The topsides on the boat are in reasonably good condition but very faded.
Wondering whether to paint or buff the gelcoat? Is either one better than the other?

Have it professionally polished by a boat detailer you will be amazed with the result

Wet sand and polish if at all possible.

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Startinout said..
Have it professionally polished by a boat detailer you will be amazed with the result

I would agree. Have a shipwright look at it and give an opinion at least. At my local slipway which is right alongside the boat ramp I use at least 4 times a week launching my workboat/tender there are regular visits of 30 year+ game-boats with beautiful gelcoat finishes. I know the various shipwrights well and often chat with them as they maintain the finish on these boats. I asked just the other day why the yachts that frequent the slips and much younger than the game boats have such crappy gelcoats. The answer was that yachties are all just tight arses that wont spend the money!
The shipwrights use an array of 3M products and they are certainly not cheap. They start by deciding what grade of compound and go from there. It might be worth your while getting the job done professionally the first time and then maintain it yourself from then on.
I would go to extra ordinary effort not to paint.

My boat is painted in two pot paint and is in good condition but the compound and polishes used on paint is not the same as gelcoat.

Bought Mango near on five years ago dull and yellow. Had her professionally acid washed cut and polished and she still looks bright and shiny with a polish every six months.

Is that a Sonata 6 ?

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Mr Hooper said..
Is that a Sonata 6 ?

Yep. A lively bugger in a breeze , still pretty quick for its age.

You first need to consider whether the boat has been painted at some stage or is actually gelcoat on the top sides. I assumed mine was gelcoat because it was white but actually had been painted by a previous owner in the course of having the name em-blazoned quite large on the sides.

Thanks everyone, I'll look into getting the gelcoat buffed It is original and hasn't been painted

As others have said you will be amazed at how well old gel coat will come up. What colour is it?
Try and determine how thick the gel coat is. Remove a screw and have a look. If its an old boat it will probably be really thick. More modern boats use less to save money and weight, mainly money.
If you have the time its not difficult, it just takes time. Depending on how dull it is you can start with wet sanding. Again depending on how bad it is depends on what grade you start at. Really bad areas if you have thick gel coat 800, then 1500 then 2000. Then cut polish, then finish polish. Depending on the size of the boat it can be days or weeks!
I did an old 21 ft motorboat that was bad a few months ago. It was probably 4 days work. We removed all the old stickers, did repairs, wet sanded and polished and you can only just see the colour difference where the stickers where.
As said above use good products like 3M. The paper lasts longer and it is quicker using good polish. So its more expensive to buy but saves you time.

I bought some StarBrite polish from Whitworths a couple of weeks ago and was surprised to see it was made by 3M.

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tarquin1 said..
As others have said you will be amazed at how well old gel coat will come up. What colour is it?
Try and determine how thick the gel coat is. Remove a screw and have a look. If its an old boat it will probably be really thick. More modern boats use less to save money and weight, mainly money.
If you have the time its not difficult, it just takes time. Depending on how dull it is you can start with wet sanding. Again depending on how bad it is depends on what grade you start at. Really bad areas if you have thick gel coat 800, then 1500 then 2000. Then cut polish, then finish polish. Depending on the size of the boat it can be days or weeks!
I did an old 21 ft motorboat that was bad a few months ago. It was probably 4 days work. We removed all the old stickers, did repairs, wet sanded and polished and you can only just see the colour difference where the stickers where.
As said above use good products like 3M. The paper lasts longer and it is quicker using good polish. So its more expensive to buy but saves you time.

The boat is a Martzcraft 35 and from what I can tell the gelcoat is thick and in very good condition. I'll try a small section and see how that goes. Time isn't a problem. the old name of the boat is still visible even where I removed the colouring of the letters. Does that method also work to take the ghosting of the name away?

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Bananabender said..

Mr Hooper said..
Is that a Sonata 6 ?

Yep. A lively bugger in a breeze , still pretty quick for its age.

My Dad had one when I was a kid. Same colour scheme as yours. It was a great boat.
I have a Sonata 6.7 now.

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Mr Hooper said..

Bananabender said..

Mr Hooper said..
Is that a Sonata 6 ?

Yep. A lively bugger in a breeze , still pretty quick for its age.

My Dad had one when I was a kid. Same colour scheme as yours. It was a great boat.
I have a Sonata 6.7 now.

Nice. Often thought about a 6.7 or 8 .

It may not completely get rid of it but it will make it a lot less visible.
Mirka is another good brand for sanding discs.
If you do decide to go for it buy a semi decent polisher, variable speed is a must.The cheap ones can be noisy and heavy. It makes a difference when you are holding onto it all day! I'm not in Oz so can't help you there.
I hope you have good strong shoulders!