Hull discoloration

[Minisoda]

Took delivery of our 2011 242 over the weekend! After screwing around on uship for a few days, I finally just left the Twin Cities at 2 pm on Saturday bound for Lake Geneva and a 10 hour round trip.

The trip went flawlessly and for anyone following my previous thread, the trailer brakes worked great. I cannot IMAGINE stopping that rig without trailer brakes!

I was up early Sunday morning to quickly wash off any road grime and salt that the trailer may have picked up. Even a small amount of salt will do damage quickly.

The interior is literally in new condition. I cleaned it up nicely and finished with some 303.

The hull needs a good buff and wax. As I was cleaning, I noticed an odd discoloration band on the port side. It’s lighter blue and almost looks bleached out from the sun. Neither mechanics that did he boat survey noticed it.... it’s fairly subtle but definitely there. Any ideas what this is?

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[tgrace98]

A good buff job will take care of that. It’s just a little oxidation from being exposed to the sun.

[Big Block Power]

I would say someone did a gel repair and didn't match it very well.

[Ytmsn]

That what I would say. See that spot in the middle? That looks what could have been like a hole and the fingers going out each way maybe cracks they tried to repair and didn't match the gel.

Or, that spot in the middle was a deep scratch and they tried to sand it out, and now the white is now showing through? Hmm.. maybe. I'd have to see it. Stand off to the side and look at it in the light. Where the spot is, is it deeper than the surrounding color?

The gelcoat on a Cobalt is thicker than any competitor. I dont remember how many coats the factory told us they spray in when doing color, but it's like 3 or 4 times what anyone else does. It's one of the reasons Cobalt gelcoat is legendary. But that being said, it's not very far down to the underlying glass.

I'd just buff the whole boat 4 times. Start with a heavy compound, then medium, then fine. Follow up with a swirl remover. Then wax the snot out of it.

[Minisoda]

Thanks for the quick feedback... I think the pictures actually look a little worse than it does in person. And some of the lighter areas are actually snow reflections. The band of lighter color definitely doesn't look physically deeper than the other areas. The boat has been outside in a lift and I'm wondering if they sun just faded the @#%( out of that area somehow.

Anyway, sounds like a good three step buff is my next step. I've been torn on whether to do it myself or have pros do it, but I think I'm going to give it a shot. I've done a good amount of research and have the right products.

[JTinMO]

give it a go yourself if you have the equipment and products. If it does not yield results you are after (or can live with), you can always hire someone.

[akorcovelos]

I doubt Gordy's would sell a boat that had gel repair without disclosing that. Honesty just looks like it needs a good 3 step buff/polish job.

[AsLan7]

Thanks for the quick feedback... I think the pictures actually look a little worse than it does in person. And some of the lighter areas are actually snow reflections. The band of lighter color definitely doesn't look physically deeper than the other areas. The boat has been outside in a lift and I'm wondering if they sun just faded the @#%( out of that area somehow.

Anyway, sounds like a good three step buff is my next step. I've been torn on whether to do it myself or have pros do it, but I think I'm going to give it a shot. I've done a good amount of research and have the right products.

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You'll be able to do that yourself MS with a little time and patience. Get a good buffer, some 3M products, and have at it.

Looking forward to your before and after pics.

BTW, check out this read from MnLakeBum who use to work in the business....



"AsLan7 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 11, 2019 12:52 pm
MnLakeBum wrote: ↑Mon Feb 11, 2019 12:17 pm
Dnobes wrote: ↑Sun Feb 10, 2019 9:34 am

Man! Just bought my dream boat 2011, 232 5.7L volvo. Immaculate condition! It’s white with black boot stripe . Any advice on how to keep the gel coat gleemingvwould be appreciated !!


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Congrats on your new boat!

Check out this link, it will go through the differences between wax, polish, and a cleaner wax. If your boat doesn't have any flaws/scratches use a good wax(I'm partial to 3M/Meguiars but I worked their 20+ years) at least once a year. I like to wax mine once in the spring and again in July.

Boat Cleaner wax



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That’s a great boat-detailing read, MNLB.

Clicking within the link on the “advanced restoration” section (for those who want to take their boat shine to the next level) was particularly informative— Fiberglass Boat restoration tricks

It’s a little disheartening to know my new Flex dual action orbital polisher works well on auto detailing but may not have the grunt to buff out the hardness of gel coat to professional standards compared to a pure rotary model. Still won’t stop me from trying though.



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Yes, a rotary at 1500-1800 rpms with a 8 or 9 inch pad is a lot faster than any rotary. A good Makita rotary can be had for under $200 so don’t be afraid to get one!"


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Here is the link from that post above Minisoda.

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[Minisoda]

Anyone have thoughts on the Meguilars 67 one step rubbing compound and polish? Also, I had purchased a nice variable speed random orbital buffer, but it's only 6".... wondering if I should move up to an 8-9" model?

[MnLakeBum]

Anyone have thoughts on the Meguilars 67 one step rubbing compound and polish? Also, I had purchased a nice variable speed random orbital buffer, but it's only 6".... wondering if I should move up to an 8-9" model?

I recently retired from 20+ years working for 3M's Automotive Aftermarket Division which also includes Marine and Meguiar's. Most of my career was in sales calling on distribution and end users meaning I've worn out several buffers doing 20-minute training demos of our products. Meguiar's is designed for the DIY market and as such their products are slower than 3M because they have less mineral(abrasive) in them. They are less expensive and work as well or better than other brands but it will take you longer than the more expensive 3M compounds and polishes. Meguiar's waxes are A++ and some are the exact same as the 3M version. Variable speed random orbitals are also slower than rotary buffers but they are safer for a beginner but keep in mind gel-coat is much thicker and more forgiving than Automotive clear coat(35+ mils vs 2 mils thick). If I were you I'd try it with what you have and if it's slow, step up to a 9" rotary(Makita is great for the $) and use the random for the final polish step. It's easier to leave a swirl free finish with the random. There is no such thing as a one-step product except in the marketing department, for the best results on gel-coat you will need a compound and polish(or two). If it was white you can get away with a one-step but it wouldn't look great to a trained eye. There are plenty of videos on youtube showing you how to buff/polish a boat or car.

[Ytmsn]

I was about to post this and Bum beat me to it!

One step won't cut it. That's just marketing. Sure, it'll shine. Then get it in the light. See all those swirls? Then every time you wipe it with Hot Sauce or Adams H20 or any kind of wax it will smear. And hard to rub out.

Do it right. Use a medium to heavy compound for one run, then fine for another, then swirl killer, then wax. Think of it as "quality bonding time"!

[Minisoda]

You guys are awesome, thank you!!! Makes perfect sense and I’ll start looking for the right 3M compounds and polish.

[Minisoda]

So, these three followed by a high quality wax?

Between the product cost and time, a professional job is starting to look better and better.

1Pk - 3M - Perfect It Buffing & Polishing Compound 06085 06064 06068 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0082LK8K6/re ... TCbWN7ZHNZ

[MnLakeBum]

You guys are awesome, thank you!!! Makes perfect sense and I’ll start looking for the right 3M compounds and polish.

This might be way more than you want but here's a link to the 3M Marine site with videos.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/marine-us/resources/how-to/

[MnLakeBum]

So, these three followed by a high quality wax?

Between the product cost and time, a professional job is starting to look better and better.

1Pk - 3M - Perfect It Buffing & Polishing Compound 06085 06064 06068 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0082LK8K6/re ... TCbWN7ZHNZ

I feel your pain. The products are damn expensive and the pros get a 35% discount on them and use them every day so they are good at what they do. Those products will work for sure but are optimized for automotive clearcoat and you could likely skip the 6068 which is a superfine polish not normally needed for gel-coat. This would be a faster option. You can get smaller bottles of 3M Marine compounds and polishes at almost any automotive store like Napa or O'reilly's.

https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/973 ... i-step.pdf