Polishing a gel coat hull

   Our club has been donated a red Laser two, it looks in reasonable nick, just needing a bit of tarting up but the worst thing is the fading of the red gel coat on the hull.

What polish is suitable for bringing this back to life, and can you use polishing mops on a drill or do you have to do it all by hand?
Cheers,
Kev

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Kev M Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 05 Dec 11 Location: Landlocked Online Status: Offline Posts: 346	Post Options Post Reply Quote Kev M Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Polishing a gel coat hull Posted: 08 Nov 12 at 1:51pm
	Our club has been donated a red Laser two, it looks in reasonable nick, just needing a bit of tarting up but the worst thing is the fading of the red gel coat on the hull. What polish is suitable for bringing this back to life, and can you use polishing mops on a drill or do you have to do it all by hand? Cheers, Kev
	Successfully confusing ambition with ability since 1980.

Mister Nick Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 01 Aug 09 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 389	Post Options Post Reply Quote Mister Nick Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 08 Nov 12 at 4:50pm
	Have you ever heard of T cut? Really good stuff, try and get the one in a red bottle with a screw cap and use that. Get it all over the hull and rub it right in, leave it for 10 minutes or so and then wipe it all back off again. We left our J80 on a swinging mooring with no antifoul for a while - all kinds of crap, marks and staining on the hull when we hauled her out, but an afternoon with some T cut left her looking brand new. It's great stuff. Afterwards you can put Mclube Hullkote on it to make it nice and fast. I wouldn't say you'd need to use a polishing mop on a drill for this, we always do the J80 by hand and it's never a problem. A Laser should only take an hour or so.

marke Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 16 Jun 08 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 211	Post Options Post Reply Quote marke Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 08 Nov 12 at 5:57pm
	Hi If the colour is badly faded then T-cut will take you a long time. I've removed bad colour fading on a couple of dinghies and a 30' cruiser by: sanding with 600 wet and dry, then 800 grade apply cutting compound with a wet rag (something like farecla G3) using a foam mop on a polisher (hired - a grinder goes to fast - I think professionals recommend around 1800 RPM) work the cutting compound - keep the working area wet with a hand spray and use the polisher at an angle of ~10 degrees. repeat with a finer grade of cutting compound (farecla G10) - finish off with the mop flat on the surface apply a wax to protect the gel (try to keep the hull out of direct sunlight or you'll be doing it again next year) If you have the right kit and a nice day you could do a laser hull in a 2-3 hours. If you do it right it can come up looking pretty much like new. Mark

RS400atC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 04 Dec 08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3011	Post Options Post Reply Quote RS400atC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 08 Nov 12 at 6:03pm
	Faded red might need something a bit more agressive than T cut, which is also often overpriced. May I refer you to the Farecla website? I think Screwfix sell the stuff. If it is really aged, you may find starting with fine w+d paper is best, 1200 or even 2000 grade. All these things are abrasive, the gel coat is not ever so thick so take care and don't over do it. Any wax car polish will help keep it clean and stop so much UV fading it again.