Gel coat fade

[Torque]

I just bought a 1988 comp. the gel coat has some fade. I was reading somewhere about wet sanding the boat first? Any thoughts or advice?

[tg0824SSVGG]

Use search, look for "wetsand" -- you should find several helpful threads.

[cadunkle]

Depending on how bad it is you may need to sand first or you may be able to just compound and polish. Personally mine was rough but not terrible and I was able to compound and polish. I used 3m heavy duty rubbing compound to clear up the bad haze and went over again where there were scratches until they cleaned up nice and became difficult to notice, then followed up with 3m Finesse It II polish until the gel shined with no dullness. Them 3m marine paste wax which I do 2-3 times per season depending on how much I use the boat. I used a Makita variable speed buffer for all of this except the wax which I apply and remove by hand.

Yes it's hard work, yes it takes forever, yes it sucks... but it's worth the end result. I still need to do the top cap stripe area and I'd like to do the bottom too... Working up the ambition to finish those parts because it's so time consuming.

[CornRickey]

wetsanding is the option after compounds have been used properly without success. professional grade compounds with a quality machine. not the cheap stuff like turtlewax and a Harborfrieght orbital.