Now’s the perfect time to get that shine back. The trick is you’ll have to roll up your sleeves and work, but the reward is well worth it.

Seal out the weather

Seal out the oncoming seasons and get your shine back by good old fashioned elbow grease.

Remember, maintaining your gelcoat isn’t vanity, it’s also a matter of protecting your boat’s fiberglass. Fall is the best time to get that shine back because if you remove the season’s stains now and protect the fiberglass from the winter with a couple of good coats of wax.

Remove Oxidation

Lets get started. Assuming you’re starting with gelcoat that’s slightly oxidized, we can do a good job. If it’s extremely oxidized, you may need to call in a pro. If your gelcoat doesn’t show any signs of oxidation (yellowing and/or a chalky, dull appearance), great you are one lucky SOB! Skip to Step 2. Oxidation occurs naturally, as exposure to sun and weather break down the gelcoat’s surface and turn it chalky and pitted. If your boat is more than a couple of years old and hasn’t been meticulously maintained, chances are there’s some level of oxidation. The more there is, the tougher this step will be.

Remember, as a rule of thumb, it’s best to use the least abrasive oxidation remover possible, so you don’t grind away lots of gelcoat. How will you pick which one is right? Test a few different products on a small section of the gelcoat to find the least abrasive product that still gets the job done. Don’t try to de-oxidize the entire boat by hand, you’ll blow out your arms. Best to use an orbital buffer.

Fit the buffer with a terry cloth bonnet, and pour a big “X” onto it with the oxidation remover. Then hold the buffer gently against the hull side with even pressure, and hit the power button.

Be Patient & Thorough

Once the buffer is running, sweep it back and forth across the hull, going over the same area three or four times and being sure not to leave any gaps in your coverage. Never hold the buffer still, or it can “burn” a divot in the gelcoat.

You’ve hit the entire hull? Check for spots the buffer missed because there are always a few (under the rub rail, transom corners, and around thru-hull fittings,) and do them by hand. Then put a new bonnet on the buffer, and use it to rub off the oxidation remover. If the oxidation was severe, or if the remover you chose was too weak, you may have to repeat this step.

Eliminate Stains

To get the shine back, once the oxidation is gone, there’s a good chance you’ll see a few stains. Most can be attacked with rubbing compound and a rag, but toughies like rust streaks will require the use of an acid-based cleaner. These are often marked “fiberglass stain remover,” but read the active ingredients to be sure some sort of acid is listed. Be careful that you don’t rinse them into the water.

Get The Shine Back

Now we can polish the hull. Get a dedicated polish such as Premium Marine Polish. Apply the polish as you applied the oxidation remover, sweeping the buffer back and forth across the fiberglass until the entire boat has been covered. Let it dry, and then remove it. Then do the entire boat a second time, because one of the keys to making a boat shine like the sun is to polish it twice.

Seal In The Shine

If you have done everything right, your shine is now back, but if you stop working, the gelcoat’s finish will go back to being dull in a matter of days. You need to seal that shine in, and wax is the key ingredient.

For this step, choose a paste wax that’s based on bee’s wax, NOT carnauba wax, which does create a better shine but also wears away faster. Again, you need to give two thorough coatings of the paste wax, and this gets applied by hand. Now if you really want to be a show stopper, after the 2 coats of paste wax are done, now add a coating of that carnauba stuff. Apply it lightly and gently, so you don’t rub away any of the paste wax. Then clean it off with a final pass of the microfiber buffer bonnet.

Come the spring, you should be able to get away with a quick polish and then sealin the shine.

You can keep your boat looking shiny all summer by washing it down with a wash-n-wax boat soap that contains a dose of carnauba. If you’re a perfectionist, renew the shine by giving the gelcoat another carnauba wax job every other week.