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Restoring the shine! Hints for gelcoats?

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 2:39 pm
by hiawatha
I bought this little gem of a boat, a Chrysler C-20, sail number 85. It is in pretty good condition on the hull, but the deck is starting to look a little sorry. It's been sitting outside for a while, and starting to get the black mildew spots and a little mossy green growing here and there. I scrub and the gunk magically disappears (magic elbow grease), bu I am left with somewhat dull and teensy little pits in the gelcoat.

Do you think I can do some more elbow grease magic to make it shine like new? Before I go on an unfunded trial of waxes and polish, does anyone have some great suggestions for product that will give me my shiny white back?

Everything on deck needs to be taken off and rebedded anyways, and there are some hideous blobs of epoxy that the previous owner must have applied while drunk in a hurricane (ie. ALL over the place). Do you think I should just sand and paint?

Thanks in advance, all!

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:19 am
by EmergencyExit
If you are going to take all the deck hardware off anyway, I'd personally go ahead and paint. My little Coronado 15 gets black spots in the non skid, and I can clean and bleach away until its sparkle white. For about two weeks then its back again...

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:29 am
by hiawatha
Thanks for that tip. It sounds like a lot of work, but I think there are so many little alligator cracks on the deck, that this is looking like the best option.

Speaking of alligator cracks, do you think it acceptable to fill them with epoxy putty, or do I need to remove those sections of fiberglass altogether? I am hoping for small repairs.....

Thanks for your wisdom and expertise!

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 11:21 am
by EmergencyExit
Me if its little cracks I'd fill them assuming the aren't large enough to have let water under the 'glass..

I've used the Evercoat 27 Filler before, but it might be too "putty-ish" for really small cracks..

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 11:35 am
by hiawatha
Water is definitely seeping in and through the cracks. The cracks seem like the main cause of my leaking below decks.

Do you think its too late for the putty?

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:04 pm
by Capt. Bondo
Welcome aboard hiawatha.
The upper mid-west has had more than it's share of C20s added to the forum in the last year.
Where in Wisconsin are you located?

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:20 pm
by hiawatha
I am in beautiful Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. I live just a few blocks from the canal, so I can sail on either Green Bay side or Lake Michigan side, depending on which way the winds blow!

Capt Bondo, a fitting name for a boat owner..... Any advice about putty on cracks that are big enough to seep water through?

Thanks!

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 6:17 am
by Capt. Bondo
Door County is a great place, I've done Door County by land with the camper when the kids where smaller, but it's on my bucket list to do by water, along with Lake Winnebago...

I have used a product called Marine-Tex to fill cracks and chips that are down to the glass fibers. It's a 2 part putty that hardens up nice and sands out well.
It's still solid as a rock after 3 years. The only draw back is that it is very white so it is quite a contrast with the off white the Chrysler used in there gel coat. I think they may sell some die that can be mixed in to try to match original color.

Good Luck

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 6:59 am
by hiawatha
Thanks for this excellent suggestion! Maybe I'll do a little test patch to see how close the color match is, and then go for it.

One of the books I have said if you have polyester fiber you use a certain resin, if you have something else, you do it differently..... Do I have to worry about the materials and how the resins interact, or is that outdated info?

Seal it up.... and SAIL!

Getting the chalk out of the blue

Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:21 am
by br-549
Hello,

We have a 76 C22. I have wet sanded the blue gelcoat with some positive results. However, the chalkiness remains. What is the best I can do to bring out an enduring shine and color short of painting? I need to clean up the deck and cockpit next.

Thanks in advance,

B.

Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 6:48 am
by astrorad
This product had good review in Practical Sailor magazine...http://www.poliglow-int.com/
I may use it after I remove paint from my topsides.

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 1:40 pm
by CaptainScott
Hello,

On these old gel coat boats it can be a pain to get a good long term finish that is glossy however with some serious elbow grease you can indeed bring back most boats and get them to shine. The shine however is a bit more difficult to maintain. You must keep them clean, polished and waxed.
Follow the directions on each product you get. I had to rub the boat below twice before polishing!!

The other option is to use one of the products similar to what Bill suggested. I've never used them so I can not speak to them.


However with some good 3M Rubbing compound, a polish and wax you can make her shine. It is a fair amount of work but I can do a C22 in a weekend but strongly prefer to do it in several weekends!

I have done many Chrysler boats including 4 C22's.
Here are some shots of a blue C22 I have done. Off white hulls are not as dramatic.

Image
Image
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Shurhold

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 2:49 pm
by br-549
I bought a Shurhold polishing product with PTFE in it from West Marine this past weekend through the encouragement of the sales guy who said another customer was singing happy tunes about it. I was able to gain similar results to what you have. I polished a small area, and look forward to see how it holds shine after a few weeks.

Re: Shurhold

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 6:42 pm
by br-549
br-549 wrote:I bought a Shurhold polishing product with PTFE in it from West Marine this past weekend through the encouragement of the sales guy who said another customer was singing happy tunes about it. I was able to gain similar results to what you have. I polished a small area, and look forward to see how it holds shine after a few weeks.
I mis-stated the polishing compound. Again, after wet-sanding and buffing using 3M and Macquire products, the hull shined up, but the pitting in the gelcoat would collect wax and continue to look a bit chalky - especially after a few weeks outdoors. The Shurhold product "Buff Magic" "professional grade" is a "fiberglass reconditioner and metal polish" which appears to have given a very bright and shiny finish. A peer of mine used Mothers chrome polish on a 70's sport boat and attained an equally glossy finish. Perhaps there is a key to using something which is designed for polishing metal???? The 22 oz container was not cheap, but sure appears to be worth it. I will report on the durability in another 2 months.