Gell coats

[Maligno]

What are people using????
I have been asked to do a 84 chaparell (sp). Badly faded.
I would be thankful for any info.
BTW, I`ll be using my PC if it makes a differance.

Mal

[Below Reality]

Gel coats are completely different than normal car paint.

They are most often thicker, and a heck of a lot tougher.


This means a few things; there`s more finish to work with to get a final result, but it`s going to take a bit of work to get it there.

Your PC probably is not going to do a whole lot.


I just wrapped up a 99` Mariah about 2 weeks ago that was faded and oxidized very bad. After the initial wash down and clay, I started to attack it with my PC on 4 and some Poorboy`s SSR 2.5.

That wasn`t getting anywhere at all, so I stepped up to SSR 3 and cranked the PC up to 5.5. Still nothing.

Time to break out the rotary and an Edge 9" Yellow Foad Cutting Pad.

Using the rotary on about 2300 RPM with Meg`s DACP started to clean things up nicely, but still slowly. I added just a dash of Meg`s Medium-Cut Cleaner with the DACP, and things went a whole lot better.

After that was done, I decided to fall back on an old reliable wax combo to wrap it up.

Mothers Cleaner Wax - I pass with the rotary and a Edge Polishing Pad.

Finally - Mothers Pure Carnauba Wax, also with a rotary and Edge Polishing Pad.

Things worked pretty well, the shine and depth were great, and most importanty, the owners were happy.



I`d personally reccomend having a good supply of cutting and cleaner compounds, as well as polishes, and a rotarty, before tackling a gel coat.

I`ve found that no two products work exactly the same on any gel coat finish. Best to have a good selection of product and do some initial testing to find out what works best.