Yellowish Gelcote.

[enterprise]

After cleaning & polishing this weekend I have noticed in some areas the gelcote has a slightly yellow colour.

Anyone know if there is a magic potion to turn it back white?

Boat is 10 yrs old & otherwise in great cosmetic condition.

Have been told some polishes can have this effect & oxalic acid maybe a cure, all advice greatly recieved. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Tisme]

Oxalic acid. Wonderful stuff. There's been lots of threads about it.

 

[LadyInBed]

If it is close to the water line then use HARPIC toilet cleaner. Apply it with a cloth, wait 5 mins then rub over with a damp cloth.

 

[vyv_cox]

Teakbrite, which contains oxalic acid, does this wonderfully well. There are now similar products in the chandlers that are targeted primarily at hull cleaning. Cost a little more than pure oxalic acid but less hassle to obtain and more convenient to use. So little is needed that I had the same tub of Teakbrite for 10 years.

 

[samwise]

Try Y10 or a cheaper option is Astonish cleaner in a tub from Lakeland. The latter is a bit abrasive so be careful. The lighter Farecla abrasives G6 etc are good but expensive.

 

[vyv_cox]

Received wisdom is that Y10 does not work too well at winter ambient temperatures. My only experience with it seemed to confirm this.

 

[tcm]

Yes.

Call wessex chemicals (google for them, then ringem up) and ask for their two-part GRP restorer. It performs the same task as mechanical "cutting back". Two parts are "saponifier" (soap maker) and "whitener". This worked a lot better than Y10, or mechanical "buffing". 5 quid a litre, i would get praps 5 litres of each. The whitener might be in part based on oxalic acid but is much better, imho.

I have no commercial connection with wessex, altho they did give me a replacement for a bottle of stuff i acidentally knocked over having bought several hundred quids worth of stuff from them over the past year. So they are good guys as well

 

[enterprise]

Thanks TCM,
Have just found their site & the products you recomended have "for professional use" after there description.

Would it be a feasable DIY job?
I presume the proffesional bit is all about correct handling & storage or is the product destructive if used incorrectly?
Thanks again.