Yellowing Gelcoat

Try a power buffer with a color restoring compound. Worked great for my 79 Ski Tique. I don't know what causes the yellowing but the buffer and combound was the fix. Leaves it with a like new shing as well.

I had the same problem. Hull cleaner and buffing wouldnt touch the color, though they did restore the shine. My solution involved wetsanding the deck down to 320 grit.

Ive shared my methods and the products I used on here before- just do a search if youre interested.

8122pbrainard wrote: Hey Tim, I've seen the pictures in your first posting but didn't notice the chemical toilet outside the window. Is your shop out in the woods or whats the deal!! I've always done what bears do in the woods!

Ha- you talking about the garbage cans? Thats my parents garage in CT- Im from a smaller (pop. 8,000) rural town but its not exactly out in the woods. Believe it or not, we do have indoor plumbing!

I bought some stuff on ebay called "gelcoat restore." It did a great job! It removed the "cloudyness" and restored the shine! I don't know how long it will last though?

Yeah like I said.. I am not sure how long it will last... but I guess it was a good quick fix. TRB, Do you think it will make the oxidation worse in the long run?

89 2001, I sympathize with your yellowing gelcoat. While my 89 is not in mint condition, it too has a yellowing gelcoat problem. I recently realized how much when I removed the bow vinyl.
I can only assume wet sanding will resolve the problem, but who has the time.
Tim (TRBenj) did a great job on his as well as others here. I hope to have the time and stamina to do mine at some point.
Take the time and research wet sanding within this site. Many great successes, and lots of good info. d

8122pbrainard wrote: Wet sanding will not bring the gel back to it's virgin color that you find under vinyl graphics.

I dont know about that. The reason I decided to wetsand in the first place was because I pulled up a few original warning stickers, exposing bright white gel underneath. Now you'd have a tough time telling where those stickers were originally placed.

8122pbrainard wrote: Tim, Which boat? the 90 or the 78. I'm refering to my 77 and trust me I got up to wet sanding with 320 and got to a point that I was afraid of sanding through the gel! If it was on your 90, didn't they have a different type of resin?

Im talking about the '90. I spent a lot of time last summer/spring bringing the gel on the top deck back into shape. I know CC switched up the type of gelcoat sometime in the 80's- Ive heard 86 or 87, so its likely different from our Tiques. I believe the original poster's '89 should be the same as my '90 though.

seems a bit extreme, but if its beat to piss then i guess you got no choice

TRBenj, will I have to worry about sanding or buffing through? Also, what kind of compound did you use. I appreciate all of the replies!

scott8370 wrote: 320 grit to wet sand? How thick is the gel sprayed at the factory? I would guess no more than 25mils. By the time you get all the sand scratches out, there won't be much gel thickness left. Maybe it's more than 25mils..does anyone know??? Scott

I couldnt tell you exactly- hopefully someone else will know. Looking at the holes I have drilled through my deck though, Id say its at least twice that.