Gelcoat or Gel Coat? Either Way, You Need to Protect It.

First, let’s get the arguably least important issue out of the way. Is the correct spelling gelcoat or gel coat? Trick question - both spellings are right, but the one-word spelling is most commonly used in today's marine industry. Glad that’s out of the way. Before we launch into how to care and maintain it, what is gelcoat?

What’s Gelcoat?

A gelcoat is a material used to provide a high-quality finish on the visible surface of fiber-reinforced composite material. The most common gelcoats are based on epoxy or unsaturated polyester resin chemistry. Gelcoats are modified resins that are applied to molds in the liquid state. They are cured to form crosslinked polymers and are subsequently backed up with composite polymer matrices, often mixtures of polyester resin and glass fiber or epoxy resin with glass and/or carbon fibers. After it is cured and removed from the mold, the manufactured component presents the gelcoated surface. This treatment usually manifests as a colored, glossy surface.

In short, gelcoat is what makes fiberglass boats look smooth, shiny, and cool!

Why It’s Important to Maintain Your Boat’s Gelcoat

Your boat will run just fine if you maintain your engine, even if you don’t maintain your gelcoat. However, if you don’t maintain it, your gelcoat will become porous. Porous gel coat stains much more easily, but of more concern, contributes to your boat’s fiberglass prematurely cracking. Generally speaking, staining is unpleasant—your boat will lose its luster, not look as nice, and could lose substantial resale value.

Fiberglass can and does suffer from age, elements, and wear and tear. This process of breakdown is the result of cracking.

Typically, the deterioration initially seems minor, with microscopic cracks in the formed fiberglass fabric. Over time, these cracks become more prominent, separating fibers and the resin that hold them together. The bigger the cracks get, the more stress occurs to the remaining material. Eventually, a significant break occurs when the integrity can no longer hold together.

Maintaining your gelcoat goes a long way toward protecting against premature fiberglass deterioration. The reality is, with regular gelcoat maintenance, both your gel coat and boat’s fiberglass will last a long, long time.

Thankfully, the marine industry offers many great products that make gelcoat care faster and easier than ever.

How To Maintain Your Gelcoat

Wash Your Boat with Boat Wash

Use a mild pH-balanced boat soap and avoid using dish soap. Dish soap typically includes heavy-duty degreasers that can strip the wax from your boat’s finish. A boat soap cleans but also preserves the wax. Also, avoid bleach or harsh detergents, which can also damage the gelcoat.

First, rinse your boat with fresh water to remove salt, dirt, and other debris from the surface. Rubbing the surface of your boat without removing these abrasive particles can scratch your gelcoat, which will, of course, reduce its luster. If you are a saltwater boater and there is a lot of salt debris on your boat’s surface, you’ll need to use a product like CRC Salt Terminator or Starbrite Salt Off.

Use a soft cloth like a wash mitt or a microfiber towel to wash, then rinse with fresh water. After rinsing, wipe down your boat with a fresh microfiber, soft cotton cloth, or chamois so that mineral deposits don’t form, which will happen if you let the water dry on its own.

If Necessary, Clean Your Boat's Surface

If your boat's finish is in great shape, you can likely skip this step. If you are trying to bring back the shine, you will probably need a cleaning step—more aggressive than a wash. However, we recommend using the least aggressive cleaner possible, then using a more aggressive product if necessary.

Starbrite Cleaner Wax, Mothers Cleaner Wax, Meguiars Cleaner Wax, and other products of this nature will remove light oxidation and restore your finish. These products also contain wax protection, which extends your wax's life—reducing the number of times you need to wax your boat per year.

However, if you need to remove heavier oxidation, you will need to use a product like 3M’s rubbing compounds. Just like selecting a cleaner, start with the least aggressive rubbing compound possible.

Always follow the application directions on the product's packaging, but generally, you will apply with a foam pad and buff out with a clean microfiber towel.

If you would like to use a bit less elbow grease, use an electric applicator—we like the Shurhold Dual-Action Polisher.

Polish to a Shine

Cleaners and rubbing compounds go a long way toward restoring shine, but for your boat to truly sparkle, you will need to polish it. Meguiar's Boat/RV Polish Gloss Enhancer is one of many great boat polish products on the market.

You can apply polish and buff by hand, or again, to save a bit of elbow grease, use a product like Shurhold Dual-Action Polisher.

Boat Wax On, Boat Wax Off

Today’s top marine waxes protect gelcoat finishes with synthetic polymer formulas that create a barrier between the finish and contaminants. Look for boat wax with UV protection as sunlight is the number one cause of gelcoat and fiberglass damage. As discussed above, cleaner and wax or wash and wax products are excellent and extend your wax's life. However, we recommend diligent waxing with a high-quality marine wax at least twice per year.

Just as with rubbing compounds or polish, you can apply wax either by hand or with a dual-action polisher. However, don’t wax your boat in direct sunlight or during the hottest part of the day. The wax will dry too quickly and "bake" on, causing it to swirl, cake, and become difficult to remove.

We hope you found this article helpful. You can find a wide selection of fiberglass and gelcoat care products at PartsVu. Additionally, a full assortment of boat washes, boat polishes, boat waxes, and more.