I recently bought a new to me Triton. The original owner kept the boat on a fully enclosed lift but the trailer sat outside uncovered. The good news is that the owner trailered the boat 1-2 times a year to visit "destination" lakes around the country so he always maintained the bearings, tires, brakes. There isn't even that much rust on the frame (the small amount of surface rust I'm going to take care of). However, the fiberglass fenders are oxidized pretty bad from sitting outside. Today, I began the process of correcting the oxidation and cleaning up the fenders. I used 3M Cleaner Wax to start with because I wanted try what I considered to be the least invasive, possible solution. I used a medium cutting foam pad on a rotary buffer. I liked the results on one of the wheel wells but then I started to notice tiny dark green/black specks in the gel coat. Does anyone know what these specks are? I have included a couple of pictures. The first is the part of the fender I have not buffed. The next is the buffed section and then finally a close up of the specks. I am hoping you can see what I'm talking about in the 3rd picture.
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I have a couple of questions/thoughts:
1. Did I create the specks when I buffed the fender? I did wash the fender with soap and a splash of ammonia to remove any grime or old product. The foam pad I used is green. Is this possible?
2. When I look closely at the oxidized part of the fender I notice tiny specks as well. They are hard to see because of oxidation but definitely there. Is this road grime that has made it's way into the gel coat?
3. What is my best course of action to remove these imperfections?
Sorry for the long-ish post. I greatly appreciate your help.
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