Gel Coat on a '79

[mitchelmilitiapres]

So when I first bought my '79, I put a large amount of elbow grease into buffing and waxing a faded and chalky gel coat but could never get it to shine like new. Understand that it is waaay better than when I pulled it off the dealership lot, but not as I had imagined. Is there a certain point to which a gel coat is not totally salvagable? Did I not use the right products? Any suggestions as to what I could use? Anyone else have this same problem?

[s_kelley2000]

What did you use for rubbing compound during the buffing stage? 3M, StarBrite and others make heavy cut formulas that will help to take the oxidation off and restore shine quicker. If a heavy cut compound is not working then you may need to do some wet sanding. Start with a small area and use the least abrasive item and keep going to more abrasive (800 grit wet sand paper is the most aggressive I would consider) until you get the desired results. 12-1500 grit sand paper should be able to bring back most anything. Once you find out what works do the rest of the boat with that and then work you way up to through higher numbered sand paper if necessary, then compound, polish and wax. Are you using a power buffer or are you doing this all by hand?

[mitchelmilitiapres]

Buffed and waxed for the most part with a power buffer. It was just the one you can buy off the shelves @ Wally World, not the mack daddy buffers. Tore the waxing pad and had to finish waxing by hand.

Thanks for the advice, I think I'll give it another go when I pull it out of the water at the end of the season.

[ffmedic74]

Could be wrong but I believe CC used regular outdoor paint for the letters and stripes. Might go on Correct Craft Fan too.

[mitchelmilitiapres]

That's what I had heard about the emblem paint. I'm a big fan of keeping the nostalgic look of the original paint, dock dings and all. It's taken 35 years to look the way it is, I just want it to be a shiny as possible.