owatrol gelcoat restorer? any experience

[Cactus Sailing]

anyone had success with this stuff?

basically im looking to restore the blue line on the coach roof as they're a little faded and came across this bush on wipe off treatment which seems ok on paper.

 

[pvb]

I've used it. I'd recommend you don't. It leaves a nasty coating which is almost impossible to remove. Try polish/wax instead.

 

[VicS]

I've used it. I'd recommend you don't. It leaves a nasty coating which is almost impossible to remove. Try polish/wax instead.

Absolutely

 

[Cactus Sailing]

I've used it. I'd recommend you don't. It leaves a nasty coating which is almost impossible to remove. Try polish/wax instead.

any brand in particular you can recommend? i thought it would be too good to be true to simply brush something on!

 

[pvb]

any brand in particular you can recommend?

I use a couple of applications of Meguiars 45 Polish, followed by a couple of applications of Meguiars 56 Wax. It's very easy stuff to apply by hand, and buffs off very easily by hand too.

 

[johnalison]

Polish may work, but if you want something a bit more aggressive I find that Starbrite Colour Restorer Polish is very effective. I use it on gel and paint surfaces, following with wax.

 

[pcatterall]

Blue is specially prone to getting dull by oxiidisation. I would try TCut and then a wax. But just looking at pvbs suggestion I guess that the Meguiars 45 is, in fact an abrasive polish rather like TCut?

 

[pvb]

But just looking at pvbs suggestion I guess that the Meguiars 45 is, in fact an abrasive polish rather like TCut?

No, not abrasive at all. I used to use this method on the blue hull stripes on my old HR352 - the blue gelcoat had faded badly. I found that polishing and waxing made the stripes look decent for around 6 months. In the end, I bit the bullet and, with a view to resale value, had the stripes sprayed with Awlgrip. Cost a fortune, but certainly made the boat look smart and it sold very easily, for a good price, several years later.

For the OP's Bavaria, the solution many owners have ended up with is having self-adhesive blue vinyl stripes made.

 

[Dipper]

I've used Owatrol on my hull for several years. It needs to go on very thinly then virtually completely wiped off while still wet. Last year I didn't quite manage to do that and it left a smeary finish. I probably won't use it again but it restored the colour to my blue 'go faster' stripe which this year's wax has failed to do. As mentioned already, there will be better products out there.

This was my boat three years ago so you can see it's not a total disaster!

 

[tjbrace]

I've used it. I'd recommend you don't. It leaves a nasty coating which is almost impossible to remove. Try polish/wax instead.

+1 I used it on a previous boat and had the same result. Terrible stuff

 

[forelle541]

I tried it on the stern of my blue Sadler, carp as they say. Just like applying varnish. Stick to light compound and polish.