Best product to remove oxidation before polishing

[collinsp]

Hi guys,

Need to start work on the outside of a boat that I recently purchased and looks like has not been polished for MANY years. Want to start by getting at the oxidation then aiming to use the 3M cut and polish products. What would be the best way to attack the oxidation?

Thanks

 

[Concerto]

For the best advice, what sort of boat, the age and colour of the hull?

You will also find this document helpful. Gelcoat Polishing

My own document on gel coat renovation will add some specific advice. https://wiki.westerly-owners.co.uk/images/8/86/Gel_coat_renovation_19May2020.pdf

Before you start, do check how much gel coat has been applied. Boats from the last couple of decades have the gel coat sprayed on and can be a little as 0.5 to 0.75mm. Older boats are more likely to have the gel coat brushed on and will have 1.0 to 1.5mm, but Westerly always applied a double coat and have 2 to 3mm.

Do not work from a ladder, but use a scaffold tower as it makes life so much easier being able to stand. This allows better movement and having the water spray and cleaning products to hand.

 

[Humblebee]

For the best advice, what sort of boat, the age and colour of the hull?

You will also find this document helpful. Gelcoat Polishing

My own document on gel coat renovation will add some specific advice. https://wiki.westerly-owners.co.uk/images/8/86/Gel_coat_renovation_19May2020.pdf

Before you start, do check how much gel coat has been applied. Boats from the last couple of decades have the gel coat sprayed on and can be a little as 0.5 to 0.75mm. Older boats are more likely to have the gel coat brushed on and will have 1.0 to 1.5mm, but Westerly always applied a double coat and have 2 to 3mm.

Do not work from a ladder, but use a scaffold tower as it makes life so much easier being able to stand. This allows better movement and having the water spray and cleaning products to hand.

Thanks for the tips and the links, Concerto. Given me some ideas about tidying up my Longbow.

 

[Graham376]

Try supermarket own brand cream cleaner, cheap and works for us.

 

[Concerto]

Thanks for the tips and the links, Concerto. Given me some ideas about tidying up my Longbow.

If you are a WOA member (if not, why not?) you can watch the Zoom talk I gave that the PowerPoint presentation was used in.

You may also like this PowerPoint on what I have done to Conerto since I bought her, most forumites have already seen this many times before.
https://wiki.westerly-owners.co.uk/images/3/3f/Concerto.pdf

This short video shows her as the WOA boat at the Southampton Boat Show last September, when even more work had been completed internally.

 

[V1701]

If you are a WOA member (if not, why not?) you can watch the Zoom talk I gave that the PowerPoint presentation was used in.

You may also like this PowerPoint on what I have done to Conerto since I bought her, most forumites have already seen this many times before.
https://wiki.westerly-owners.co.uk/images/3/3f/Concerto.pdf

This short video shows her as the WOA boat at the Southampton Boat Show last September, when even more work had been completed internally.

Before long the Westerly Fulmar will be approaching the mythical status of the Anderson 22, you want to be careful you don't end up going the same way as Andy...

 

[johnalison]

Before long the Westerly Fulmar will be approaching the mythical status of the Anderson 22, you want to be careful you don't end up going the same way as Andy...

It’s their capabilities rather than speed that they are remarkable for. The ability to carry a crew of eight and let them enjoy a Michelin-standard meal in comfort while going to windward in a F9 is quite exceptional, almost unbelievable really.

 

[Concerto]

Before long the Westerly Fulmar will be approaching the mythical status of the Anderson 22, you want to be careful you don't end up going the same way as Andy...

The comments from visitors at the Southampton Show were so very positive from many who thought a 41 year old boat could not be able to match all those new ones. As a boat, how many other classes can say they have been raced by a wide range sailors, right up to International Match Racing, the sailing schools have used them to introduce so many to cruiser sailing, then as they are so vice free to sail, are still highly sought after to cruise today and sell at a premium. At the show 5 people commented they would now place the Fulmar at the top of their buying list and I know 2 have since bought one. Hopefully a few other visitors are now motivated to improve their boats, irrespective of brand. Having been sailing for ove half a century, I can remember the Fulmar being introduced and the first one to arrive on the Medway.

This quote sums up why the Fulmar is such a classic boat.
"However, the design was so close to perfection that there have been no significant changes since the first one was launched; quite an achievement. The joy of a Fulmar lies in the sailing performance and handling, it is extremely rare to find a yacht which is both fast and supremely easy to handle under sail and power. One does not really have to sail a Fulmar, one just lays a hand on the tiller and lets the boat take care of everything else, which she does without appreciable effort."
The Griffon and Fulmar - Westerly-Wiki published in 1993

There are so many similar comments made in yachting magazine reports on buying secondhand boats. If you would like I can quote many of them, if you really want to be bored, but I am not that cruel. So, I am not alone in believing the Fulmar is an excellent boat and I am certainly very proud of my Fulmar and enjoy showing her off at any opportunity.

 

[collinsp]

For the best advice, what sort of boat, the age and colour of the hull?

You will also find this document helpful. Gelcoat Polishing

My own document on gel coat renovation will add some specific advice. https://wiki.westerly-owners.co.uk/images/8/86/Gel_coat_renovation_19May2020.pdf

Before you start, do check how much gel coat has been applied. Boats from the last couple of decades have the gel coat sprayed on and can be a little as 0.5 to 0.75mm. Older boats are more likely to have the gel coat brushed on and will have 1.0 to 1.5mm, but Westerly always applied a double coat and have 2 to 3mm.

Do not work from a ladder, but use a scaffold tower as it makes life so much easier being able to stand. This allows better movement and having the water spray and cleaning products to hand.

Thanks the boat looks awesome. The resent action is great and use what I was hoping/looking for. I have a Bavaria 42 lagoon and have emailed Bavaria to ask about the layers of Gelcoat. Let’s see what they say. Thanks for all the advice, will follow it to the letter