RESTO Gelcoat restoration question

[motox25]

Ok, I know this subject has been beat to death so let me apologize in advance but I still need help lol. My silver/blue 01 GTX is faded and oxidized, I didn't realize how badly until I removed my old tags and saw how bad it really was. Firstoff, I need to remove the residue left over from the old tags, is Goo Gone ok to use or should I use WD-40? Next is the Gelcoat, the grey Gelcoat is 2 or 3 shades darker now, and is dull and lost its shine and gloss. I went to West Marine and they recommended some 3M restorer and wax. They also said a buffer wasn't necessary and sold me some pads. I washed the boat and started buffing the boat by hand, the pads were almost instantly absorbed with grey goo. After going through all my pads and buffing the boat by hand with 2 passes the Gelcoat actually seems to have gotten darker and maybe a little more glossy, but still far from the nice glossy gelcoat under the tags. What is my next step, should I invest in a power buffer and go to town with the 3M restorer and wax or should I use something else like polish?

 

[Jetskigoodies]

For the residue left over use aircraft decal remover. Do not use this on plastic though.

To answer the rest of your question read this thread........

 

[Jetskigoodies]

Sorry forgot to add the link

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?57274-Pictorial-On-how-to-buff-your-faded-nasty-hull

 

[racerxxx]

You can't go wrong with the JSG formula, trust me!

 

[CReynoldsMIZ]

Yup I did it the other day, my ski turned out great. Started with 500 grit then 1000 then 1200 followed by three steps of buffing. Take some pictures, if there isn't alot of scratches that 3m restorer and a power buffer should work way better than the hand pad, that is for car paint. Gel coat is thick stuff and can handle way more abuse

 

[lamajama]

I've always had a problem with restoring a gray color scheme like Motox25's 01 GTX. I have a 97 1/2 GSX with the gray color
and all I seem to do is darken the gray. I can bring a white top up real nice but gray has been a huge issue - plus it destroys
the buffer with gray residue. I also have a 01 GTX gray as well to restore so I'm keen to hear if gray is an issue for anyone else.

 

[motox25]

Thanks for your advice, there really isn't any scratches on the Gelcoat. Honestly I don't own a corded drill, always borrowed one when I need it but I hate to borrow it for a job like this. Should I go and drop $80 on a Dewalt corded drill or will a buffer work? I've seen a couple at Harbor Freight for good prices but the reviews are mixed on them. At this point I'm seriously considering the JSG formula, just wanted to make sure it would work before dropping money on a drill and compound.

 

[suke]

if you don't have a drill go buy the cheap rotary buffer from harbor freight. Get the wool pad they sell, and the black foam pad. Use the wool pad for initial cut and foam pad to go back over with a lower cut polish.

 

[Jetskigoodies]

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-variable-speed-reversible-hammer-drill-68169.html

I burned up my $100 dewalt drill so now we use that hf cheapo and it works great

 

[MPower]

Here is what I used to go from this......



To this.......

 

[lamajama]

Those 3 products. That's it?? No wet sandpaper etc? That looks better than factory! Well done!

PS At what stage is the Adams All purpose cleaner used?

 

[Ryan331]

For what it's worth.. the 3M color restore + hand action = like armorall.. It looks exactly like it did before after a day or two on the water

I'm going to try the link above to see if I can get my hull back

 

[MPower]

Those 3 products. That's it?? No wet sandpaper etc? That looks better than factory! Well done!

PS At what stage is the Adams All purpose cleaner used?

Thanks for reminding me. I did wet sand but only on the PINK portion of the hull. Reds fade worse than any other color and are hard to get back. For the yellow I just used the products I posted.

It's been coming up on 2 years since I did the restore and the color of the gel is just as bright as the day I finished. You will hear people talk about the gel starting to fade or get milky again, well not if you use these products. The 3M heavy duty compound is the best stuff to use period and it will eat right through the dead gelcoat with an Adams green pad. Note that those Adams pads are their 4 inch Focus pads which allows you get get into every nook and cranny of the ski and be much more precise. It is hard work and you just need to take your time and not get into a rush. Just block off small sections at a time and focus on working that area. Some areas you will need to go over twice, maybe even 3 times. The all purpose cleaner was used to clean and prep the gelcoat before using the 3M compound.

Good luck and post up if you have any questions at all, we will help you get that ski looking brand spanking new!

 

[suke]

To make it quicker I'd use something more powerful than the porter cable. It'll get the job done for sure as Mpower shows, but talking to him while he was going through this, something with more power would be helpful. Those 4" pads and a drill is a powerful combination for the tight spots. Otherwise I'd go with the cheap HF rotary and hammerdrill.

FYI I have the porter cable in my detailing arsenal. I used a forced rotation orbital buffer on mine.

 

[suke]

I used the same compound combinations as Mpower did as well.

Mine went from this



to this

 

[lamajama]

Thanks for reminding me. I did wet sand but only on the PINK portion of the hull. Reds fade worse than any other color and are hard to get back. For the yellow I just used the products I posted.

It's been coming up on 2 years since I did the restore and the color of the gel is just as bright as the day I finished. You will hear people talk about the gel starting to fade or get milky again, well not if you use these products. The 3M heavy duty compound is the best stuff to use period and it will eat right through the dead gelcoat with an Adams green pad. Note that those Adams pads are their 4 inch Focus pads which allows you get get into every nook and cranny of the ski and be much more precise. It is hard work and you just need to take your time and not get into a rush. Just block off small sections at a time and focus on working that area. Some areas you will need to go over twice, maybe even 3 times. The all purpose cleaner was used to clean and prep the gelcoat before using the 3M compound.

Good luck and post up if you have any questions at all, we will help you get that ski looking brand spanking new!

Do you have any tips on a gray top - as in a 2001 GTX or a 97 1/2 GSX? When I try anything it darkens the gray quite a bit.

 

[motox25]

Do you have any tips on a gray top - as in a 2001 GTX or a 97 1/2 GSX? When I try anything it darkens the gray quite a bit.

Ill post pics of how my gray GTX looks with the products JSG recommended as my Gelcoat is really bad. It's funny, looks like the PO decided to start restoring one of the sides and just stopped. This makes me want to restore it that much more lol

 

[MPower]

To make it quicker I'd use something more powerful than the porter cable. It'll get the job done for sure as Mpower shows, but talking to him while he was going through this, something with more power would be helpful. Those 4" pads and a drill is a powerful combination for the tight spots. Otherwise I'd go with the cheap HF rotary and hammerdrill.

FYI I have the porter cable in my detailing arsenal. I used a forced rotation orbital buffer on mine.

The porter cable did a great job. What took me so long was having to clean out the pads so often. I also prefer the versatility of the Porter Cable, its good for beginners so they don't burn through what could be a very thin layer of gelcoat but powerful enough to get the job done.

 

[MPower]

Do you have any tips on a gray top - as in a 2001 GTX or a 97 1/2 GSX? When I try anything it darkens the gray quite a bit.

I have never worked with a gray top. I will say however, that I have a 2000 GTX and the gelcoat is completely different than the gel on my 95 XPs and much harder to work with IMO. Almost like there is a separate clear over top of the gelcoat.

Describe the process in detail that you are using now.

 

[lamajama]

I have never worked with a gray top. I will say however, that I have a 2000 GTX and the gelcoat is completely different than the gel on my 95 XPs and much harder to work with IMO. Almost like there is a separate clear over top of the gelcoat.

Describe the process in detail that you are using now.

I am doing the same I have done for every other color - I'm using either 3M Marine Rubbing Compound or Meguiars #49 Marine Oxidation Remover and buffing it with a pad/variable drill. This process has worked 100% on all colors other than gray.

 

[suke]

I am doing the same I have done for every other color - I'm using either 3M Marine Rubbing Compound or Meguiars #49 Marine Oxidation Remover and buffing it with a pad/variable drill. This process has worked 100% on all colors other than gray.

got any pics of what you're talking about?

 

[lamajama]

got any pics of what you're talking about?

I'll post some as soon as I can - essentially the gray turns a darker shade of gray. Looks crappy

 

[motox25]

Update, so I bought all the supplies recommended by JSG. I applied the first heavy application to my grey top. The results weren't what I was expecting, the Gelcoat just got darker, farther from the original color under my tags. Do I need to continue with the heavy cut compound until it eventually gets lighter?

Before Meguiars heavy cut #4



After Meguiars heavy cut #4

 

[lamajama]

That's the exact scenario I have with grey hulls. I only did a small section as I seen what it was doing. I was able to wipe off the residue and a little of the grey came back but not what I wanted. Looking forward to answers here and hopefully a solution to your/ours!

 

[motox25]

I agree with you on the buffer as well lamajama, it filled with grey residue after a couple of passes. I think unless someone has a better idea tomorrow I'm going to finish my one pass on the hull with the drill and wool buffer then hit the hull by hand, with the same heavy cut and using a paint scraper to scrape off the excess residue and hopefully ill eventually start to lighten the hull.