30' Sailboat Polishing?

The amount of oxidation on the gel coat will ultimately determine how you approach the finish. I've found Rotary Polishers to be the ticket on gel coats Can you to it with a Random Orbital polisher? Yes but it can take some serious time on a badly oxidized finish. Rotaries are just much quicker. This is also true on regular paints but is very noticeable on gel coats. Most automotive polishes will work on gel coats too. That said, I've given several of the Mequiars Marine line of products a shot over the years and they do also seem to speed up the process.
 
I gave the Marine31 line a shot on our boat this summer and was pretty pleased. Used their compound with a wool pad on my Dewalt rotary, followed that up with their polish on a foam pad with the Rupes, and finally topped with their carnauba wax. Did a good job cleaning up the oxidation with minimal dust, shined like crazy, and left the surface slick as can be. Made quick cleanups easy the rest of the year.
 
Megs Fiberglass Restoration System or Marine 31. Both work great on gelcoat. As stated above, rotary and woolwill be your best friend, especially if your dealing with heavy oxidation.
 
I just finished my 32' land yacht 5th wheel RV. It is estimated 960 square feet of fiberglass. It had minor oxidation, minor on fiberglass is still a major job as the oxidation is some tough work. I used a rotary and 3M superduty and the most aggressive wool pad ( Black) that Edge made. I tried megs 105 but it was very slow going. The process was the 3M compound then Duragloss 601/501 ( cleaning ) with a green foam pad on a DA, next was Duragloss 601/105 with a blue pad and DA. The final was a wipe down with Aqua Wax. All of this took me about 40 hours with as many steps that I used. On certain areas I then applied 601/111 that get the most sun. As stated above a rotary is the only way to go with fiberglass.

Dave
 
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