Gelcoat Restoration

[Adrian]

Hi we are new owners of a 1977 clipper. However our clipper has spent the last 25 years in the New Mexico sun. Needless to say the gelcoat is heavily oxidized. Some areas even have small pits.
I have been looking at Mirror Glaze Heavy Duty Oxidation Remover from Meguiars, has anyone used this product?
Our clipper also has a lot of small cracks, is this normal? Has anyone used Quick Fix Gelcoat Patch - Buff White from west marine to fix those cracks?
Thanks
Adrian

[Dieter]

We have used 3M "Finesse-it II" finishing material, part number 051131-05928 with good success. We rubbed out all fiberglass surfaces with it, and then polished them with 3M "Marine Protective Liquid Wax" polish, part number 051131-09026.

Dieter Mahlein

[Adrian]

Thanks Dieter,
What did you use to fix the cracks?
Adrian

[Dieter]

Cracks? How big? Gladly, ours doesn't have any to worry about. My polishes-his-boat-to-death neighbor recommends some stuff called marine-tex, but I have not used it.

Dieter

[mollerus]

Marine Tex is a good product but it only comes in a pure white.  Scrape the length of each crack with a sharply pointed object like a broken off hacksaw blade to clean the dirt out and widen the contact area.  Then wash it with acetone and apply the marine tex. I use a straight edge razor as a spatula. Sand the area lightly with 600 wet/dry sandpaper followed by fine rubbing compound and it will come out very nice. However the color difference with our rigs will show a little. There are gel coat tints but I have never tried them with Marine Tex. By the way these stress cracks are in the jelcoat layer only and do not represent any structural weakness.