Gelcoat on my boat

**6567GTO** · 06-23-2002, 10:44 AM

I`ve got a fiberglass boat that has red sides which are faded to pink. What would you recomend for this problem? I`ve been using 303 as a quick dress up but was wondering what else is out there for longer better looks.

Thanks for any and all comments and suggestions:xyxthumbs

**2clean4u** · 06-23-2002, 11:54 AM

Meguiars has a 3 step kit for boats. It contains #49 oxidation remover, #45 boat polish and #56 pure wax. I tried this on my friends boat and it made it look like new. The kit goes for about $25.00 at any boat shop such as West Marine or you can go on Meguiars web site

I am thinking about trying Klasse on my Mastercraft. I will post results

**imported_doug** · 06-23-2002, 07:35 PM

The Meguiar`s boat products are as good as it gets. Unfortunately, once gel coat oxidizes there is very little you can do to protect it - particularly red. You can remove the present oxidation and bring the shine back - but it won`t last long, I don`t think - no matter what you do. It is much more porous than auto paint. This might be a very good test for the polymer sealants.

I`d recommend taking the opportunity to doing a controlled test with several products and methods on some section of the boat - if something fails miserably or works really well, I`m sure we would all like to know.

**6567GTO** · 06-24-2002, 12:50 PM

Thanks - I`ll look into the Meguiars stuff. I`m also tempted to pick up a Porter and Cable buffer for a big job like this.

**6567GTO** · 06-25-2002, 08:25 PM

Fskof and carguy, I bought the Meguiars 3 step kit per your recommendations and tried it on a small section of my boat. The 1st step was to use the Heavy Duty Oxidation Remover. It really did it`s job well. It broke through the whitish top layer pretty quickly. I then used 2nd bottle which is the Boat/RV Polish. It did a real nice job as well. Not only is it a lighter duty polish but it has nourishing oils in it which my boat desperately needed. When I tried the 3rd and final bottle - the Boat/RV Pure Wax, it surprisingly made the area look worse again. So I repeated steps one and two which brought the red back out again. What I tried next instead of bottle #3 was good old 303 Protectant. Man did that look beautiful as a top coat. I`ll have to see how it looks in the morning. I think that the only way to make the 3rd bottle (pure wax) work as it should would be to buy a PC and use that to really get rid of all the oxidation which I can`t do by hand. Thanks for the replies and I`ll let you know how the whole boat comes out.:up

**GACrabill** · 08-07-2002, 05:32 PM

Do a Google search for "Poliglow".

I just heard about this product for boats / gelcoats and the many private reviews are very glowing (a little pun). Not cheap but guys with big, expensive boats love it. I may try it next year instead of Klasse for my catamaran which sits in the sun all summer.

**imported_CBX Carl** · 08-07-2002, 06:16 PM

My old truck bed cap was faded red. Really wicked, white as they get. I would place it in sawhorses to detail it.

I used the Meguiars products as well. I used my PC,yellow pad,Fiberglass cleaner. It looked great. PC,white pad,polish. Looked deep and rich again, the old truck had to be done now.

I applied some Mothers wax ( all I had at the time) and it seem to endure beading for a month or two.

Even tried it on the shower walls......never softscub them again.

Wife loves it.