1984 Mariner bass boat - oxidised fiberglass

[madatu]

Helllo everyone. i have a old bass boat that has been neglected over its life. it has some brown sparkley places on the top of the boat where the sun did not hit, where the sun hit it is seemed to have work off the finish and you can see the glitter. i got some heavy marina polishing compound and spent several hours cleaning it up. it looks way better my question is this. is there a way to get the gel coat back to normal. there is nothing on it any more it is clean, but now more foggy than anything. if someone would like me to post i picture i can.

 

[Woodonglass]

Unfortunately, the big metalflake gelcoat is NOT easy to bring back once it has oxidized. The way it's made makes it very difficult to do. Your best bet is to attempt to wet sand it but...this is IFFY due to the fact that it's VERY EASY to sand thru the clear coat and get down to the big metal flakes and if you do that then you'll have to repair those areas and that can be a mess. Wish I had better news but it's just not an easy task.:blue:

 

[jbcurt00]

This is the boat you're putting new carpet in?
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...00827-1984-mariner-bass-boat-carpet-and-vinyl

Pix
Pix
Pix

Have you made sure theres no work needing to be done befoee new carpet?

 

[madatu]

here are a few pictures of the boat. i corrected wiring issues, replaced old glass type of fuses, verified bilge works and replaced the aerator, verified motor works correctly, i compounded and waxed the boat, working on getting the carpet and seats corrected, i think the carpet will be the last thing, i dont think i am forgetting anything but am open up to suggestions. I want to thank this forum for the help, you all have been great

 

[jbcurt00]

In the 2nd and 3rd pix (the 2 you didnt post but are at the link) look to have raw plywood on the deck (floor) and as a compartment lid.

 

[madatu]

yes i am planning to seal it top and bottom for the compartment lids. the floor of the boat is cleaned fiberglass. the marine plywood was alot more money. can anyone suggest if it is possible to clean up the fiberglass so it looks clearer like the first picture.

 

[madatu]

can anyone tell me if the rubber trim is available where the two pieces of the boat are screwed together. I had to remove mine and screw it back in. it was falling off.

 

[madatu]

old boat fiberglass restoration

i have been working on a new boat to me. it is an 84 Mariner. the previous owner apparently left the boat out in the sun. i have cleaned the boat the best i could with polishers and such. it looks decent once i am done. i use some maguires liquid wax after compounding but by the next day it is cloudy looking again. apparently the top gel coat has been wore off. it is supposed to be brown with glitter. can i get some advice how i might could help this. what i was thinking was to clean it again and get some fiberglass resen and recoat it with a thin coat.

 

[jbcurt00]

Metal flake is tough, near impossible to bring back or save.

Originally it would have had clear gelcoat, can you feel any of the flakes when you run your hand over.the surface?

Same topic as your other topic about the gelcoat, merged

 

[madatu]

yes i could at first i took some super fine sand paper to make it smooth as possible. is there anything that would absorb into the gel coat that would stop it from getting cloudy.

 

[jbcurt00]

I cant see cloudy, looks more like the sanded and rough surface didnt really polish, and the porous gelcoat absorbed your polish and results in looking cloudy.

You could try additional sanding, start at 320 or 400 and if its not aggressive enough, step down a grit. Then from wherever you start, sand and rinse the boat between grits and work your way up to 1500 or 2000 wet sanding.

The gelcoat may shine up, may be glossy but it will never look like it did when it was new. And now that the flakes have broken thru and you could feel them, they will start to oxidize and change colors a little.

Absolutely, now that they've been sanded on, they are also no longer the same size and uniform, so again, never look as good as original.

Depending on what you've put on or done to it up to now may impact any gelcoat or paint you might apply.

W metal flake often the best option is to aggressively sand it smooth, fix any defects and prep it extremely well for paint. Just using a clearcoat paint isnt likeky to stick very well, or at least not for long.

 

[madatu]

all i have done is sanded the heavily oxidized areas with 400 grit paper. Then used various polishing compounds designed for heavily oxidation to plain polishing compounds. and just buffed and buffed. what does the gel coat absorb as you said. if i continue adding wax will it eventually stop absorbing ? what would you suggest for the wax i am using.

 

[jbcurt00]

You stopped sanding WAY to early.. try going all the way to 1500 or 2000grit.

And you dont seem to be fully understanding. You are treating this like a car finish. It isnt.

Now that you've waxed it, it'll be even more difficult to prep it for paint or gelcoat if it doesnt improve after sanding it from 320 again, 400 again and going all the way to 1500 or 2000. Might even need to start at 200 and still you might not get all the contaminates out of the existing gelcoat from the wax and etc you've used on it.

Your gelcoat is SIGNIFICANTLY past heavily oxidized now, so none of what you've been doing will do much beyond what you're seeing now.

 

[madatu]

like you said i am treating it more like a car. i was scared that i could go too deep.

 

[jbcurt00]

The metal flakes are already sticking out, it was way past too deep when you started.

And to be clear, it isnt a guarantee that it will look much better after you sand it thru to 2000. Its meerly a chance the brown part wont look as bad as it does now. The metal flake wont improve either. It wont ever look like factory, not nearly factory, ever again.

 

[madatu]

i can live with the color it is just a old bass boat for me. but will the gel coat continue to absorb the wax or will it eventually stop absorbing it ? The biggest spot that will be seen is the fish tank between the drivers and passengers chairs as i posted. That and at your feet in the front of the boat as posted also. I might could recarpet over them when i replace the carpet.

 

[madatu]

The other day after compounding here it was loosing better, then the next morning it looked like that.

 

[madatu]

has anyone tried wipe new to help your boat ? to help restore the shine ?

 

[Woodonglass]

Once you sand down to the metal flakes in a Gelcoat finish you're pretty much DONE! You either live with it, or remove all the contaminants and shoot several coats of clear coat over it, OR what most people end up doing is sanding it all of down to the bare fiberglass and the primer and paint Or Re GelCoat it.