We had not paid much attention to the fiberglass gelcoat on the cabin top since we purchased Mola Mola and it was in bad shape then. Fiberglass boats are coated often coated with an epoxy or polyester resin that provides a glossy finish to the fiberglass that protects it from UV and light physical damage. It is not impervious to wear and after a few seasons begins to oxidize, turning dull and chalky. Our boat was at the very dull and very chalky stage and I thought it would be a good idea to clean it. I purchased
3M Restorer & Wax that cleans up heavy oxidation and has a built in wax component. It worked like a charm and the cabin top is much much nicer looking, almost shiny in parts. Before too long though, we'll have to sand off all the gelcoat and repaint it as there are several deep gouges and chips in it. We could re-gelcoat it which is expensive and tricky to do I'm told, but Petit and Interlux make very good polyurathane topcoats that will more than fit the bill.
The first picture is a sample of what the cabin top looked like. The oxidized gelcoat traps dirt and oils and regular soaps and detergents don't even touch them which is why I went to a specialty product. The second is chalky gelcoat which washed off and was suprisingly hard to get off my hands. The last two are pictures of the cabin top after cleaning.
We are in the process of closing on a 1969 model (yawl), we and the surveyor are particularly concerned that there is some flexing in the cabin top, and that (with exceptions around mast) they are by no means crisp sounding when struck with a hammer.
ReplyDeleteThe owner claims that the construction process for the cabin top was 1) head liner 2) strengthening core for hardware, mast, etc 3) cabin top deck. That there were intentional voids in low load areas. Does this sound right to you? Or is the owner just trying to have us write off core rot?
J.