Old boat paint

[gottafish]

Hey Guys I have a blue 79 searay and the paint looks awful its all oxidized. Is there a way to buff it out and wax it to make it look somewhat new again?? I want to get this old boat looking good again. And help and tips like what products to use would be great thanks Rich

[gottafish]

Wow thanks for all the advice guys

[Splash]

If I had an answer I would have replied.

Pleaser remember that it IS the weekend and many people are out playing and not hanging on every post. Give it time, the posts will come.

[ondarvr]

You might be able to get the blue gel coat on it shine again, but not always. Start with agressive buffing compound and an electric buffer (2500 RPM or less), try a spot and see how well it works. If the color doesn't come back with that method, then try some 600 grit sand paper and buff it again, this should work. You might need to go to a finer grit sand paper so you can buff out all the sanding marks.
Be careful on corners and edges, you don't want to sand or buff through the gel coat.
Most buffing compounds will work and each brand will have different grits from coarse to fine, coarse to cut through the oxidized surface and fine ones to get a high gloss.

Try a small area, it's not always possible to get back the original look, but it should look better than it does now.

Good luck.

[gottafish]

Thanks , Do you just use stuff from a auto parts store or is there something for boats or dosen't it matter??

[ondarvr]

There are products just for gel coat, but they're not always better than what you can get at the auto parts store for paint. It depends more on how long you want to sand and buff than the the exact brand of compound you get.

[little doc]

Usually glass boats don't have paint from the factory, but gel coat. One of the major aftermarket boating supply stores up around delta park should have both the supplies and knowledge of what to use to get the showroom shine back.
Doc.

[shaggy357]

Sometimes the old glass and gelcoat just sun rot. You get internal oxidation that won't come out. Then you have to grin and live with it, or paint it. Check out one of the corvette clubs in that area. They usually have a glass expert who can help you out.

Steve