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Catalina 25 Specific Forum

oxidation

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lauvermd
Deckhand

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13 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/23/2005 : 10:01:12

My "new" 1979 has a significant amount of oxidation and dulling on the cabin trunk and topside. I am redoing the teak which is badly weathered and would like to restore at least some shine to the fiberglass. I would like to clean it up wit a fiberglass cleaner/polish. Are there any that dont require a lot of buffing? Any advice on which ones work best? Also are these safe to rinse off while in the water. Thanks.

Lauver
Maine
79 SR/FK

Edited by - on

JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 05/23/2005 : 11:07:50

a quick wash with a hull cleaner containing oxalic acid will clean up the hull and the teak as well. This stuff removes oxidation and rust stains. Buy it at Home Depot. Brush it on, hose it off. Then use a fiberglass hull wash and polish from the boat store. 3m's restorer and polish product works well.

Edited by - JimB517 on 05/23/2005 11:37:21

At Ease
Admiral

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672 Posts

Response Posted - 05/23/2005 : 13:12:07

Here is what Practical Sailor had to say about waxes from the November 15, 2004 issue:

A total of 28 waxes were tested. These results are as noted in the narrative:

Best: Collinite #885

2nd: Meguiar's Mirror Glaze

3rd: 3M Ultra Performance

Others rated as 'good':

Turtle Wax 2000

Boat Life Wax

Star Bright Presoftened

Star Bright Polish with Teflon

West Marine Carnauba

NOTE: All the above are paste waxes.

Two non paste waxes did well:

Poly Glow Liquid and WM Teflon Boat Polish...PS noted that some liquid plastics discolor and deteriorate and are hard to remove. Several testers liked these polishes because they went on very easily and had a good initial shine. However,
PS prefers a good hard wax which can be removed easily in order to apply a new coat.

Edited by - on

NuNees
Navigator

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USA
125 Posts

Response Posted - 05/30/2005 : 08:14:40

IMHO, unless you are a masochist, on any gelcoat older than 10 years I suggest you need POLIGLOW.
I restored my '85 three years ago (Spring of 2002). Left it in the water winter of 2002/20004. I'd show you a picture but have not mastered that technique, sorry. It was still SHINING when I hauled it out in November 2004 ...... Still reflecting the image of neighboring boats .... and it is NOT yellow!
This spring I made two mistakes ... (1) bought a '93 hunter 30 (No Catalina 30's with a walk through available) and (2) did not use POLIGLOW ... I have spent three (3) days buffing what I thought was a small amount of qxidation ... (there was about 60% of the area still glossy). Used a comercial grade buffer and a leather backe wool pad. (synthetic backed pads should be uesed to the bottom of the ladders leggs) ... I still have the polishing and the waxing to go ...duh!
When I did the POLIGLOW I used the cleaner and scrubber that came with the kit, as directed ... once around. Then. the chamois applicator with the POLIGLOW 5 times around. True, the Catalina swing keel on a trailer is closer to the ground and not as far around as the '93 Hunter 30 ... and it only took 1/2 day counting drying time.
When this 'Wax Job' is fininshed on the Hunter and the thru-hulls installed I'll splash it ... then next spring I'll do it right.
Big mistake was to avoid POLIGLOW this time. Newer boats can be waxed, and should be. But with these older boats, POLIGLOW will get you into the water days earlier, with some arm strength left.
One other item ... if you have read this far, Thank You for letting me sound off. It's my attempt to get the self-criticism out of the way so I can go back next weekend, lick my wounds, and finish the job.
I will add that the enthusiasm, participation, knowledge of the sailors on this forum (excpet for me) is... OUTSTANDING!
On the Hunter 30 site ... Is anyone there? Hello?
I'm going to miss you guys!

Edited by - on

oldsalt
Admiral

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USA
578 Posts

Response Posted - 05/30/2005 : 09:32:41

The trick to dealing with oxidation is preventing it, as much as possible, in the first place. There are those who compund their boats every year and all they're doing is removing gel coat which isn't all that thick to begin with.

Nothing looks worse than a hull with swirl marks left over from a poorly done compounding job.

I've been using Mequiar's Mirror Glaze both before and after layup, (yes it's a lot of work) since year one and the grey hull on my '83 isn't oxidized at all, even though colored gel coat is notorious for developing oxidation.

If you're dealing with an oxidized hull I recommend the 3M one step cleaner wax which is only mildly abrasive and has given very good results to several of my friends who don't care to deal with paste waxes or wash and wax in the fall as well as in the spring.

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.