How to refurbish the Gelcoat after removing graphics?

Tommo

Member
Sep 6, 2021
54
Buffalo NY
Boat Info
1998 Sea Ray 185 Bowrider
Engines
4.3L Mercruiser 190HP w/ Alpha One Gen II Drive
I removed most of the vinyl graphics from my '98 185BR, but the lake stains the gelcoat at a different rate where the graphics used to be. Look closely at this pic and you can see the 'wave' graphics near the 185 logo:

Side-shot-at-dock-with-stains.png


Does anyone have any tips on how to refurbish the gelcoat? I have an orbital sander and bought some of this 3M Rubbing Compound, but I'm not sure if I need to follow a whole process with a variety of sand paper grits, or if I can just use this like a polish and get "good enough" results:

71CiFveiCnL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


If anyone has thoughts or experiences they can share, I'd be plenty grateful! Thanks folks
 
EX-AC is a polishing compound and wont get the job done, but can be used a s swirl remover.

First step is to try and get rid of the stains. There are a number of products on the market that will get rid of a lot, but they are very harsh acids. Get a tyvek suit, gloves and safety glasses for that job (or hire it out).

After that, I've been using 3M Perfect-It Heavy Cut and you can finish up with either wax or the EX-AC, then wax. But your looking at at least 2 may three passes. If its really bad, you might have to bump up to Super Duty 05954

I watched several vids by this guy for some tips. Boring as hell, but thats detailing...



upload_2023-5-28_12-58-42.png
 
Those brown stains will come off with a hull cleaner like On/Off. I would do that first, then determine what you need to do next. Could require everything from wet sanding (especially if there is a raised area where the graphics where) to just polish and wax depending on how much oxidation you have - can't really tell that from the picture.
 
Just remember the gel coat is only .020" to .030" thick on most boats. It doesn't take a lot to sand/buff through it. I would do everything mentioned to remove the stains before I pulled out an orbital sander and heavy duty rubbing compound.
 
Thanks everyone.

I spray Slimy-Grimy on the hull to get the brown stains to magically disappear in about three seconds. It’s amazing stuff! But the brown comes back quick as it sits in the lake (…within days).

I was at least hoping to get the gel coat to an even depth so it wouldn’t discolor at different rates. I wonder if waxing it would do the trick…

To answer one question, yes, it seems the gel coat is slightly raised behind the vinyl - and there is slight oxidation where the sun hit it otherwise. I wonder if the rubbing compound I have will be enough. I’d rather go easy and shave less off the gelcoat, if possible. Although I’ve repeatedly heard these Sea Rays have remarkably deep gelcoats (especially in this era… that’s partly what made them so high end)!
 
Every boat I have ever bought (all used) had raised shadows from the graphics when I removed the names on the transom. I start with 800 working to 1500 wet sand then compound, polish, wax. If you are not experienced with all this, check out youtube or for what you need it probably wouldn’t cost all that much to have a pro do it and if you can watch him, you’ll learn a lot. The staining on the hull from the water is just a part of life when you own a boat without bottom paint and it doesn’t come out of the water everyday. Mary Kate On-off bottom cleaner was my friend during all those years. Good luck
 
Mary Kate On-off bottom cleaner was my friend during all those years.

This knock off of Slimy-grimy seems to be the least-expensive way to get lake stains off a boat hull. Spray on and watch the stains disappear... A little goes a long way:

https://tinyurl.com/3j7ervc3

$20 for 5 gallons... !
 

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