Has anybody ever used this product??

I am somewhat dubious about some of these "snake oil" products that are supposed to fix chalked and weathered gel coat. In the real world of automotive finishes, base coat clear coat uses the clear to add shine to the rough, dull base coat.

With gelcoat finishes, UV Rays start weathering the surface causing oxidation of the finish from day one. Without regular cleaning, buffing and waxing this oxidation builds up until the surface begins to chalk.

The only way to regain the luster at this point is to compound and sometimes wet sand the surface to break it down to it's base and then re-polish it.

Any coating that is put on top of the weathered finish will not adhere and will eventually peel away creating a worse mess than was had to begin with.

Frank Webster and I talked about this once and he summed it up by saying "that if you cover up oxidation, you still have oxidation...when the shine washes off the oxidation is still there". Well said.:thumbsup:
 
I have used Vertglass too and I also like way it holds up. You have to clean all the chalk off the hull before coating it with the product or you get poor adhesion and a cloudy fiidsh. Its also important to use acidic cleaners as high pH cleaners breakdown the coating faster. It has to be recaoted every year and I found more coats worked better. I had it on my last boat for seven years applying a yearly maint. coat (actually about 5 coats) This took about one day to properly clean and recoat a 26' boat. I sold the boat last year and it still looked great. The flat deck on the bow would get sun damage and need to be removed and recoated every other year, but that only took a few hours. BTW the boat was a 1982 SRV 260SXL.

Nothing lasts forever so eventually the coating will need to be removed and it will be a big job. But I read on forums all the time about the hours and days people spend compounding, buffing, polishing, and waxing, sometimes every year, and I ask myself which method is less work?

Wax has all the work front loaded into the job, with nothing to remove once its done.
Acrylic coatings have the moajority of the work at the end of their usefulness, requiring effort to remove once the coating dies. Pick the option that works best for you.
 
boatmailster said:
use it if you plan to sell your boat or will looks like a mess in about 2 seasons or less and it is pita to remove (gallons of acetone)
Click to expand...

What product are you referring to?

For the product in question here I purchased some since I was curious. It did not rejuvenate the gelcoat and is essentially a polish not any kind of sealant. I did find it's good at keeping fenders clean and removing small scuff marks so it wasn't a total waste of money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,247
Messages
1,429,262
Members
61,128
Latest member
greenworld
Back
Top