Any secrets to remove yellowing gelcoat

Y

yachtfisher

New member
How's it going guys ?



I know there must be a couple gelcoat experts here.



I have a particular brand of boat that we take care of that no matter how well it is washed and kept waxed on a 2-3 month interval the white gel will turn to yellow.

It seems to be from the actuall manufacturing process.



I have wet sanded and buffed with good results in some areas and poor in others, at first it looks good then in several weeks the yellow comes back.



Any body have any tips or have you run into boats like this ??? Oh by the way like I said it is well taken care of and less than 2 years old.



The other issue is the factory molded no skid, it is a deep agressive triangular pattern and is yellow as well (it ofcouse has not been waxed)



It is very frustrating to see and frankly is not good for business.



thanks so much, hope you have some advise/tips
 
I detail boats regularly. I would like to see some pics if you can. Sounds like its just the gel coat that is the problem.
 
PM this dude-Boat Detailer

I've detailed a boat with 845 and would not recommend that for protection. If you try Collinite, a very popular boat detailing wax, try 476. Is it in salt water all the time? Do you wash it every time you get the boat out of the water.
 
What type of LSP are you using? Is this boat on the water all the time? Is the yellowing only happening on the horizontal surfaces, vertical, or everywhere with no apparent pattern. What type brand of boat is this? Explain the process you use for wet sanding.



Slickery why don't you use 845?
 
Greg Nichols said:
Slickery why don't you use 845?
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I detailed a boat with 845 off a recommendation and the boat owner came back after two weeks and said it wasn't beading. I had a hard time believing it but I hit it with water in several places and it wasn't beading anywhere. I had to wax it again for the guy. I am on my second bottle of it, and I have durability issues on everything I've used it on. I got bogo on 476 and 845, and 40% marque, so I stocked up on it. I started a Collinite test on 11/22 but obviously have nothing to report yet. I hope I'm proving wrong, but based on my experience 845 lasts about two washes and isn't very durable at all for something that sits in the water. On the other hand I've had good durability with 476.









waxkp8.jpg










Obviously you have to use a cleaner wax on a boat before lsp, but we are talking about the protection as a means of trying to possibly stop the yellowing. I actually used 73 on the boat prior to lsp. Yes it's not a "marine" product, but it's a fine cleaner wax.
 
Interesting that your customer reported that. I think he washed it with a strong soap or something. Do a transom wax test with the waxes to see. I've started using FK1 1000p sealant and so far so good.
 
I think a sealant wax is real good idea for a boat. You might say that using a sealant and then topping it with wax is the best possible finish, but there is no way I'm adding a step to a boat detail. Boat detail = PITA. I don't plan on doing a boat detail again anytime soon.
 
Yellow gel coat is a problem with the gel coat itself. You can sand it down and buff it back out. But I do agree why on earth would you use automotive waxes on gel coats?? They make marine grade waxes for a very good reason.
 
Guys thanks for the replies.



I will try to respond to the different questions.

These are 40-60 foot sport fishers docked year round in saltwater in So. Cal



I was using, StarBright with teflon, then Meguires flag ship wax, but have switched to Collinite fleet wax reduced down with a high quality teflon. The yellow has been an ongoing problem regardless of product and is present on other boats of this brand that I don't service.



My wet sand and buff process wash boat regular dish soap to strip, 1200 / 1500 / 2000 / Have tried many diffent compounds: 3M Finess it 2 / superduty (hate it) and meguires oxidation remover (#49) then polish with #45 meguires and wax



Will get some picturs, But the majority of the yellow is present only on the horizontial surfaces and especially the radiusus



Thanks guy, I am going to that particular boat today and will try and get some pics
 
Jakerooni said:
Yellow gel coat is a problem with the gel coat itself. You can sand it down and buff it back out. But I do agree why on earth would you use automotive waxes on gel coats?? They make marine grade waxes for a very good reason.
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Besides marketing, whats the difference between auto versus marine wax?



yachtfisher said:
I was using, StarBright with teflon, then Meguires flag ship wax, but have switched to Collinite fleet wax reduced down with a high quality teflon.
Click to expand...



You add the teflon? Does it make it more durable?
 
Slickery said:
Besides marketing, whats the difference between auto versus marine wax?







You add the teflon? Does it make it more durable?
Click to expand...



----> That is a good question! Try emailing the manufacturers and asking! I would LOVE to hear their responses.
 
I tried to get some pics but the yellow is more subtle, bright white boats you actually can see well with sunglases on. Any way I would describe the yellow as two different types 1. general surface yellowing on flats 2. a marbled looking yellow that has a streaky look (Pretty sure a gelcoat chemical defect)



As for adding teflon to the fleet paste wax it just gives it a very slick feel and wet look, I ofcourse am not a chemist but it was suggest by a long time in the business competiotor.



My theory is that like some others have said the yellow is in the gelcoat and I probably sanded the surface layer off then it came back.

today I did the cockpit cap rail. Wet sanded for 4 hours 800 grit up to 2000 then buffed / polished - polished some more and the the home mix of fleet wax and teflon. I did a lot more wet sanding this time (which I don't really like, taking away the thickness) Any way I am happy, just hope it stays that way



Thanks for your input guys

mark

monsoon_yacht_service




Sorry I can't get the pictures to work
 
The yellowing it the styrene in the gelcoat and fibre glass being drawn to the surface by the sun, wet sanding will clean it from the surface but it will come back. There is a company in Australia called top gear or magnum organic chemicals who make a group of products called the top guard system, which draws the styrene’s out cleans them off and then protects the gelcoat. Google them to find out more.
 
Gan thanks for the tip on that product i will deffinetly check it out



As for the wax I'm not sure about automtomive wax the Collinite Fleet wax that I use is a hard paste #885 - For Marine use



thanks guys

mark
 
Nothing wrong with using 476s on fiber glass. Meguiars use to market #16 in their marine line and since Im saving my #16, Ill be using 476s for all my fiber glass needs.
 
i agree with GAN...its a styrene issue....if the boat is only a couple of years old before you go sanding it and polishing he should contact the manufacturer and have it out with them...alot of manufacturers will stand behind there gelcoats////in my boat dealership days i saw many boats go back to the manufacturer with gel issues....if it has been sanded and polished they will blame you and your process no matter what process you use even if its better than theres....as far as wax for gel you are using the right thing...fleetwax holds up the best for a wax....i like to seal the boat prior to fleetwax with Autoglyms SRP and Extra Gloss Protection...it gives an extra layer of protection and beads longer.....



also note that if a boat is left outside and used regularly in salt water then there aint a wax in creation thats gonna bead more than a couple of weeks....gelcoat is just too porous and the salt really eats up the wax....
 
I also thank everyone for this discussion. I learned a lot. I hope people that frequent this section keep making comments to improve this section.



Cheers,

GREG
 
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