uneven gelcoat color

[bwthomas]

My husband and I bought a 22' Sea Ray 220 earlier this month. It had been stored outside for a year and a half, so I have been using boat armor compound (came with the boat) on it to bring the gelcoat shine back. It is very smooth and shiny now, but some of it is cream color and some of it is still white... no matter how much of how hard I rub. What am I doing wrong? Can anyone recommend a better product to use? I plan on using McGuires Flagship on it once I get it uniform in color, but I don't want to wax it when it still looks splotchy. Any ideas? Thanks!:smt100
Beck

 

[Lazy Daze]

Like Scott said, unfortunately, sometimes it just needs more help than a hand can provide. A rotary buffer will help A LOT (a random orbital won't do too much more than what you're doing by hand). A rotary buffer looks like a grinder. Harbor Freight sells a good one for about $40 - $50 (the one with digital speed control).

Is the color difference you're seeing between where the covers normally are and where they are not? If so, you'll make your life a lot easier if you unscrew all the snaps. It'll only take about 10 minutes to do all of them.

There's a number of threads on this site (with good success stories) about the problem you're having. Most of these threads have some very good step-by-steps.

 

[White Collar]

Get a nice right-angle low-speed buffer with both 3M wool wheels, just like the pros use...

Take your time, use long overlapping strokes, don't sit in one spot, it should remove that oxidation.

 

[bwthomas]

Thanks to all who replied! The place I notice the most difference in the color is on the sides of the boat - not up near the snaps. It looks great from a few feet away, or if you are looking straight at it; but if you get up really close (6" or closer), or look at it on an angle (from the prow, down the side), then you can really see that the color is not uniform.

As for previous repairs - I don't know? We only just got this boat a week ago, and I have been using rubbing compound on it ever since. I am taking my time and not spending too much time in one spot. I have even gone back to "white" spots later. Some get better; some stay white. I just know that the whole boat shines and is very smooth to the touch now, but the color is not totally uniform up close.

Like you, Scott, I am not a big fan of buffers - never have been and never will be. I will get some new compound, and see how that works. As a last resort, I will try a buffer.

I was going to go out and take a photo to include, but there are too many shadows on it right now to give a clear view.

Thanks again for all the input!

 

[moospis]

You may not ever get those spots off, even with a good polisher. As gelcoat ages and is constantly buffed, it will basically start to disappear.

 

[techmitch]

It is possible that you have some fading from area's that were uncovered during storage as opposed to those that were not. If so I don't think you will ever get them to match up. Good luck.