Gelcoat

Nate,
Not knowing your entire process of wet sanding, but after sanding did you hit it with the heavy compound to bring the shine come back and still see oxidation? The reason I ask is that it's hard to see any real shine thru oxd'n. I've had some really oxidized and faded gelcoats and while I may not have been able to remove all the deepest haze down in the pigment, I could still remove the oxidation and come out with a good shine. The wet sanding process can normally take me several initial cycles of sand and buff to make sure I'm only taking it down as far as I need to in order to remove the dead stuff. On some really weathered finishes I've gone scarily (sp) deep to find good gelcoat. On an old yellow 71 Nautique (see diaries) we went way deep and while we could get it to shine great, the color fade (not oxidation) had gone all the way thru the gelcoat, so we've chosen to paint.

As for the clearcoat, it'll probably make your oxidation shine, but I don't know how it'll really look and may show the splotchy oxidized areas thru the clearcoat. Anyone else?

Now if you want to see a shiney rascal of a boat,see the 1972 lime green mustang in the diary section...no fade!!!
Thats how I bought it...must have seen a lot of time in the garage.
The side had some oxidation, but with compound and a high speed buffer,it's color has come back well!
Good luck!

stang72 (owner of a mean green whirlybird machine)