Repairing and polishing your boat
Products to repair and polish your boat
A polyester boat is immensely durable and can be beautifully maintained with a good boat polish. By maintaining the substrate and polishing it every so often, the original gloss is retained. A boat's gel coat can be damaged by UV rays and wear from sand and saltwater. At V-Sure, we are happy to advise you on a suitable boat polish, so you don't have to repaint the entire boat.
Below, we provide more insight into how to apply the right repair techniques, which products work best and how to maintain a long-lasting shine. At V-Sure, you will find all the information you need to make boats shine like never before!
Discover how to restore and polish a boat for an impeccable shine. Whether you are a passionate sailor, a professional boat builder or simply enjoy relaxing trips on the water, we offer you valuable insights and practical tips to keep your boat in top condition.
Check out the specific product range for boat repair and maintenance here.
Read more about proper care for boats.
How to optimally clean and protect your boat?
C1 Bottom Cleaner
C2 Cleaner Concentrate
SL One Step Heavy Cut & Gloss
S1 One Step Cut & High Gloss
S2 Extra Shine Polish S5 Shine & Protect Quick Wax
Polar fleeces
Call to actionAt V-Sure you can find all products to restore your boat to its original gloss. Below you will find a step-by-step plan you can follow, including our recommended products. These products are fully tuned to get the desired result as quickly as possible. They can also be used mechanically, which considerably reduces the time.
STEP 1: Cleaning your boat
Before polishing your boat, it needs to be well cleaned. In any case, start with cleaning the hull. Our professionals recommend the Cleaner C1 Bottom for this. This powerful cleaner removes oil and dirt quickly and efficiently. To get the deck and the like clean, use the Cleaner C2 Concentrate.
STEP 2: Polishing your boat
Next, use the Polish one step heavy cut to remove the coarsest and dullest areas on the boat. If there are no visible scratches or damage to the gelcoat, you are in luck! If only the substrate of the boat has become dull, use Polish one step S1 immediately. Make sure you use the right polish. Do you want more high gloss? Then use the Polish extra shine.
STEP 3: Protecting your boat
To make the whole more UV-resistant and easier to maintain, finish the polyester of the boat with the Polish quick wax. This will block harmful UV rays and make your gel coat less prone to chipping and dulling.
Call to actionHow do I carry out small repairs on polyester gelcoat?
Gelcoat Repair kit
Polyester dye
Call to actionFor this we can recommend a Gelcoat Repair Set. This is a 2-component sealant with an A-component (resin) and a B-component (hardener). Useful for every boat owner in case of unexpected repairs to the gelcoat.
Gelcoat is a repair material for damaged polyester gelcoat and exists in the colour RAL 9010 and colourless. The colourless (transparent) version can be coloured with polyester pigments (10-25%).
Call to actionFor this we recommend a brushable gelcoat based on polyester type G35-1. This is a two-component gel coat based on isophthalic acid neopentylglycole (ISO/NPG) containing polyester resin, which has very good water and weather resistance with increased impact and scratch resistance.
This gelcoat is mainly used for finishing a laminate where the moulded parts need to obtain an increased water and chemical resistance.
Working with V-Sure's gelcoat:
- The gelcoat is pre-cut and the viscosity is set as standard for brush application.
- The gelcoat should be stirred before use, avoid air bubbles under mixing the resin.
- The temperature of the gelcoat, the working area and the moulds should be 18-25°C. The humidity should not exceed 85%.
- A 1.5 - 2.5% MEKP hardener should be added.
- Remains slightly sticky for optimum adhesion to the laminate.
- The thickness of the gel coat should be approx. 300 - 600 micron, depending on the application.
- Use a gelcoat brush to determine the layer thickness.
- Can be coloured with 10-15% UP pigments.
- Store the gelcoat at maximum 25°C in a dark place during 6 months.
- Storing the products under different conditions can significantly change the shelf life.
- Always make small quantities in proportion to the potlife.
The polyester of your boat is painted with a two-component varnish, a so-called 2K lacquer. This varnish can become matt and dull due to UV rays or the water load caused by sea salt. A two-pack varnish on your boat is easy to polish. Use an extremely soft polish, such as Polish S1 from Sealine. This product is specially made to polish the polyester of a boat or lacquered substrates. The polishing paste S1 makes the substrate that was matt or dull quickly glossy again. Moreover, there is no risk of damaging your lacquer or gelcoat.
Call to actionHow do you polish a 2K paint on your boat?
C1 Bottom Cleaner
SL Cleaner Degreaser
Polishing pastes
Call to actionCleaning
Before polishing, the boat must be thoroughly cleaned. Otherwise, the remaining dust and dirt will move around and cause even more damage. With plenty of clean water and the Sealine C1 cleaner bottom you create a clean substrate. After this treatment, you will have a clean and dry substrate. Then degrease with the Sealine cleaner degreaser.
Polishing manually or by machine
All sanding and polishing pastes can be used manually or by machine. Obviously, polishing the boat with a machine is much faster and more efficient than by hand. When polishing by machine, our professionals recommend that you keep an eye on the speed! Make sure that it is not too high, otherwise you will burn the polish. Also read the instructions carefully about the use of a polishing fleece or polishing paste. The hardness or softness of the polishing fleece partly determines the shine of your substrate.
Call to actionHow do I restore a degraded gelcoat substrate to a high gloss?
Sandpaper grit 400
High Gloss Finish
Boat Wax
Call to actionA polyester gelcoat is generally very durable and colourfast. However, over the years, the substrate may become affected by UV rays and chemical attack. As a result, the originally shiny gel coat will become dull and matt. However, you do not have to think about repainting your boat right away. After all, we have various products for this that will enable you to achieve a high-gloss substrate again.
In general, you should first thoroughly clean the substrate. This is where the Cleaner comes in. Rinse the substrate thoroughly and then make it dry. Now first check the condition of the substrate. If it is very damaged and full of deeper scratches, it is best to sand the substrate with P400 sandpaper.
Then polish in two steps:
- STEP 1: Use YC HIGH Gloss Finish to restore the gloss and remove scratches.
- STEP 2: Protect your substrate even more effectively against soiling and UV rays with YC Boat Wax.
Your boat once had a beautiful white polyester gelcoat hull. And it has now yellowed due to ageing and pollution. Then you can find the solution with the Yachtcare product Antigilb.
This liquid cleaner ensures that discoloured gelcoat returns to its white colour. Thanks to its unique composition, this product ensures that yellowed gelcoat or topcoat is generated back to nearly its original white colour.
Apply the product with a soft cleaning cloth and let it soak in for at least 5 minutes. The harmless oxalic acid will then change the yellowed substrate. Afterwards, rinse the substrate thoroughly with plenty of water. For a long-lasting protection, apply Yachtcare Boatwax. This wax offers resistance to pollution and UV rays.
Call to actionHere we recommend our HIGH GLOSS FINISH. This special soft sanding and polishing compound restores the shine to plastic substrate such as plexiglass or gelcoat.
Call to actionUse V-Sure's handy kits to make a gelcoat repair to the deck. You can change the colour of the gelcoat yourself. By carrying out a gel coat repair, it becomes possible to polish away fine cracks on deck. These fine cracks are also called spiders. They occur where the tension or pressure has risen too high in the gelcoat, requiring a repair.
Call to actionOpen up your cracks with a router or a three-point scraper. This will create a v-shape that gives you a larger substrate area to apply the repair coat in. The gelcoat repair kit consists of a specially formulated gelcoat that does not discolour during curing. This is particularly useful if you first need to recreate the colour of your aged gelcoat.
Call to actionThe gelcoat sets come in the colours white (RAL 9010), off-white (RAL 9001) and colourless. Of course, it sometimes happens that you don't find the right colour. That is why we offer you the possibility to tint your gelcoat yourself to the desired colour for your repair. Over the years, a white gel coat will yellow or grey in colour. Add a very small quantity of our PU colour pigment and you will have an almost invisible repair.
Call to actionWhat do I do with large cracks in a polyester gel coat?
Gelcoat Repair
Filler
FEW
Epoxy Light Primer
PU Varnish
Sandpaper
Call to actionIf the cracks are larger than a 2 euro coin, it is better to work with a gelcoat filler. This is a filling polyester gelcoat in a white colour. After application, you need to sand and polish it thoroughly. If you have many cracks, or if the damage is spread over too large an area, you can work faster with the FEW finishing putty, based on a fast-drying styrene-free polyester. Thanks to its fine structure, it can be applied smoothly. When using the finishing putty, always use a primer, such as Light Primer, and finish with a varnish, such as Topcoat PU Varnish.
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