Restoring the paint shine

[twerner]

My '98 Maxum (1900 SRL) has a beautiful interior but a somewhat dull/oxidized exterior, especially the back. Any suggestions for buffing and waxing without damaging the hull? My buddy has a shop where he restores cars so thinking we might be able to use his tools. Thanks, Tom

[mmwjr]

First it's colored gelcoat not paint.

3M gelcoat restorer. You may need to wets and with 2000 grit paper first. Hand sand. Then the 3M then polish and finally wax.

[twerner]

Thanks Mike. Is there any risk to damaging the gelcoat with any of these steps? Maybe I can start with the minimal approach first (3m restorer) and if that fails, do the sanding.

[mmwjr]

Yes the color gelcoat is thin so you can remove it and loose the color.

Always best to start with least aggressive.

[jamanati]

One of the best writeups I've ever read. I followed it on my heavily oxidized 1995 3200 SCR. It came out looking like glass. Folks in my marina cannot believe its a 20 year old boat.

Tips For Compound, Polish & Wax - SailNet Community

I went with the 3M products initially. Good stuff. Get a good buffer, one with thumb controls for speed and no load feature.

Wet sand is key. Buy plenty of it, it doesn't last. I went 600 grit first, then 800, then 1200.

Then 3M super duty cutting compound and a good wool pad.

Then 3M Finesse, with another good wool pad meant for polishing.

Followed up with the Collinite 885 Fleet wax, using the water spray as recommended, hand buffed (not machine buffed). Two coats.

Took me several weekends, this work takes time, it cannot be rushed. Done right, it will shine for years with only minimal upkeep each year and a good waxing. Good luck.

[0Gravity]

I just did basically the exact same thing as jumanti on my heavily oxidized 95 SCR and it looks great now....I used the Presta Gelcoat compound and ultra chroma. I ended with 2000 grit sand paper. It took me all winter but came out great!

[0Gravity]

I should say I ended the wet sanding process with 2000 grit. .. Then the compounds.

[itsabowtime2]

I have always had great results with Aurora products.

This is my 1993 3055 (spring 2010 cleaning)