My brother in law helped me with my boat last year. He has been a fibreglass finisher for 15 years and worked a frickin miracle on my boat. As he is a pro at it, the materials came with a higher price tag than the retail fodder available to us. The end result was amazing! Here's what we used:
-3M imperial compound- found it at Sherwood for just under 60$
-Boat and RV cleaner wax.NOT with PTFE- most marine and automotive stores carry it, 20$
-Honey wax mold release wax (or any pure carnauba BLOCK wax, not liquid or paste)
-Wool Bonnet. It is particularly important that it is wool,due to the stronger and smoother fibers, 20-30$
-Professional buffer. We used a Makita, but there are cheaper ones out there. Dont waste your money on the cheap orbital ones like Turtle wax puts out- you want the grinder type.
Wash boat and let dry. Smear some imperial finish on the hull and on the bonnet. Spritz with a little water-this acts like a lubricant and make the polish easier to remove. Push with medium pressure and work the product in.You will feel the buffer bog down, that is the compound stripping away the oxidization and contaminants from the gel coat. Keep working it until the bonnet glides smoothly over the surface. Spritz with water occasionally if the compound starts to ball up and get gummy. remove excess with rag and buff lightly.
Next use the cleaner wax-this will clean any remaining impurities off the surface and set up your base coat.Again buff lightly.
Follow up with the hard wax. My brother suggested 6 coats, but I told him to get bent. I ended up doing two.This fills any subtle imperfections and creates a super slick surface. Now stand back and look at your reflection. I could count the hairs on my arm it was so clear.
First time I used the boat, it came out of the water dry. Same with the subsequent trips. Even salt wouldn't stick to it, and it added 3mph to my top speed.
Washed it off after winter storage, and it still shines beautifully. Hell of a lot of work but fantastic results
The key is the Imperial compound- if you dont remove the oxidization and crud from the gelcoat you will be repolishing frequently. It's just like painting over rust.
