gel coat re- vitalise

[Dave Parkinson UK]

Hi, i have a problem with the gel coat on top of the area behind the observer seat on my sn 1997 196, it has gone very white looking and it's supposed to be gloss black, I think it has to do with the sun (little as we get over here) .
Can anybody advise what i can do to retrieve its colour.
Thanks
Dave

[charlesml3]

What you're seeing is oxidation. It most certainly can be brought back to a gorgeous finish, but it takes work. Anybody that tells you that you can spray on/wipe off some product that will instantly fix it is full of crap. It doesn't work that way.

Here's on video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ9H8QKu2fw

Here's another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8m7ZfUkgUg

You may have to machine polish. If there are scratches you can feel by dragging a fingernail across them, then you'll need to wet sand them.

-Charles

[Dave Parkinson UK]

Thanks for the links, i think i am going to need a buffer to do it with, it's good to think that it will come back, realy strange as it's the only part of the boat with the problem but i suppose the black doesn't help I wanted to post a couple of pics but unable to get them on.
once again thanks for coming back to me.

cheers
Dave

[Dave Parkinson UK]

trying to put the pics on

[charlesml3]

Oh yea, that's totally restorable. I've seen boats that have been sitting out in fields for decades come back looking as good as new.

-Charles

[Dave Parkinson UK]

probably have a go at it next weekend, looking on ebay for 3M products, but they are all from the States, may have to find a local equivalent, local body shop may help.
Cheers
Dave

[charlesml3]

probably have a go at it next weekend, looking on ebay for 3M products, but they are all from the States, may have to find a local equivalent, local body shop may help.
Cheers
Dave

Yea, there's nothing exclusive about 3M products. You can most certainly find the equivalent there.

-Charles

[Blamey]

probably have a go at it next weekend, looking on ebay for 3M products, but they are all from the States, may have to find a local equivalent, local body shop may help.
Cheers
Dave

3m is great and it's what I use but any compound, polish and wax will work. I think Meguires is more available in the UK.

A buffer is great if you are going to do the whole boat but that area is kinda small and may be difficult to use a machine without removing the windshield.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[Dave Parkinson UK]

yeh, sorry for the delay in coming back to you but been away working, Found the Meguires products in quite a few places here, thanks. The area close to the windscreen seems to be ok so will probably try a buffer as I am going to buy one for the rest of the deck.may try a rap to change main colour but that will be next year, just ordered new steering cable so got plenty to do before boating season, we are running on propane gas so I am trying to create a back seat to hide the bottles, while not wanting to make it look cheap. we just don't have the availability of good used parts over here, and shipping costs for large items are prohibitive.
thanks again for the input.
Cheers
Dave

[1992rs/ss]

That's heavy oxidation. At minimum you need a wool pad to really cut that off. Microfiber and foam cutting pads won't be aggresive enough. Best bet is wet sanding, then cut, polish, and finally a nice uv resistant wax. An orbital also will not have the guts on gel coat. You need a DA. Rotary would be the fastest method, but given you are just getting your feet into detailing I would advise staying away. There are a lot of gel coat restoration videos on youtube that more or less walk through the process. Its not automotive clear coat so a little harder to do damage, but still need to have a solid method in restoring that

[Dave Parkinson UK]

Thanks for that, when I saw it I thought it was going to be a project, I think I may also have to remove the dash pod, but hoping the windscreen can stay.
Will post pics before and aft when done but not sure when that will be.
Many thanks
Dave

[Dave Parkinson UK]

Any body know anything about perfect pass, don't know if it works or not but would like to check it out, 1997 sn196 pmc 5.8 ho on propane gas..
cheers
dave

[GMLIII]

Any body know anything about perfect pass, don't know if it works or not but would like to check it out, 1997 sn196 pmc 5.8 ho on propane gas..
cheers
dave

Yes I had one on my 2001 Sport Nautique for 15 years. I know the Perfect Pass system inside and out. Fire you boat up and see if it works and take it from there

[Blamey]

Perfect Pass has some great troubleshooting guides on their website.

[Dave Parkinson UK]

Thanks for the feed back, will fire it up later today, only 06:45am over here.
Cheers
Dave