Topside Gelcoat Maintenance

[talbot]

Our '74 DSII has badly oxidized topside gelcoat. It rubs off on clothing, and absorbs dirt and stains like a sponge. The gel coat maintenance advice I've read says to polish with mild abrasive and seal periodically with wax. I've done that, but have ended up with a slippery deck and some hilarious (we can laugh about it now) pratfalls while trying to bend on a headsail or anchor rode.

I have seen pictures of DaySailors where it looks like people painted over the traction areas of their decks, I assume using paint mixed with sand or cork. However, up close, I have not been impressed with the look of painted DaySailers. On the other hand, I've had about as much humor as I can handle with that slippery deck. Any suggestions?

[Roger]

Interlux makes a non skid product that you add to the paint for the deck. It is called oddly enough 2398 Polymetric Noskid compound. The finish is like about 180 to 200 grit sandpaper, with no pebbly or granular look to it. Just a matt finish.

[GreenLake]

My DS came painted and I must say I like its color much better than the color of the original gelcoat. The downside of painting with a contrasting color is that any scratch or spot that's worn through will show.

There was no special treatment of the no-skid areas, and I found none was needed. I also made the mistake once of getting wax onto the deck - a mistake I haven't repeated since.

Using a cover helps. Earlier I used a tarp that left part of the bow uncovered, and you can see the difference in the way the paint has weathered.

[talbot]

Thanks. I'll check out the paint. The deck is plain white, so color match isn't too much of a problem. I always keep it completely covered, but the damage was done before I acquired the boat. The oxidation, I mean. Not the pratfalls. That was my work.

[Phill]

Been thinking about this.

There a a few things that work for color restoration. But they all have some downsides too. Slippery decks, blisters, had to keep after restoring...etc..

For a white deck, others too, my best suggestion is to scrub the gel coat really well with a cleanser like Bon-Ami. It is the only one I know of that does NOT contain bleach. Bleach would be bad for colored decks, but I think also it might also damage white if not completely, throughly and otherwise rinsed to 'Zero Part Per Million' traces. The Bon-Ami scrub should take off the layer that is sluffing off on you when you use the boat.

Just a $.02 worth idea

[GreenLake]

I've been experimenting with 3M Finess-it II Glaze, which is sold as the final polishing step for gelcoat (following a rubbing compound). The gelcoat on my DS is painted, so I haven't been able to use it on my boat, but I've tried it on a number of other surfaces. The level of shine you get with this is rather astounding, since it's polishing the actual surface, not adding a wax.

That might be the thing for a deck because it would effectively level the small surface roughness that dirt likes to catch on without adding a lubricating layer.

[Phill]

I used the 3M rubbing compound, then the Finesse-it II, then the Machine Polishing compound to fix the orange peel paint, (applied by pro painter?) when I refinished Lollipop. I did all the fairing, preping masking and priming. Then after the painter did his thing (?), I spent two weeks of spare time fixing the matte orange peel.

I dont use this site for many vanity pictures, but heres a link to a pic that can show how well the 3M stuff works. The hull was not wet.

http://s143.photobucket.com/albums/r130 ... tta099.jpg

Other pics in my photobucket site. Some are pre-refinish. User name Daysailer

Would I do this again. Probably not. Too much trouble to keep dock rash away, and the deck is icy slick when wet. I've gone overboard twice and my crews have suggested that I get my belt sander and some 20 grit and "fix that deck!".

BTW the 3M machine polish can also remove small scratches in compass domes, without leaving it hazy. True test of swirl free polishing.

Not trying to hyjack this thread. Just show and explain my experiences. If starting over...(kind of am, son just picked up DS2969, very faded and chalky light blue deck) My strong recommendation is to scrub the gelcoat topsides and not apply any other treatments. Penetrol can do a nice job of bringing out the color and restoring AND sealing the topsides. However, that will lead to gelcoat blistering if any water is held against the hull like under a boat cushion, or cover tied against the sides or deck. Every other idea I tried, looked nice but degraded the footing. Maybe a frest coat on the deck sprinkled with crushed walnut shells/

Just my .02.