Forum - Maintenance - How to get shiny hull?
| Topic | Replies | Latest Post |
|---|---|---|
| How to get shiny hull? | 15 | Mon 10 May 2021 09:28:23 |
 Sasha Wed 24 Feb 2021 12:03:44 | I bought Manta 19 last year, and now it's time to prepare this little beauty to sail. I'm considering making complete overhaul restoration of the hull, but probably at the and of the year. First I want to see how I feel on the boat, and if everything works, I would invest to fix everything that has to be fixed. For now, I think the boat is in pretty good shape, but color is little bit faded, so before I make new investment, what is a good advice to polish the hull? Do you think that I will get little bit more color with polishing? All advices are more than welcome.  | |
Replies | ||
| Sasha Wed 24 Feb 2021 12:04:18 | More images. | |
 mhsorens Wed 24 Feb 2021 19:56:39 | First question would be: Is this a painted finish all over? The close-up seems to suggest that bright gelcoat hides underneath peeling paint. I had great results from polishing and waxing the gelcoat, but I imagine similar results with painted finish would depend on paint quality and thickness. | |
| Sasha Thu 25 Feb 2021 08:57:02 | Actually I don't know, but I think that this is original gelcoat. The darker part would be repairing that has been done before I guess.. What do you use for polishing? | |
 Mark Thu 25 Feb 2021 11:46:49 | From the logo on the bow, it looks like your Manta was built by Schochl yachts. The colours on the Blakes built yachts can be seen on the brochure page: https://manta19.miwd.co.uk/page/manta-19-brochure. Looks like yours was the Golden Yellow colour. You can polish the hull with marine products but car products work just as well and you might already have something that will do. I light rub over with some T cut will take away the oxidisation on the gel coat. If you use a power tool to polish then just be careful not to over do it and take too much gel coat off. | |
| Sasha Thu 25 Feb 2021 12:33:16 | Yes it was build in Austria, '78. So T-Cut like scratch removal? I would do gently polishing, just to make it little bit more shiny. I have one little scratch which is ok for now, but it will need to be repaired. I never did boat repair so I would skip that for now, or if you have some advice I would love to hear it. | |
| Sasha Thu 25 Feb 2021 12:34:30 | Darker color is I guess fixing scratches and paint over it? | |
| Sasha Thu 25 Feb 2021 12:34:42 | Anohter one from behind | |
| Mark Fri 26 Feb 2021 08:52:07 | There is some good advice and tips on restoring gelcoat on the Practical Boat Owner website here: https://www.pbo.co.uk/expert-advice/3-ways-to-revive-faded-gelcoat-62326 | |
| mhsorens Fri 26 Feb 2021 19:28:02 | Oh! It's Tweety  https://manta19.miwd.co.uk/blog/170/161 | |
| mhsorens Fri 26 Feb 2021 20:04:54 | So, according to Senco's 8 years old photos, Tweety definitely was more shiny and yellow then. I guess it hasn't been UV-waxed for ages which must be tough on gelcoat om a boat on water in the Adriatic Sea. Following Marks advice, you'll probably make it Tweet again! Just have look at the video link below. It's NOT meant as an advert (any similar product would probably work) - it is my actual local marine dealer demonstrating how to gently polish through the outer layer of burned-off gelcoat in a situation very similar to your's. I followed his advice in 2019 and UV-waxed afterwards - the boat still shines two years on and people in the marina are a bit taken aback, when I tell them that they are looking at 48 years old gelcoat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBf0ue3fNjI | |
| Sasha Mon 01 Mar 2021 09:40:01 | Yes it's tweety I don't understand a word on your video @mhsorens :D but I see some things. I will try to polish it just to get a bit more shiny yellow color, but if everything will be good in the first season, I will invest some money to get complete reparation of the boat's hull. | |
| Red Herring Thu 01 Apr 2021 17:18:31 | I can't get the haze off Red Herring's hull, do matter what I try. Vistal is currently out of stock on line, unless you want a huge tub, but I have tried something called the Pink Stuff, which is a mildly abraisive cleaner, and also T-cut. Both just make things worse, and I now have a cloudy looking-hull. Does anyone know a solution, or do I just have to accept that the gelcoat is too old (1978) to take a shine and the only answer will be a repaint? | |
| Sasha Sat 01 May 2021 19:40:08 | Little bit of progress made today. | |
| Sasha Mon 10 May 2021 09:26:54 | Off we are sailing  | |
| Sasha Mon 10 May 2021 09:28:23 | Tweety is in the sea, I had first attempt, and it went pretty good. Picture is just few minutes before I hoist the sails. 5.5knots without any problems | |
