I'm in the process of purchasing a new-to-me boat. I've been looking for quite some time and am fairly confident I'll be pulling the trigger on one in the next couple days. Good motor and fair price, but has some pretty bad oxidation in the gel coat. I've done a lot of reading about restoring it and feel fairly confident about it. Even if this one doesn't work out, given the price range I'm in, every boat I've been considering has some gel coat issues.
As you might imagine, the worst of the damage is above the rub rail, where the sun has beat on it. No questions on that front, at least at this point of not having started yet.
That being said, there's some oxidation below the rub rail as well. If I'm going to make the top look new, I feel that I also should get the area below looking new as well. So here's my question: What has everyone done to remove oxidation below the rub rail? Aside from the obvious problem of the trailer being in the way, it doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me to spend a ton of effort below the water line given that it likely won't last very long anyhow. However, if I work on any of it below the rub rail and don't find a way to get the thing it off the trailer and do the whole thing, there's going to be a very obvious line where I've stopped.
I'm thinking maybe I could just buff this part without wet sanding since the damage isn't as bad, but the places that aren't accessible due to the trailer are still an issue.
Any suggestions?
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