Sailfish 320 EXP - Gel Coat Finish Maintenance; Gel Coat Overview and Maintenance

FISHING FOCUSED. FAMILY FRIENDLY.™ | www.SailfishBoats.com
04/24/2019
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Gel Coat
Your Boat’s
Gel Coat Finish
Congratulations!Youaretheproudowner
ofanewpowerorsailboat.Youarealso
theownerofanewIntegrity®gelcoat
nishonthehulland/ortopside,andwe
wouldlikeyoutobeasproudofitaswe
are.Thatbeautiful,shinynewcoloryou
loveistheresultofmanyyearsofgelcoat
research,testinganddevelopment.
Butasproudasweareofthegelcoat,no
nishistotallyimpervioustochemicals
andweathering.Imaginewhatabrand
newcarcouldlooklikeifallowedtositat
amarinaforyearswithnocoverandno
washingorwaxing.Withthesamemin-
imummaintenanceyouwouldordinarily
giveyournewautomobile’snish,your
boat’sgelcoatnishwillretainitsdepthof
colorandglossforyears.
Overall Maintenance
Normalmaintenanceofyourgelcoated
berglassboatissimilartothecareyou
wouldgiveyourautomobile.Overall,
automotivecleanersandwaxesworkne,
aswellasthemarinecleanersandwaxes.
Note:Donotusecausticorhighlyalkaline
(highpH)cleanersorthosecontaining
ammonia.Thesetypeofcleanersmay
darkenwhiteoro󰀨-whiteweathered
gelcoatsurfaces.Achemicalreaction
producingstainingoccursifthesetypeof
cleanersareusedonweatheredgelcoat.
However,thestainmayberemovedwith
arubbingcompoundorbylightlysanding
with400gritsandpaperfollowedbyan
applicationofrubbingcompoundanda
thoroughwaxing.
Cleaning
Werecommendgeneralwashingtoavoid
soilbuild-upandstaining.Thesoiltoyour
gelcoatistheresultofregularuseand
environmentalpollutantssuchassoot
andsmog.Periodiccleaningwithamild
detergentisnecessarytoremovenormal
depositsofsoil.
Waxing
Fromconstantexposureovertimeto
ournaturalenvironmentandundesired
pollutants,thegelcoatbeginstoloseits
gloss.Torestoreyournishtotheoriginal
glossandcolorrequiresyourspecial
attention.Afterwashingwithamildsoap
ordetergent,givethesurfaceagood
polishingwithaself-cleaningmarineor
automotivewax.Waxinginthefalland
springisgenerallyrecommendedtomain-
tainandrestoremostoftheoriginalgloss.
Ifthesurfacehasnotbeenmaintainedand
hasweatheredbadly,andifcleaningand
waxingdoesnotrestorethenishsatisfac-
torily,compoundingwillberequired.
Compounding
Pleaseseeyourmarinedealerforadvice.
Polishingandcompound(neabrasive)or
rubbingcompound(coarserabrasive)is
recommendedforuseonberglassboats
toremovescratches,stains,oraseverely
weatheredsurface.Polishingorrubbing
compoundcanbeappliedbyhandorby
pneumaticbu󰀨er.Afterthescratched,
stainedorweatheredsurfacehasbeen
moved,itshouldbewaxedtoenhancethe
glossandcolorwhileprovidingasealto
retardstainingornewsoilaccumulation.
Discoloration Removal
Yourmarinedealerisbestequippedand
trainedtodothiswork.Ifregularwashing
andwaxinghasbeenneglected,discolor-
ationofthegelcoatedberglasssurface
mayoccur.