It was stored outside for approximately two years, and was shrink-wrapped in the winter with only a portion of the hull sides covered by the shrink-wrap. For the next two years it was stored in a garage during the summer, but was shrink-wrapped and stored outside for the winters. I have washed the boat regularly throughout the entire time period, but I only waxed it once, approximately two years ago. When washing the hull sides, I have only used West Marine boat soap.

Throughout my ownership of the boat it has remained relatively shiny, although it certainly does not look like new. I’m not sure if I would recognize “slight oxidation” if I saw it. However, while the hull still appears shiny for the most part, it does not appear to be as white as it once was (it seems to have yellowed slightly).

posted 07-18-2006 03:37 PM ET (US)            

1-gel coat restorer such as Finesse-it

If it still does not shine,

2-fiberglass rubbing compound (3M makes a good one)

If it still does not shine,

3-wet sand, starting with 2000 grit,

If it still does not shine,

4-wet sand with 1500 grit and so on.

Once the shine starts to come back, go through the list in reverse order. Be careful with the wetsanding to no remove too much gelcoat.

Scotch-brite pads can be quite abrasive, depending on the pad used, so I'm guessing you will probably need to do a little wet sanding. The pad puts fine scratches into the gelcoat, and those will need to be faired out. Use a rubber sanding block, and rinse and squeegee the work area frequently to see how the scratches are coming out. Don't sand or polish more than you need to.

posted 08-10-2006 10:08 AM ET (US)            

I started by searching all of the local discount stores, do-it-yourself centers, and auto parts stores for one of the Porter-Cable buffers recommended by so many people here. I couldn’t find any Porter-Cable models other than a 10 inch random orbital buffer which appeared to be essentially the same thing as the Craftsman model I already had. After a couple of hours of searching I ended up buying a Craftsman six inch random orbital buffer. It was only $19.99, and the Sears store that I bought it at had good supply of the various bonnets available. I also picked up an assortment of bonnets.

Next stop: West Marine. Probably the most expensive place to shop for cleaning supplies, but I was pretty sure they would have all of the compounding/waxing products I was looking for. As I had hoped, they had everything in stock. The Meguiar’s #44 was about $12, the Finesse-It II was about $28, and the Colonite wax was about $20. Total – about $60.

I went home, washed the boat, and pushed it back into the garage after it dried. The next day I began the compounding work. Having never done this before, I was unsure how to use the Meguiar’s #44. The directions indicate that the product should be worked until nearly dry. I began spreading the product over small sections of the upper two hull panels, working it until I believed it was nearly dry. In accordance with LHG’s recommendations, I used a wool bonnet on the buffer to do this. I then wiped the section down with a clean white terry cloth towel. When I finished the whole side of the boat, I went back over the area with the orbital buffer using a clean wool bonnet.

When I was finished with the first side of the hull, I looked over my work, and I must say that I was not impressed. The hullside looked dull, not shiny, and worst of all, the scrub marks from the Scotch-Brite pad were still clearly visible. In hindsight, I am almost certain that I worked the Meguiar’s #44 too long. Back to the internet for some more education.

After seeking some input from the Meguiar’s website forum, I decided that I should start over. I also decided that I would need a more abrasive compound for the Scotch-Brite marks. I went to West Marine and purchased a bottle of Meguiar’s #49 Heavy Oxidation Remover (about $12).

Back in the garage, I began working the Scotch-Brite marks with the Meguiar’s #49. Using the six inch random orbital buffer with a wool bonnet, I would put a small amount of the Meguiar’s product on the bonnet and work the area of the blemish for a short time. Then, while the Meguiar’s product was clearly still wet, I wiped it off with a terry cloth towel, and then buffed the area with a clean wool bonnet. I immediately began seeing better results.

After treating all of the Scotch-Brite marks in this manner, I used the same technique to apply and remove the Meguiar’s #44 to the top two hullside panels on both sides of the boat and on the transom. I also did the same thing on the lower hullside areas forward of the bunks on my trailer. By this point the boat was looking much better. I did notice, however, that this process had left swirl marks all over the boat. The swirl marks were not readily apparent in natural sunlight, but in my garage with a painter’s light shining on the boat, they were clearly visible. I decided I would just have to live with the swirl marks. Unless somebody brought a painter’s light to the lake, nobody else would ever know.

Next, I move on to the Finesse-It II stage. Again, I followed LHG’s advice from this website, and this step proved to be fairly easy, although a bit fatiguing. Using a new clean wool bonnet and the orbital buffer, I began applying the Finesse-It II product to small sections of the hullside. I worked it until it seemed to be dry. I then wiped it down with a terry cloth towel. I repeated this process until I covered all of the same areas I had treated with the Meguiar’s products. I then went back and buffed the entire area with a clean wool bonnet. By this point, the boat was looking pretty good.

The last step was waxing the boat. I began by attempting to apply the Colonite wax using the orbital buffer with a terry cloth bonnet, as suggested on this website. I quickly became uncomfortable with this procedure. In the low-light conditions in my garage (even with the painter’s light) it was very difficult see if a particular area was covered with wax while working that particular area. I was also uncertain as to how thickly the wax should be applied. I decided that it would be better to apply the wax by hand. I figured it would be better to apply a little too much wax than it would be to miss some spots altogether. I used a terry cloth towel to finish applying the wax. After the wax dried, I wiped it off with a clean terry cloth towel, and then buffed the entire area with a clean terry cloth bonnet on the orbital buffer.

The final result of all of this work is that the hull now looks fairly respectable. For the most part the Scoth-Brite marks are pretty much gone, but I can find the remnants of a couple of them if I look hard enough. Also, the slight yellowing of the hull now seems to be gone in the areas I treated. Upon casual observation, the hullsides look very good, but I would not say that they look like new. Also, the area of the hull bottom from the front of the trailer bunks back has not been cleaned – hopefully nobody will see this when the boat is in the water.

posted 08-11-2006 12:38 PM ET (US)            

Thanks for the first hand update. A lot of good, practical advice for the rest of us. Especially valuable to know about going to Meguiar’s #49 Heavy Oxidation Remover before trying to polish with the #44.