I have a '98 Moomba Outback wakeboarding boat I picked up a while back that has been in dire need of a gelcoat restoration. [eek] I've been reading through threads here and on TalkFestool and a few other forums and found some great advice, instructions and general how-to's from the likes of Hasselfactor, Dan Clark, etc.
This is a 15 year old boat that's seen a bit too much sun. When I picked it up it already had an oxidation problem, but it's decals had been replaced without cleaning up the existing oxidation. So, the color of the gelcoat under where the old decals is different than the areas that'd never been covered. In addition to the chalky white oxidation, the gelcoat appears to have darkened. The original gelcoat was a maroon color and the areas exposed have darkened to what I would call a burnt maroon color.
Here's a couple of pics where the oxidation and old decals were:
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I finally started a few sample areas on the rear of the boat that I felt would be a good test area. The chalky white oxidation is relatively easy to remove but evening out the burnt maroon so that it matches the formerly covered maroon has proved to be a bit challenging.
You can see the lighter areas where the decals were originally. These are two pictures taken with two different light settings.
[attachthumb=#]
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Following some advice from my local expert boat polisher, Hasselfactor [not worthy], I started with 500 grit Platin 2 abrasive using a RO 150 on speed 4 on the areas that had the oxidation and darker color. While it worked reasonably well on the oxidation it did not even out the dark and light colored areas. I then went to a 360 grit Platin 2 abrasive with not much more luck. I then took a chance and tried some wet sanding using a 320 grit Granat abrasive with an interface pad and started to get obvious swirl marks. This is where I stopped and decided to post a note here.
My challenge is to find the best way to even out the color between the areas that were covered with the decal and those that are darker.
Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.
Btw, thanks to all that have posted in other threads and provided some really great instruction and advice. [thumbs up]
Karl
This is a 15 year old boat that's seen a bit too much sun. When I picked it up it already had an oxidation problem, but it's decals had been replaced without cleaning up the existing oxidation. So, the color of the gelcoat under where the old decals is different than the areas that'd never been covered. In addition to the chalky white oxidation, the gelcoat appears to have darkened. The original gelcoat was a maroon color and the areas exposed have darkened to what I would call a burnt maroon color.
Here's a couple of pics where the oxidation and old decals were:
[attachthumb=#]
[attachthumb=#]
I finally started a few sample areas on the rear of the boat that I felt would be a good test area. The chalky white oxidation is relatively easy to remove but evening out the burnt maroon so that it matches the formerly covered maroon has proved to be a bit challenging.
You can see the lighter areas where the decals were originally. These are two pictures taken with two different light settings.
[attachthumb=#]
[attachthumb=#]
Following some advice from my local expert boat polisher, Hasselfactor [not worthy], I started with 500 grit Platin 2 abrasive using a RO 150 on speed 4 on the areas that had the oxidation and darker color. While it worked reasonably well on the oxidation it did not even out the dark and light colored areas. I then went to a 360 grit Platin 2 abrasive with not much more luck. I then took a chance and tried some wet sanding using a 320 grit Granat abrasive with an interface pad and started to get obvious swirl marks. This is where I stopped and decided to post a note here.
My challenge is to find the best way to even out the color between the areas that were covered with the decal and those that are darker.
Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.
Btw, thanks to all that have posted in other threads and provided some really great instruction and advice. [thumbs up]
Karl
