Buffing and Polishing Fibreglass boat

[irishjim]

I have an older 15ft fibreglass half-cabin that has lost a lot of it's gloss(particularly the top yellow half). Is there a recommended procedure and/or product that any of you have successfully tried that partially restored the exterior finish on a fibreglass. If so, did an electric buffer make the job easier

Regards - Irishjim

[Blackened]

G'day irishjim
For the 1/2 cab, that shouldnt be a hard job, especially if she's only 15'. I'm a marine detailer and this is the method I use. acid wash the entire boat after a quick hose down. broom the acid on (drifter by septone) and let stand for 5 or 10 minutes. This will remove any oxidation and rust stains and de-yellow the original white gelcoat. Hose off thoroughly and then let dry. I will reccomend a QUALITY sander/polisher for the job. I use a hitachi SP18VA but u could hire something similar. The pad i use is a meguiars w7000 cutting pad and on that i use the meguiars fibreglass oxidation remover. Once thats been buffed on and then off i would run over with a meuiars hand applicator pad with the one step cleaner and wax. Stainless the same procedure is sufficient. To take the polish/wax off use old towels or new washable nappies. Thoroughly washboat down with a boat/car wash n wax. See how u go and send me a pm with any questions.
Dave

[Blackened]

G'day
Corry, in general the stickers they're fine. I do go easy over them but they do come up very well with a very light run over with the buff. As for fittings and clips and deck hardware, i will go as close as practicle with the buffer, then the remaining bits by hand. I'll send u a pm with a rough estimate on price.
Dave

[glennaus]

hi dave same question have a fairly new 5.2 glass half cab that needs a good polish what would be average cost and where abouts are you ????

cheers mate glenn

[irishjim]

Dave

Thanks for the very valuable advice...there is more to the process than meets the eye. I will more than likely try this in the very near future.....(perhaps on 1 spot to see the results before doing the whole boat)

I'm not sure what you mean by the following "This will remove any oxidation and rust stains and de-yellow the original white gelcoat". The top half of the boat is yellow gelcoat....I'm assuming this process will not remove the colour back to white".

Regards - Jim

[Needmorerum]

Dave, what's the go with stickers and such. Is it best to remove them, or can this work be done around them, same for S/S fittings and clips?
What is the cost to get a professional polish done on a 6m half cabin? PM me prefferred.

Cheers
Corry

PS. May pick your brain with this one as well, looking at doing this in the near future.

[Blackened]

G'day
glennaus, send me a pm with your number and i'll get back to you.

irishjim, yes, do try it 1st in an inconspicuous area first to see how the gelcoat is likely to come up. With regards to the acid, what i meant by de-yellowing and removing of rust stains and oxidation, was for a white boat. The gelcoat on a boat may be any colour and that colour will stay consistent as long as it lives (within the bounds of natural wethering and fading). The colour in gelcoat is just a pigment they mix in with natural gelcoat (a beige colour) to make it the desired colour, be it red, white, blue, yellow or black. What i'm trying to say here is.... if your boat is originally yellow then it will stay yellow. The acid will brighten it, remove any impurities and remove the rust stains and any yellowing caused by being left in the water for any period of time. If it's a white boat the removal of the yellow marks and staining will be much more noticeable.. This procedure is also safe for 2pac surfaces, just go a bit easier on the buff and cutting compound.
Dave