Faded Hull Restoration

[frantically relaxing]

I'm bringing this thread back up for a couple of reasons--

First, because I agree with Rentalux's 'glass mechanic. I too believe silicone wax has no business on gelcoat. Or paint for that matter. Wax without silicone, okay. If you can find it... Short version, silicone amplifies the sun's rays. It also seals the surface of paint & gelcoat to the point it can't 'breathe'. In the old days I used Dupont No.7. But for the past 15 years or so, I use DriWash n' Guard. No wax or silicone in it...

Second, my wife had me try something on our now-oxidizing Chaparral that works like gangbusters. BTW, it's PO waxed it, not me... Anyway, I'm amazed at how well this works, and it's cheap... And no, it's not an April fools joke!

watch...

 

[phiny1134]

I have a white and teal boat from the 90s. I bought it 4 years ago and the finish still looked like new. After 3 years of washes only, and no wax the teal was very faded and oxidized, and the white did not shine anymore. I gave it a normal hand wash, followed by a spray down of oxalic acid(The Works tub and tile cleaner) followed by a very thorough rinse and dry. After that I made two passes over it with Meguiar's 49 Heavy Oxidation Remover, using a regular old 10 inch orbital buffer. I applied with a regular application pad, and removed before it was completely dry with a wool buffer pad. Then I did one more pass with Meguiars 50 1 Step Cleaner wax for Boat and RVs. With this stuff, I let it dry completely and buffed with a wool pad. After that it looked like new, water beaded up on it again, and it held its shine for the rest of the season. Your mileage may vary of course. But this simple method took me about 4 hours on on a 23 foot boat and it looks great.