Polishing Gelcoat - Blue Specks in Ivory Gelcoat

[KevinT1]

Update from today - I tried
a) Acetone
b) Vinegar
c) Ammonia ( Mr Muscle )
d) Paint brush restorer
e) Methylated Spirits

all failed miserably,

I tried a little to hard on the cockpit surround with the 9" polisher and 3M Perfect-it III Fast Cut Compound and I think that I started to go through the Gelcoat - so stopped.

Have now cut back all of the gelcoat - it didn't really make any improvement on the Blue Specks, but at least it is shiny and ready for waxing tomorrow.

Talked to a few more knowledgeable people in the marina - one thought is that the previous owner used Oxalic acid on the decks and that may have eaten in to the Gelcoat.
One contributor from the HR Yahoo forum said "Seems to be a problem with HR's blue. I've had two HR's now and they both have had the same problem. I've found that if you wash off all of the old wax with white vinegar before you start to polish then it does reduce the problem a bit you you have to do this quite frequently.

Here's a higher definition photo of the blue specks



Thanks for the suggestions and advice - I'm going to talk with Hallberg Rassy on Monday and see if they have any ideas

Kevin

 

[Marine Reflections]

Thanks for the update Kevin.

You can rule out the oxalic being an issue, my gut tells me it's a flaw in the gelcoat at production IMO.

I still can't tell for sure from your picture, but from your description it would seem they are indeed pin holes within the gelcoat. The confusion is in the colour blue of the holes and as to why, this is a normal indication that the gel is thin and starting to reveal the underlying fibreglass. As the gel thins near to the fibreglass; the fibreglass isn't smooth under the gelcoat it would be normal to get a spotting pattern, but, as yours seem to be pin holes, these are normally the same colour as they are not usually the full depth of the gel.

It may well be a combination of events rather than just one specific thing.

Again the confusion is also as you say is to why the problem isn't over the entire gel coat and only in areas with most exposure. Flaws in the gel don't always reveal themselves at factory and of course exposure speeds up the time it takes for the flaw to reveal itself, or to put it another way; exposure ages and flaws reveal earlier than protected or less exposed. This may not have been in the last several years but could even have been within the first few month from leaving the factory.

Did you attempt to sand past them as an experiment?

Interesting that you feel you were going through the gelcoat around the cockpit surround. What gave you this impression?

Would be interesting to have an update when you hear back from HR.

Tony

Edit: Just to add that if I were to apply gelcoat without letting the gelcoat sit for a while, trapped air that should have purged during the sit would give a similar effect. It would create tiny pin holes that wouldn't have reached the very outermost surface of the gelcoat until time / exposure revealed them. As it seems to have happened on other HR's my moneys on simple application error. The first HR would have heard about it may well have been several years down the line.

 

[pandos]

Here's a higher definition photo of the blue specks

View attachment 51707

n

Looks a little like mine on a hr352, I thought it was that the gel was worn through so I stopped.

 

[Pietro De Albertis]

Hi Kevin,
my name is Pietro De Albertis from Italy. My Hallberg Rassy 31 has exactly the same problem on gelcoat you noticed on your boat. One interesting detail... my boat has an ivory deck and has been built in 1998, exactly like yours! At the end, what was the conclusion of your analysis? Did you solve the problem? Any comment from the builder?
Thanks!
Pietro

 

[Scotsailor]

Just go sailing and forget it. Nobody's going to notice those specks other than you.

 

[KevinT1]

Hi Kevin,
my name is Pietro De Albertis from Italy. My Hallberg Rassy 31 has exactly the same problem on gelcoat you noticed on your boat. One interesting detail... my boat has an ivory deck and has been built in 1998, exactly like yours! At the end, what was the conclusion of your analysis? Did you solve the problem? Any comment from the builder?
Thanks!
Pietro

Hi Pietro,

apologies for not replying earlier - have been away cruising the Channel Islands and Northern Brittany

I tried cutting the gelcoat back further in 1 trial spot, and my conclusion was that made it worse - what was originally a very small spot became larger. Taking on board comments from here and other HR forums I came to the conclusion that there is a fault in the gelcoat and that more / aggressive polishing wasn't going to make it better - so I stopped.

I didn't contact HR as I couldn't see a useful outcome - sorry not to be much help

Kevin