Shiny gelcoat again

[mgoller]

Ok, you have a twenty something year old boat and sometimes you look at the other guy's shiny new sailboat and think to yourself, 'hmmm.'  Well, here is the lazy man's tips for getting the shiny new boat without the boat payment.

When I bought my 19 back in 2004 the gelcoat was a chalky mess.  I was excited to use a compounding wheel with a mild compound and then again with a wheel put on some nice coats of wax.  Well,  forget about it!  
I compounded and compounded and ended up with a pink colored chalky mess ground into a faded gelcoat.  Then I had to remove the compound and then try to wax.  The result was dissappointing.  I made due that first year with an old 1983 boat, gelcoat long since past.

Then, not satisfied with this sad state of affairs I researched all the products out there.  I stripped the boat and scrubbed and got it clean.
I found something called VertGlass gel coat restorer.

I followed the directions and what a miracle.  Its super easy and when you're done you can see your reflection like in a mirror.

This season I washed the boat, and to my amazement the shine was still there.  I touched up the dings and scratches, replaced some pinstripe.
I put on another coat of VertGlass just for fun from what was left in the bottle.  Let it dry and an hour later I put on the Turtle wax Express shine.  Super easy!

It is so fast to keep your boat looking factory shiny this way that you wont dread cleaning.  The wax is probably only good for a couple of months but it is so easy it takes about ten minutes.

I used Penetrol on my Teak because the layers of poly that I have put down before always chip off after a few months and looks terrible.  When the teak looks dingy I clean it with teak brightener and put on another coat of Penetrol.  I used the Penetrol on my rub rail and it put on a super shine.

I put on the Turtle Express Shine spray wax on all the anodized spars and stanchions and made them look nice.

The other thing that works great is a spray bottle of Clorox cleaner with bleach.  It took the mildew and mold off everything.  It cleaned the woodwork and the cabin top with one wipe.  Inside the lockers and under the sliding compainonway had mildewed a little.  Took it right off.

Use a wood polish and the mahogony inside glows.

Also, Murrays has a spray paint line called Duplicolor.  They have a color called Wimbeldon White (the same color my '65 Mustang was) that is a perfect match for the Com-Pac gelcoat if you're desperate in wanting to fix something.  I painted my old Johnson outboard and it blends into the boat better.  It was sea green and I hated it.

They have a brown mettallic paint that is an exact match for the sheer line stripe on the Com-Pac.  I'll get the number if anyone wants it.

A nice trick for shabby looking rub rails is a black bumper paint from Murray's.  It smooths out the scruff and brings back some life to the rails.

I have learned some trick for about everything because these old boats either need complete refitting or if you're on a budget some cosmetic fixes.

Let me know what your quandry is, and maybe I have the five dollar solution.

[Gil Weiss]

My white gel coat is fine, but the brown upper band, shear stripe, is chalky and only cleans up so so with compound and wax, looking bad again half way through the season.

Where did you get the VertiGlass? Also the bumper paint?

Great advice you provided. I am all set to compount and then wax this year with Mother's Gold wax as recommended by Skip.

[mgoller]

Hey Gil,
Sorry, I spelled Vertglass wrong.  Its Vertglass.  Look it up on line.  I bought it at my local Marine supply store.  You can buy it online too.  It was $79 but a lot cheaper than a professional polishing or a paint job.

I got the black bumper paint in a spray can from my local Auto parts store.  One spray can is plenty.
I'll post the paint code for the sheer stripe paint tommorrow.  It came from the Auto parts store as well.

The Vertglass product made the waterline stripe shine.  I just went over it when I did the hull.

Another trick I have learned is to use SnoBowl gel toilet bowl cleaner.  Its $1.99 at the grocery store.  A bottle will do the whole boat.  Just squeeze it on above the scale deposits.  Then scrub with a brush, just a little, then run around and squirt it off with a hose.  Ready for your favorite boat wash.

[mgoller]

Here's the paint code for the Com-Pac Sheer stripe I used.  This may not be a perfect match for old faded sheer stripe, so test and make sure you like it.
It would be best to do the whole area and it will require 4 - 5oz. cans.  prep with a wash, 400 wet dry paper to give some grip, then a wax and grease remover wipe down.  mask and spray.

Dupli-Color
Auto Spray
DSFM 153 Dark Brown M

It is a dark root beerish brown with micro metallic finish.

You will need to spray on several light coats to cover.  Too light a mist and you will end up with poor gloss, too heavy and you get runs.

I bought mine at Murray's Auto supply, but this brand is carried at most stores as OEM touch up paints.

[spaul]

Marcus, great hints for shiny gel coat. I too was disappointed in the gel coat on my cp27, 1992 vintage. I tried buffing, I tried 3M polish cleaner but I'm using Polyglow and getting the same results as you.
Polyglow and Vertglass are acrylic compounds exactly the same as Future floor wax and other one-step quick dry liquid waxes. The way they work is to fill the tiny cracks and crevices so light reflects instead of diffusing. The Polyglow comes with a special cleaner that along with a 3M scuff pad takes all the oxidized coating off, then start wiping on the acrylic finish.
This is my first year and it's advertized to last one year, then just wash, dry and recoat. It will come off with ammonia or the special cleaner if needed but I must say the results are amazing. Much easier and a better look than rubbing and rubbing as you said.
I've had poor results on fiberlass with Penetrol but I've never thought of doing the teak with it.
Great post, thanks for the ideas.
Steve Paul
cp27/2
IM PAUL SIVE

[steve brown]

Thanks for the restoration ideas Marcus. Do you know if there is a color for the gold stripe used on the early hulls? Thanks, Steve

[mgoller]

Hi Steve
Yes, you can get gold pin stripe in 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" at your local Auto parts store.
I just went over my faded original pin stripe.
I think there are many variants of pin striping over the various model years.  Its your boat, do what you think looks good.
Also, when I converted my 19 to a 19II I used the pin stripe as a guide to paint the brown sheer which meant I lost my original ComPac logo.
I ordered a 19II type ComPac logo from Overtons.com.
Mine is in gold and is a little bigger than stock.
I'll take a picture of that area and post it.

[Gil Weiss]

I used auto store pinstriping to freshen up my 1990 CP16 when I bought it several years ago. This stuff works great.

On a related topic - the aluminum spars . . .any suggestions for getting black marks off the anodized aluminum without damaging the anodizing!

[Craig Weis]

Well you only can wax it if the gel coat is good. Other wise I like that VERTGLASS idea. skip. Thanx.

[mgoller]

Yeah, you're right.  The Vertglass or polyglo gives a nice shine.  But going over the Vertglass with a couple coats of wax makes the finish smoother and creamier.  
It also adds a smoothness to the touch that I like.
Waxing a smooth gelcoat is a pleasure, whereas trying to wax a chalky gelcoat is like fingernails on a chalkboard.

[Craig Weis]

It's still alittle cool here for sailing but the docks are now floating in the water and things are looking up. What about resizing photos/ Any easy way to do that? skip. I went to school in Ann Arbor. Lived in Jackson. skip

[mgoller]

Hi Skip,
Resizing photos is easy once you become familiar with the program.  The problem is most Photo Shop type programs are so good they can do everything 6 ways.  This is great once you are a master but when you're first starting out just trying to do something simple it can be frustrating.
In Photo Shop you go to file, open, browse your image from whatever file its in.  Go to Help, scroll down to 'resize image'.  I usually select 600 pixels as my width and let the height fall where it may.  Save for the web as a jpeg.
Or, send me your photo and I'll size it for you.  I can post it if you like.
Lately, my business has been very good and as you can tell I have extra time on my hands.

[spaul]

Gil,
You might try one of the products for vinyl or flooring to remove black shoe scuff marks. Might be worth a try. Let us know if you learn something from this.
Steve Paul
cp27/2
IM PAUL SIVE

[ramble on]

I also mad a mess with reddish brown compound. it found its way into the porus oxidized gelcoat.

Help was to be found at a nearby boat repair shop. They told me to get a dewalt varible speed polisher and the correct cutting solutions. My tryout spot (gas can cover on 23/3) went well. It takes a powerful polisher (1,000 - 3,000 rpm) to cut the top layer. I sanded out deep scratches with 220, 400, and 600 grit sand paper.

With the polisher at 1600 rpm, constantly moving and bearing down, it did the job. Without wax, it looks and smells new. And no swrill marks!

For the dozen or so small gelcoat cracks, I sent the cover to Mini Craft of Florida for an exact gelcoat match. I will report on that later.

Ramble On

[compacgreg]

Well now, the Vertglass sounds like a great idea for the smooth stuff, what do you guys use for the non-skid.  My 87 CP23/II non skid is looking really bad.  Also, the floor stuff that someone else mentioned, has anybody tried that, or is there some sort of UV additive to Vertglass?

I hope to work some this weekend on mine and get it into the water sometime next week.

Greg