gel coat thickness

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destroyer1362

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What up everybody? I'm new to this forum so bare with me if this topic been brought up before. I'm restoring this 1996 26 ft Cobia. The Hull has some light oxidation on it so I wanted to use “some heavy-cut-oxidation cleaner” A friend of mine says not to do it because the gel coat may be too thin, because about 10yrs ago it had already had the oxidation removed using that method. So my question is, how many times can a heavy cut oxidation remover be used before I need to start worrying about the thickness of the gel coat?

 
Gel Coat generally is around .020" thick, maybe a little more on boats. From what I understand is different manufacturers use different thicknesses, depending on the quality of the vessel.

If the boat is showing light oxidation, then you don't need to use a heavy cut cleaner on it, Something like Marine 31 all in one should do the trick.

Compounding oxidation should only have to be done once if it's maintained thereafter. Meaning: Wash, Compound, wash again, polish and seal. In the future you're looking at a simple wash every so often and waxing about every 4-6 months to maintain the finish.
 
Ok cool, I was leaning towards that Marine 31 all in one stuff.

And what kind of buffing pad would be best for that?
 
Gel Coat is very durable. Try a cleaner wax first. See how that works.
Once you get your desired shine, the best thing for Gel Coat maintenance is Pledge!! Most waxes will come off in no time.
Here's my project to show you how durable Gel Coat is.

I started with a boat that was painted, stripped it down to to the Gel Coat, wet sanded, and polished.

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Wow, that was a nice before and after!! When you say Pledge are you referring to the paste floor wax? Or?? I only ask because a local detailer here uses the Zep high traffic floor wax on anything thats oxidized. I've removed and corrected a recent boat he did. He mentioned he also uses Pledge paste wax for oxidized RV'S boats etc. I'm sure Cobia has been corrected but if you look for gel coat chips it will give you a good idea on thickness of gel coat.
 
Isn't there some way to spray a clear coat on some rVs to restore them or would that take 1000 gallons of clear coat

sent from Yakima valley washington
 
You can spray clearcoat, but you also have a chance of it peeling. I know a lot of people that spray their boats.

As far as using Pledge, we just use the spray can. I used it all the time on my last boat. It really adds oil back to it. I also use pledge on the dash and plastics on my truck instead of Armorall. Brings back the color of plastic on the fender flares and bumper.


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I would imagine there are safer and better products then Pledge? I was under the impression that it actually over time damaged fiberglass? ? Is that you on your boat? Looks like whomever is getting ready for take off!!
 
Gel coat is approximately 7 mil thick. You should be fine compounding that and probably need to sand first.
 
Im sorry, its approximately 18 mil thick some more some less. About 7 sheets of paper stacked together
 
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