Fiberglass Boat Restoration
More to it than you think!

Becoming an Informed Boat Owner

The Gel Coat and Fiberglass Oxidation Process

Out With the Old

Disassembly Often Required

The Finished Product

I wish I had more of the before pictures of this project, but I hastily started into this project before I realized I had not properly documented the before shots with pictures.

Once again we can see the dramatic benefits of performing the fiberglass boat restoration process. It looks as though this boat is still wet from the molding process.

Tips for the Do-It-Yourselfer

Do it yourself tips is probably the specific reason you are here searching for fiberglass boat restoration. Whether you have newly required a boat in need of help, or simply are trying to rekindle the love affair you had with your boat when it was new, the real questions are usually as follows:

• Can I remove the oxidation from the fiberglass or gel coat myself?
• Is it realistic to think I can do it myself?
• What things should I know before I take on the project of fiberglass boat restoration?
• Lastly, what tools and products will help me get professional results?

Q. - Can I remove Fiberglass Oxidation myself?

A.- Simply put, yes you can. With the right tools and products, you can both remove the oxidation from gel coat or fiberglass yourself, and restore a brilliant shine and luster in the process. Some tips from the right source will go far with creating success!

Q. - Is it realistic to think I can do it myself?

A.- Once again, Yes! This is not to suggest it is going to be easy, it just simply means most people are capable with the correct products and tools, armed with a little tips to maximize your results.

Q. - Darren, tell me straight up what I should know before I take this project on.

A.- I am a firm believer that an ignorant person is both a danger to themselves and those around them. Just as I say regarding potential customers, not only can a person not make a very good decision without the correct information, but an informed person makes for a better customer period. So let me go through a few check points that come from decades of personal experience in the world of professional boat detailing.

• Every fiberglass boat restoration project is different. It is the equivalent of asking how to paint a house, as compared to assessing the specific situation of what is involved with painting your house; color, size, and condition of your house will all be variables to the actual project itself.
• It will always be more work than you think it will be! Not to scare you here, but when in life has this truism not existed? Whether you are talking about the 20 pounds you want to lose, or the debt you are trying to pay off, everything, including fiberglass boat restoration will always be more effort than you originally think. But let's not forget another truism in the moment; the level of appreciation is always in direct relation to the amount of effort put in! What I know personally is the extreme satisfaction I get when I look at the amazing shine and depth of a boat after it has been polished to perfection! I also know first hand the amazing satisfaction I get when I run my hand down the side of a boat that has been detailed to perfection, and feel the coolness of the gel coat layered with coats of wax that make it feel smooth as glass!
• It will be more expensive than you think. Unless you already have a professional grade car buffer, you can plan on spending a couple hundred dollars out of the box just for a this one part of the equation. Then you can add another $80 - $150.00 for additional products and tools required for the fiberglass boat restoration project.
• It is best to break down the gel coat oxidation removal process into bit sized pieces. It is easy to become overwhelmed with the process if you don't plan ahead. As my mother you to say, "The way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time." Along with the size and condition of your boat, you also need to decide the level of expectations you have for yourself with regards to the end product. Of course this will likely change during the process, but you need to start out with a goal to begin with. It will usually be one of two directions; you will either be further motivated by the results you start to get, or you will become frustrated and lose patience, and figure ways to short cut to the end result.

Q. - OK Darren, I get it, but now tell me exactly what I am going to need.

A.- Right now you are either ready to click away in frustration, or you are biting at the bit waiting to hear more information. Let me lay out the complete list of things needed for proper fiberglass boat restoration:

1. Professional car buffer
2. Professional polishes
3. Wool polish pads
4. Wool pad spur (pad cleaning tool)
5. Scotch-Brite cleaning pads, or wet and dry sand paper
6. Blue painters tape
7. Polymer sealant to finish with

Breaking it Down

Now that I have laid out the tools and products needed for fiberglass boat restoration, let me show you specifically the products and tools I recommend so you can get truly professional results. The good news is that these very same tools and products are versatile in that they can be used whether you are polishing your boat, car, or RV.

Professional Grade Car Buffer

Notice I said professional. Do not think for one moment, your Pep Boys special buffer, or your "Cheap Online Tools Warehouse Car Polisher" is going to work here, 'cause it won't!! I can't stress this enough. And you are going to get the same speech when I talk about professional grade polishes! Not only do you need a car buffer that can handle the load you are going to require from the polisher, but you want a polisher that is user friendly, reliable, and has the features necessary for professional results, as well as the features that will add to your comfort, rather than create discomfort. If you end up fighting your choice in polishers, this is only going to insure defeat! If you are going to do the fiberglass boat restoration at all, then start with the single most important decision, and that is choosing the correct car buffer. Like I said before, the good news is that not only will this polisher last you a lifetime, but it is one of the exact polishers I use professionally, and can be used on any polishing project in the future.

Makita 9227C Rotary Polisher

• Truly professional grade that will last you a life time.
• Has all the features any professional could want.
• I recommend this personally has I have used one for years.
• Comes with both cutting and finishing wool pads which is exactly what you need to remove oxidation from gel coat and fiberglass.

Professional Grade Polish

Once again, we can duplicate much of the information on buffers from above, to the subject of polishes. Not all polishes are created equal, and the choice in polishes is almost as critical as your choice in a polisher. Many polishes will be labeled as specific for use on gel coats or fiberglass. This is simply a way for the industry to sell you more and more products. The reality is that any product that works on a car paint, will also be safe for gel coats or fiberglass; notice I didn't say will work. The key factor to know about gel coats and fiberglass is the durability of these materials. What this means to you and me is that methods that would work on car paint, will not be aggressive enough do produce any significant results when it comes to polishing and buffing on gel coats and fiberglass. Certainly when it comes to an actual fiberglass boat restoration project, you will need products that are aggressive enough to remove the oxidation from the fiberglass or gel coat of your boat.

Meguiars Swirl-Free Kit for Machine Application

• The actual polishes I use professionally to polish anything from cars, to boats, to RV's.
• Comes with both a cutting level of polish, and a finishing polish.
• Also comes with foam polishing pads that can be used if you are beginning and want to learn using these easier and much less aggressive pads. Also the very pads used to polish car paint.
• While you do not officially need the foam pads for your fiberglass boat restoration, it is a way to save some money by buying a complete package that also contains some micro-fibers that you will also be using.
• The most user friendly polishes I have ever used.

Wool Polishing Pads

This is an area of the process that is less critical than the ones from above. Any wool cutting pad will suffice here; you simply need to make sure it is the correct pad for the correct backing plate you are using. If you order the Makita polisher from above, then you need what is called hook and loop; another way of saying Velcro. Wool cutting pads are one of the real tricks to restoring the fiberglass on your boat. Any experienced detailer knows this, but since most inexperienced people are afraid of using a high speed buffer, they don't realize this is the level of aggressiveness required to actually deal with, and remove oxidization from gel coats and fiberglass. These pads will do you just fine and I recommend getting a package of 3 of them and saving yourself some time and money as you will definitely need at least 3 of them to do most any boat. The cutting pad is the polishing pad you will do 95% of the work with in the fiberglass boat restoration process. In fact, by using the wool cutting pad and the #105 polish of Meguiar's from above, you can get your boat to 95% of being done. The polish from Meguiar's is so good it will remove the deepest of sanding marks, heavy levels of oxidation, and leave an almost swirl free finish. You will finish the last 5% of the oxidation removal process by using the Meguiar's 205 and the finishing wool pad.

8.5" Wool Cutting Pad

• Wool cutting pads are a must for actual results in removing oxidation from your boat.
• Do not fear, polishing on gel coats and fiberglass is vastly different from polishing on car paint!
• A person would have to try and do damage when polishing on gel coat or fiberglass.

Wool Pad Cleaning Spur

These cleaning spurs keep the wool fibers separated and dust free during use. I use this type of cleaning spur literally every time I apply new polish to each section I am polishing. If you are not diligent to use everytime, the combination of removed oxidation and polish will cake up your polishing pad. It is also helpful in extending the life of your polishing pad.

Lake Country Wool Pad Spur

• Use by turning the buffer on and holding against the spinning pad.
• Use everytime you have just polished an area.
• This means you apply polish to the boat, set polisher down on polish, turn on and polish the area until the polish dries up and becomes dusty, then you clean with cleaning spur.
• Repeat one small section at a time. About a 6"x6" area.
• Yes, do do a professional job of the fiberglass boat restoration, you must break it down into tiny sections of about 6"x6".

Scuff Pads or Sand Paper

This is where you have a few choices. Not all fiberglass boat restoration projects will require the use of sanding paper or scuff pads. Only 99% of the jobs will! I say this because most people will want to skip this aggressive step in the oxidation removal process, which you can skip and still get excellent results. The problem is that if 100% of the gel coat or fiberglass oxidation is not completely removed, it will come back; and usually much quicker than you would think! In order to really be effective in removing the oxidation from the fiberglass boat, sanding it off with sand paper or these scuff pads are much more effective than to think you will simply polish all the oxidation away. Experience has shown me that to skip this step, will greatly impact the long term effects of your efforts. We would hate to have to go through this process of oxidation removal each season we want our boat to look nice.

Flitz Mini ScuffPads 6 Pack, 1500 Grit

Meguiars Unigrit Sand Papers 6 Pack Kit - Your Choice!

Removing the oxidation is the very first step in the fiberglass boat restoration process. Most novices will try to do it by hand or with a buffer, but are rudely shocked when the oxidation reappears weeks later! I have seen this over and over again. The Do-It-Yourselfer tries using the latest and greatest fiberglass polish to remove the oxidation from his boat and attempts to do it by hand. This same person gets decent results in the moment, (with much effort)and is sorely disappointed when the oxidation reappears weeks later. This is one of the biggest factors in success, understanding that unless 100% of the oxidation is removed, it will be back! Using either of the products above will "cut to the chase" and not only remove all the oxidation, but prepare the surface for polishing. If you go with the sand paper, pick the 1500 grit as this is a happy medium between overly aggressive, and not aggressive enough. You could go with an 800 grit, bit I recommend following up with 1000 or 1500 grit just prior to polishing. The finer you finish with the sanding process, the easier it will be to polish out the sanding marks and restore the shine using the polish and buffer.

Painters Tape

One of the biggest hazards of using a high speed buffer is more about damage to surrounding areas than actual damages to the paint. People become hyper focused on trying to keep the polishing pad flat and avoid swirl marks, but end up "burning" plastic trim pieces and the like. Play it safe and tape up areas of concern with blue painters tape, or this professional grade tape from 3M

3M Scotch 233+ Premium Automotive Masking Tape 18 mm x 32 m - 03431

• Use to protect sensitive areas before polishing.
• Removes cleanly after use.
• Perfect for taping up bumper rail or rub rail of boats.
• Also perfect to use on all boat hardware if you are not removing for the fiberglass boat restoration process.

Polymer Sealant

If you are going to take the time to go through all of the fiberglass boat restoration steps, then you certainly need to take the time to add a layer of the ultimate in protection and durability. Nothing will outlast the durability of a quality synthetic polymer sealant. Don't get bogged down trying to find the best in "marine grade" waxes or sealers. It is through polymer technology that the ultimate in protection exists.

Meguiars #21 Synthetic Sealant 2.0

• Use as the final step in your fiberglass boat restoration process.
• Also an excellent product for people looking to wax less often rather than more often when it comes to cars.
• Also the ultimate in protection on your RV or Toy Haulers.
• Apply everytime you want to add protection to your boat.

Darren's Final Words of Advice

• The task will always be more than you think; knowing and accepting this will give you a realistic perspective.
• While sanding away the oxidation will require much time and effort, it will assure lasting results.
• I recommend testing a small and inconspicuous area first to determine the level of work needed, and the end results.
• It is also a good way to test with regards to sanding and polishing out the sanding marks.
• polishing out sanding marks completely from gel coat or fiberglass, usually requires myself 3 separate applications of polish to an area, along with much pressure of the wool cutting pad.
• Remember, we are working on gel coat or fiberglass which is much more difficult than car paint.
• I tilt the buffer onto an edge when trying to remove sanding marks to create additional heat and friction.
• I keep the polisher set to 1500-1800 RPM's when working on gel coats or fiberglass.
• If I tilt and use the edge of the polishing pad during buffing, I then follow up with keeping the pad completely flat to remove swirl marks.
• Just remember, removing the oxidation or sanding marks will require much more product, pressure, and time than you can probably imagine as compared to polishing on car paint. Do not worry, just keep polishing until the marks have been completely removed.
• I start the polishing process out initially by making an X with polish of about 4" tall by 4" wide. This is enough polish to get the pad "lubricated" and to star with. Then after using the cleaning spur each time during the fiberglass boat restoration process, I apply about 4-5 pea sized drops of polish onto the paint, and work in a small 4-6" square section, overlapping sections, until all sanding marks are removed.
• I would guess that I apply about 10-15 pounds of pressure when using the buffer. If I was working on car paint, this would be roughly 2-3 times the amount of pressure needed.
• Remember, not removing 100% of the fiberglass oxidation will result in short term results.

Fiberglass Boat Restoration

Following my recommendations and tips for fiberglass boat restoration can get you these kinds of results. Do not underestimate the many points and recommendations I have made on this page.

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