I've got a fiberglass boat which could use some luster restoration. I've
heard reports, but none first-hand, about Penetrol. Some have said direct
opposites - that it gives a great, deep, restoration, and that it doesn't
work, and causes long-term dullness, but I don't recall any who had
personally used it.

If there are any here who have personally used Penetrol to restore
fiberglass gelcoat luster, I'd be interested to know the results - were they
good, bad or indifferent, and would you do it again/how long did it last/did
it have negative long-term results, etc. In particular, any who have done
so on glitter surfaces would be welcomed.

Since I don't get here all that often, a direct response as well as to the
group would be appreciated. myname at earthlink dot net is more reliable
than the uga one....

Thanks.

L8R

Skip

--

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a clear
night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize that you are
quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to you that in the
general scheme of things you are merely an insignificant speck on the
surface of the ocean; and are not nearly so important or as self-sufficient
as you thought you were. Which is an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one
that may effect a permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly
appreciated by your friends."- James S. Pitkin

Just like their car products, Meguiar's Fiberglass Restorer works
great on gelcoat. Someone gave me a free Sunfish and Meguiar's made
it look almost new, except for the obvious repairs....

On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 09:34:45 GMT, "Skip Gundlach"
wrote:

I've got a fiberglass boat which could use some luster restoration. I've
heard reports, but none first-hand, about Penetrol. Some have said direct
opposites - that it gives a great, deep, restoration, and that it doesn't
work, and causes long-term dullness, but I don't recall any who had
personally used it.

If there are any here who have personally used Penetrol to restore
fiberglass gelcoat luster, I'd be interested to know the results - were they
good, bad or indifferent, and would you do it again/how long did it last/did
it have negative long-term results, etc. In particular, any who have done
so on glitter surfaces would be welcomed.

Since I don't get here all that often, a direct response as well as to the
group would be appreciated. myname at earthlink dot net is more reliable
than the uga one....

Thanks.

L8R

Skip

--

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a clear
night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize that you are
quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to you that in the
general scheme of things you are merely an insignificant speck on the
surface of the ocean; and are not nearly so important or as self-sufficient
as you thought you were. Which is an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one
that may effect a permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly
appreciated by your friends."- James S. Pitkin





Larry

Extremely intelligent life must exist in the universe.
You can tell because they never tried to contact us.

Penetrol looks good for the first few months, then oxidizes with a
yellow cast.
Best for gelcoat restoration is to wet sand off the oxidized surface
with 2000 grit wet and dry followed by power buffing with a high speed
autobody shop buffer with pure lambswool bonnets (1 bonnet per grit
size). Polishing grits used in sequence 1000, 1300, 2000. Followup with
an application of carnauba paste wax applied with water and hand rubbed
into the pores, followed by a power buff.
Process will usually restore gelocat to NEW condition if there is
sufficient depth remaining, otherwise paint the sucker. Thbe above
process is what is done to a NEW hull when its pulled from its mold to
remove irregularities, hazes and blemishes.

If you keep the gelcoat (new or restored) fully sealed with wax to
prevent oxidation you wont have to restore it. BTW - stip any wax
yearly with caustic to remove the oxidized wax which will promote
oxidation of the gelcoat.

There are several snake-oil treatments on the market that cover the
oxidized gelcoat with a polymer ... and they look like hell in
comparison to a buffed and restored hull.


Skip Gundlach wrote:
I've got a fiberglass boat which could use some luster restoration. I've
heard reports, but none first-hand, about Penetrol. Some have said direct
opposites - that it gives a great, deep, restoration, and that it doesn't
work, and causes long-term dullness, but I don't recall any who had
personally used it.

If there are any here who have personally used Penetrol to restore
fiberglass gelcoat luster, I'd be interested to know the results - were they
good, bad or indifferent, and would you do it again/how long did it last/did
it have negative long-term results, etc. In particular, any who have done
so on glitter surfaces would be welcomed.

Since I don't get here all that often, a direct response as well as to the
group would be appreciated. myname at earthlink dot net is more reliable
than the uga one....

Thanks.

L8R

Skip

--

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a clear
night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize that you are
quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to you that in the
general scheme of things you are merely an insignificant speck on the
surface of the ocean; and are not nearly so important or as self-sufficient
as you thought you were. Which is an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one
that may effect a permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly
appreciated by your friends."- James S. Pitkin

Subject: Penetrating question
From: RichH
Date: 8/15/03 10:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id:

Penetrol looks good for the first few months, then oxidizes with a
yellow cast.
Best for gelcoat restoration is to wet sand off the oxidized surface
with 2000 grit wet and dry followed by power buffing with a high speed
autobody shop buffer with pure lambswool bonnets (1 bonnet per grit
size). Polishing grits used in sequence 1000, 1300, 2000. Followup with
an application of carnauba paste wax applied with water and hand rubbed
into the pores, followed by a power buff.
Process will usually restore gelocat to NEW condition if there is
sufficient depth remaining, otherwise paint the sucker. Thbe above
process is what is done to a NEW hull when its pulled from its mold to
remove irregularities, hazes and blemishes.

If you keep the gelcoat (new or restored) fully sealed with wax to
prevent oxidation you wont have to restore it. BTW - stip any wax
yearly with caustic to remove the oxidized wax which will promote
oxidation of the gelcoat.

There are several snake-oil treatments on the market that cover the
oxidized gelcoat with a polymer ... and they look like hell in
comparison to a buffed and restored hull.

I'd have to agree with everything that Rich has said except I would use Zaino
instead of wax. It's not snake oil, it does what it claims, much easier to
apply, way out lasts wax, gives a mirror like shine and you don't have to strip
it off yearly due to build up.


Capt. Bill

Do you have a website on this? ... chemical composition?
Always good for an old dog to learn new tricks.

I've been using Collinite Fleet Wax as the best lasting natural carnauba
.... but only get several months life out of it; and, like ANY wax you
have to 'strip' the stuff from gelcoat every year or so.

LaBomba182 wrote:
Subject: Penetrating question
From: RichH
Date: 8/15/03 10:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id:

Penetrol looks good for the first few months, then oxidizes with a
yellow cast.
Best for gelcoat restoration is to wet sand off the oxidized surface
with 2000 grit wet and dry followed by power buffing with a high speed
autobody shop buffer with pure lambswool bonnets (1 bonnet per grit
size). Polishing grits used in sequence 1000, 1300, 2000. Followup with
an application of carnauba paste wax applied with water and hand rubbed
into the pores, followed by a power buff.
Process will usually restore gelocat to NEW condition if there is
sufficient depth remaining, otherwise paint the sucker. Thbe above
process is what is done to a NEW hull when its pulled from its mold to
remove irregularities, hazes and blemishes.

If you keep the gelcoat (new or restored) fully sealed with wax to
prevent oxidation you wont have to restore it. BTW - stip any wax
yearly with caustic to remove the oxidized wax which will promote
oxidation of the gelcoat.

There are several snake-oil treatments on the market that cover the
oxidized gelcoat with a polymer ... and they look like hell in
comparison to a buffed and restored hull.


I'd have to agree with everything that Rich has said except I would use Zaino
instead of wax. It's not snake oil, it does what it claims, much easier to
apply, way out lasts wax, gives a mirror like shine and you don't have to strip
it off yearly due to build up.


Capt. Bill

Skip Gundlach wrote:

I've got a fiberglass boat which could use some luster restoration.

??? I missed the *REPORT*! What was the result of The Search?!

I've
heard reports, but none first-hand, about Penetrol. Some have said direct
opposites - that it gives a great, deep, restoration, and that it doesn't
work, and causes long-term dullness, but I don't recall any who had
personally used it.


Our hull is 30 years old and original gel coat. The heavy-duty
fiberglass pastes really do work pretty well. After 3 or 4 springs of
not bothering, I got around to it this year and brought it back to
pretty much mirror in a day, using just the handy drill and 5" buffer.

I've seen a few of the oils and coatings and they DO look good at first,
but I haven't seen anything that lasted any better than plain old
Maguirers (sp?) in the long run without as much work as compounding and
re-waxing each season.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Subject: Penetrating question
From: RichH

Do you have a website on this? ...

http://www.zainostore.com/

chemical composition?

Their not likely to give that out now are they. :-)

Always good for an old dog to learn new tricks.

I've been using Collinite Fleet Wax as the best lasting natural carnauba

Same here.

... but only get several months life out of it; and, like ANY wax you
have to 'strip' the stuff from gelcoat
every year or so.


Same here. Actually, the sun did most of the work for me.

Capt. Bill

Hi, Jere, and any others who may be looking in, curious,

"Jere Lull" wrote in message
...
Skip Gundlach wrote:

I've got a fiberglass boat which could use some luster restoration.

??? I missed the *REPORT*! What was the result of The Search?!

We're in recovery mode at the moment, having done a huge amount of time and
research/travel, etc., which those following it know about.

The boat(s) referred to above and in the subject line are my ski boat and an
I/O runabout which I'll sell when I move aboard my 'real' boat.

The closest we've gotten is to inch toward an offer on a Gulfstar44 in the
Tampa area (thus the posting about weather and sea trials). There are some
very nervous-making inconsistencies about this boat, along with its being
bigger than we really would prefer, and, unless subject to a real lowball,
out of our price range.

That said, so far, the only boat I've been on which I can stand in (I brush
the soft liner in some areas, but can't find anything hard under it with my
head despite all attempts at standing tall) which also has a closed galley
and a queen berth-able size, along with suitable topsides and interior
storage, is a GS44, seen in the second trip which was done to go back to a
couple of short-listers (which both failed on review). Another seen in that
trip, on the shortlist, also abandoned on review, was an Endeavour 42,
marvelous in all regards other than tiny exterior storage (two cooler-sized
lazarettes) and lesser interior storage. We'd seen that boat on the hard in
FTL when we were there the first time...

Pleas for suggestions on others meeting our newly (well, in June, following
our dash through FL's perimeter for over 80 candidates) formulated
parameters were met with deafening silence, so we presume that unless we
move well into the 6-digit range and perhaps over 45', there aren't any of
that ilk in production boats. I've got a sketched design for what I'd
consider to be an ideal layout for a cruising boat, but it would have such a
limited market I doubt it's been produced, and, certainly, I'm/we're in no
position to have one built on a hull/deck frame.

So, thanks for asking. I'll take this over to a new topic and expand a bit
on it.

L8R

Skip and Lydia

--

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a clear
night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize that you are
quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to you that in the
general scheme of things you are merely an insignificant speck on the
surface of the ocean; and are not nearly so important or as self-sufficient
as you thought you were. Which is an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one
that may effect a permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly
appreciated by your friends."- James S. Pitkin

x-no-archive:yes Edward Greeley wrote:

Well, great! Two diametrically opposed opinions about Penetrol. I have a
heavily oxidized, older fiberglas boat and am not anxious to start wet
sanding, etc. Might have to though...

Any other pros or cons re Penetrol?

We've started using it and Bob likes it fine. It makes the boat look
really great. I'm not sure if we'd know if it yellowed though because
our gel coat isn't white - it's kind of beige. But the guy across the
dock has used it on his white boat and we haven't noticed any
yellowing.

In any case, I don't see much difference between the effort involved
in doing all that sanding and waxing business and stripping it off and
redoing it periodically (or giving up and painting the topsides), and
in using something like Penetrol and stripping that off and/or
reapplying it periodically. And since the Penetrol requires much less
effort to begin with (and we also use it in the cockpit etc), I'm not
convinced that it is worth my time or the money to pay someone
(because I totally wouldn't do either one myself) to do the buffing
and waxing thing. It isn't worth it.



grandma Rosalie

Skip, I used McGuires Color restorer, followed by Colonite Fleetwax,
and my 29 year old hull came RIGHT back. (One of the people who came
to see her launch asked what kind of paint it was, to which I told him
it was original gelcoat, to his surprise).

I liked the McGuires because it didn't seem as aggressive as regular
buffing compound, and didn't take off a bunch. It allows you to do a
couple coats if needed, but probably not. (We only needed one, and our
hull looked like it was made of chalk, it was so oxidized).

We washed with Boat Zoap, rinsed, and let it dry, used a sheepskin
buffing pad to wipe a 5 foot square area, let it dry a minute or so,
then buffed it with the same pad, (mounted on the buffer), slowly,
1500 RPM's or so, until it stopped grabbing. Then I upped the RPM's a
little more to get the shine. It really was easy once you get the hang
of it, but take a couple Aleve's first, cause it's a shoulder workout
and a half!

Wax like you would any car with the Colonite. We used the same process
as buffing out, and my hull looks brand new.

Go to my picture trail site below, and read/look at the, "Launch Day",
album, and you can see.

Donny


'74 Trojan Sea Raider 25'

http://www.picturetrail.com/sixbennetts

http://thebayguide.com/rec.boats/donny_bennett.html