<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Edziu23 »</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Thanks Basscat. So in your opinion would you seal the gellcoat with a product like Protech sealer or would you prefer to wax it with the fleetwax?
Many thanks again, without this board I wouldnt have made it this far.
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Either is a good choice, both will seal the gel:
The key to keeping a glass boat shining is to keep the Gel Coat sealed.
Gel Coat is the outer layer of your boat, made of polyester resin, about 1/16th of an inch thick. Pigments and polyflake are added to get your color ordered.
Boats are made inside out in a highly polished fiberglass mold.
Clear Gelcoat is sprayed in first, then any striping/arrows, etc. are taped off and sprayed in, then the colored Gel is sprayed in. Very time consuming and a lot of hand labor involved.
Gel coat is very hard, but also porous, if seen under a high powered lens you can see why dirt, scum will adhere easily to unprotected Gel Coat. This is very noticeable on white hulled boats that are not protected, the hull starts to turn a yellowish color from the Gel Coat breakdown. Not as noticeable on colored polyflake boats, but it is happening when the Gel Coat is not well protected.
You see a lot of questions on boating boards asking how to " fix " dull top caps, etc.
The key is preventing Oxidation from occurring. Oxidation is what causes the dulling, and eventual breakdown of the gelcoat.
3 things are needed for Oxidation to occur :
Oxygen, Heat and UV radiation.
Eliminate one of the three and you will slow down the process.
A good wax or sealant will help to eliminate this. This wax layer diffuses (refracts) both UV and infrared radiation from the sun.
Without the wax/sealant coating, the radiation is absorbed by the pigment in the gel coat causing it to over heat, once the gel gets too hot a chemical reaction process starts that will dry out, dull and oxidize the surface.
Once oxidation gets too bad, the actual clear Gel coat will start to turn cloudy. This is a combination of a chemical breakdown in the gel that causes a powdery white dust to form ( plastic rust ) and any other surface contaminants ( dirt/pollution,etc).
This powdery substance will settle in the pores in the gelcoat, this is why you see the whitish, dull looking areas on boats that are not kept waxed.
The 2 most used ways to prevent oxidation are :
Protect the Gel Coat with a paste wax.
Any good paste wax with a high Carnauba content will protect.
Most retail waxes only contain between 3 % and 5 % pure Carnauba, the more Carnauba, the higher the price.
Pros = Inexpensive, easy to find decent paste wax, easy to use. Will seal the Gel Coat initially.
Cons = Most paste waxes will start to break down and melt in High air temps/humidity, high 90 degree temps.
High air temps and friction from the water will remove a lot of the wax layer eventually.
If boat is used in these conditions, paste wax should be applied every couple of months, or sooner.
Hard to find high Carnauba content wax, can be expensive.
Another option is a Polymer Sealer for the gel coat.
One of the best made is a product called Pro - Tec.
A Polymer sealer forms a chemical bond with the Gel Coat to seal the pores preventing contaminants from settling in the pores.
Pros = Bonds to Gel Coat , sealing pores. Usually will last up to 6 months. Not affected by high heat/sun/brackish water.
Holds a high gloss shine.
Cons = hard to find. Boat must be stripped of any wax first before applying, use a solution like Simple Green/water to wash/strip the wax.
Two coats needed, must wait 12 hours between the 2 coats.
Once the Gel is sun damaged , then it will need to be protected regularly. One of the easiest ways is to keep a good wax or Sealer on, and then , after each time out, give the boat a quick wipe down with one of the quick spray type waxes that contain a UV inhibitor. This will not only remove the scum line and dirt from the gel, but also enhance the wax/sealer with a thin coat of UV protection.
Bass Boat saver is an excellent product for this, contains UV inhibitors and wax.
A 5 minute wipe down at the ramp with it or any similar product will help keep your Wax/Sealant working like it should.
Another feature from using this type of wipe down product is that after the first few times, you'll notice that the scum lines and water spots will become less noticeable and much easier to wipe off.
Basscat7
http://www.protecproducts.com/products.html
http://www.bassboatsaver.com/
Collinite makes one of the best Carnauba marine waxes, The Heavy Duty paste Fleetwax. Here is a link for them :
http://www.waxbytes.com/marine.html
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