On Thursday, September 30, 2004, at 12:37 a.m., Tom and Susan Wilkinson wrote:

Any advise on treating gelcoat oxidation? I've heard penetrol works well. Any experiance with Starbrite's Glass Cote?

Hi Tom, I imagine this is one of those subjects with a lot of "right" answers, but I'll chime in with my experience. This is from bringing back the shine to a very oxidized 1981 M-17, and also a 1975 Westsail 32 - both white to cream-colored originally, and both fairly chalky. As a complete novice when I started the M-17, I went with the Meguiars system (can't remember actual names, but there are three products - a heavy duty oxidation remover, then two polishes) with a "home" car-type buffer. Nothing happened. Well, not much anyway. Then I rented a big, shiny metal Milwaukee 8" (?) buffer and used the same products and, Voila! like-new shine. That buffer was kind of a bear for me to handle, especially with the lapstrakes, but it sure worked. I used just the oxidation remover and a hand scrub-brush and 3M dish sponge on the non-skid. I did have a slight problem with the final polishing product leaving yellow stains in places - IIRC I dispensed with that and took over with 3M paste wax. Only problem with the Meguiars was it came in small, pricey bottles (but then it didn't take that much, and you may be able to find it in larger containers). Also, I used 600 grit (black) wet/dry sandpaper on stubborn stains and such - in retrospect, maybe a bit rought. On the Westsail (with the benefit of experience), we first went over the boat with acetone, getting many stains out. Then we used 2000 or 1500 grit wet/dry on stubborn spots. Then we did the buffer routine (same type of Milwaukee buffer) only with a larger container of a 3M product - I am trying to remember the name -- Microfinishing compound, I think. It was recommended by a pro-buffer in the Richmond, CA, yard we were hauled out at. It comes in a 1 quart, tall cylinder, and is the only 3M one I've seen with a purple label. I believe it is in the West Marine catalog. We followed that up with the 3M hard paste wax and the boat looked great. Funny thing is that later we noticed that the spots we'd wet sanded with the 1500/2000 looked better than the others. Just a couple of days ago, the "fiberglass guy" at the marina I work at recommended just 2000 grit wet/dry to a customer - no polish or buffing - so maybe we were onto something? I'll be interested to hear what others say on this subject. HTH --- Rachel Boat shopping but still not boatless due to Fatty Knees 7' dinghy and a couple of old river kayaks.