I once pulled into a supermarket and was nearly jumped on by a valet.."want your van washed mate"?
"errrm what are you going to remove the grit with"? I asked as he was only holding a bucket and sponge. He looked at me as if I had come from another planet and looked into the bucket, frowned and said "The sponge?? "... a tempting offer but I politely declined.
Those 'spider web' swirly type patterns on a car or boat when the sun hits them is a sure sign that the surface has been damaged. Tiny little grit particles have scratched the surface, preventing a perfect reflection.
The simple reason is that the surface has not been correctly prepared to receive any form of agitation.
It is very common to make this mistake as a new boat owner, not just as a car owner (in fact gel coat is softer than paintwork) and is usually the main reason behind accelerating the breakdown; poor 'half job' polishing techniques coming in a close second.
Correct cleaning techniques go further than just a hose down and sponge if you are thinking of looking after your boat properly. Above surface contaminates (those that can be washed off) simply is just not extensive enough, you have to go a little further. A pressure washer is a good investment as these will remove the more 'bonded' contaminates and do not involve any agitation at this stage.
Another good tip is to pre-soak the surfaces to soften them up a little before the pressure washer gets to work, but even after this there will probably be more contaminates glued to the gel coat, tree sap etc. After drying a small section, if you're feeling professional place your hand inside a small plastic 'freezer' type bag and run your hand over the surface; you should feel little bumps here and there. These also need to be removed, certainly if you are following the cleaning with any machine polishing as these 'little bumps' get caught in the buffing heads.
These can be removed by the use of a clay bar, the process is simple, very safe and will ensure a smooth surface. The difference will be amazing, very silky surfaces and correctly prepared for further work.
So how does failing to prepare the surfaces correctly affect the durability of the gel coat?
Well, a smooth highly reflective surface allows light to hit it once! But on a scratched surface it is hit many times as the light rattles in the peaks and troughs of each and every tiny scratch, even the ones that are hardly visible without sunlight; more of the surface is being exposed. This action also increases those height differences, further damaging the surface.
Tiny dirt particles also get trapped within the peaks, holding on to marks and stains where they were previously shrugged off with a simple wash, tempting you to use more harsh cleaners than you used before. Also the particles can be pulled out and held by a sponge, therefore the gritty cycle repeats over and over again.
It is for this reason surfaces can maintain their original gloss for some period, then rapidly lose the lustre in a couple of seasons and go from there to severe oxidation in the same time frame.
Oxygen also plays a huge part in the breakdown process in much the same way. On a perfect profile you can offer quality wax as a barrier to oxygen but with a micro-scratched surface you will be trapping oxygen within the peaks and allow it to continue robbing the free radicals of the gel coat or paint.
For more info on Gel coat restoration please click here
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