SEVERELY faded fiberglass - any ideas?

templerj

templerj

New Member
Dec 8, 2009
27
San Francisco Bay Area
Boat Info
1978 Sea Ray SRV300 Weekender
Engines
Twin gas inboard 350 Chevys
Getting started on my 1978 SRV300 Weekender this weekend, it has been covered since it was new (thats what I was told and it looks like it), however, from all of the sun/etc the fiberglass is extremely faded and oxidized.

I think I might have to colorsand it, but would LOVE to not have to do that to the whole boat, but will do that if that is what I have to do to make it shiny.

Anyone out there with experience on bringing back the shine on an old fiberglass boat? Any product suggestions, etc?

Thanks so much!
 
Not having seen the boat the first thing I would do is try compounding an area of it out. You might be surprised. You'll need a rotary buffer, wool pad and almost any marine compound & polish. I like Meguires but there are plenty of other great polishes & compounds out there.

Plenty of good threads on polishing here and a good place to look for product is http://www.properboatcare.com/
 
Like said - you may be surprised at what starting with a heavy oxidation remover (rubbing compound) and a wheel will do. Follow-up with finer cleaners and polishing compounds then wax. I personally use the wheel for everything and hand apply the wax. I'd try it in an area before sanding.

I did this to our 1985 270 Sundancer and it looks like new.

Our previous Sea Ray had dark blue on part of the deck which I did need to wet sand a few times because oxidation was a never ending issue there. Colors are bad for that.

Used 1000 grit and garden hose with a constant, slow trickle of water while sanding. This was followed by the rubbing compound, polish etc....
Works great. The gel coat is pretty thick, especially on the older boats so you should not have to worry about sanding through it.

Mequires does have a good selection of "stepped" compounds. I have used them but there are others out there that work just as good.

It takes a lot of elbow grease but once you have it done it's well worth it. Be sure to do an annual polish and wax to keep your future work minimal and looking good.

Best of luck :thumbsup:
 
Unless you're a real fanatic, I don't think wetsanding will be necessary UNLESS you find a bunch of hairline gelcoat cracks under all that oxidation.

I'd start with 3M Heavy Duty compound, see what you end up with and you can plan the remaining work from there.

Depending on what you end up with, you might even consider painting her. There are number of "roll and tip" two-part polyurethanes like Interlux Perfection that have a gloss superior to new gelcoat, will last 10 years, and never need to be waxed.
 
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tobnpr said:
Unless you're a real finatic, I don't think wetsanding will be necessary UNLESS you find a bunch of hairline gelcoat cracks under all that oxidation.

I'd start with 3M Heavy Duty compound, see what you end up with and you can plan the remaining work from there.
Click to expand...

Dumb question... Would wetsanding help if one had those hairline cracks on the gelcoat? I have a pretty nasty section above my rub rail. It about 3-4 ft... I'm not too fanatical about them and I might just compound the top sides and then deal with the crazing...
 
I agree with the Interlux 2-part suggestion. I painted everything but the hull with Interlux and it looks brand new. Once you get the hang of mixing it its a piece of cake to work with. My boat looks beautiful.

Rob
 
Is the hull colored or not? Sometimes bringing back the shine can be done to heavily oxidized areas but the UV has damaged the entire structure so the oxidation is likley to return much easier than before. It will most definitely require a lot of waxing to keep looking good. Paint is not a bad option. The 2 part paints nowadays are very good from what I understand. I have seen the results of some painted boats that my fiberglass guy has done in the past and they looked really good.

John
 
Remember if you paint it, paint it the same color. If you scratch a painted boat that the color has been changed on, the scratch till scream at you becasue of the contrast in the underlying color.
 
Here's what I got using Meguiars three step process

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18821


If there's a Harbor Freight near you don't spend the extrra money on a Porter Cable/Makita/etc rotory buffer. The $34.00 version from H/F has done mine twice now...
Holler if you have any questions..

j
 
Re: Here's what I got using Meguiars three step process

fxsales said:
http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18821


If there's a Harbor Freight near you don't spend the extrra money on a Porter Cable/Makita/etc rotory buffer. The $34.00 version from H/F has done mine twice now...
Holler if you have any questions..

j
Click to expand...

I bought the HF POS rotary buffer and it lasted 3 hours. Crap. They took it back and I went and bought a Makita. Life it good. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.
 
That is true of most Harbor Freight tools. I get a lot of things from there but no heavy duty items. Some stuff is as was said, you get what you pay for.

I was in there the 18th and they had that buffer marked down on sale for like $26, I mulled it over for about 20 min in the store and decided to pass and walked out empty handed and that does not happen much.

They sell throw away tools but you need to at least make it to the finish of a project and there electric tools can't take 100% duty. But with that said,,, I still love Harbor Freight as the candy store:grin:.
 
Spookeay said:
Remember if you paint it, paint it the same color. If you scratch a painted boat that the color has been changed on, the scratch till scream at you becasue of the contrast in the underlying color.
Click to expand...
Great advice
By the way Spookeay where can I see pictures of your 270?
Ive been looking for a broadside shot of it but cant find one?
Thanks
William
 
Here's a side shot the day I got it home and before I removed the side windows and sealed them up.

Hope this helps for what ever your trying to see.
 

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I got the high speed buffer that Heather was refrerring to and for 10 extra bucks I got a no questions asked 2 year extended warranty, my boat was heavily oxidized in the worse way and I got a turtle wax brand buffing compound ( it comes in a green bottle ) from wal mart and used a wool pad with my cheap h/f buffer and it brought it right out, I then chased it with turtle wax polishing compound, also in a green bottle and then waxed it and it looks great, alot of very hard tiring your arms out work but it was worth it and I am happy with my H/F special, I have used it alot and im happy each time i get it out knowing it cost $29.00 and it works as good as any dewalt I used in my old detail shop. Everyone says the oxidation will return as quick as it was gone but I know the next time I buff it out it wont be near the task I had to complete in the first place.
 
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To Loneranger:
Yes the hull is colored, its an off white color, almost white but sort of almond colored?
 
When I bought my 1981 260 DA project boat, the hull was so chalky that I was white every time I went near it. After trying many different processes to get rid of the chalk and return the color I found what worked with the least amount of effort.

Wash the boat with good soap and water. Go to you local Home Depot or Lowes and get a can of Penetrol. This is used by painters to thin out some of the paint an make it flow better. It also can be used to restore fiberglass. Rub it on the boat with a cloth, do this in the shade and rub it in. After it dries, buff it out. It will restore the color. I also found that MaryKate wax (the old formula) did wonders maintaining the shine. I was able to see good reflection in the hull after this was done. I have not tried the new formula, but have heard of many complaints with it.

It would take a weekend to do the boat and last all season. Caution....... The boat really was slick went wet. Someone fell off my swim platform sober and into the water.
 
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