dazajac Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Is there a way to clean up Gelcoat restorer? I got it leveled out pretty well but if you swipe an area that you previously wiped, it smears it. I'm trying to at least clean up these smear marks. I think my client would be happy if these smears marks were gone. It's not perfect, not as shiny as new Gelcoat, to be expected, but 10x better than what it was. I even tried to lightly polish out the smear marks but it leaves it dull and I couldn't get it glossy again without having to put on more Gelcoat restorer. Thoughts? Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron@Optimum Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 not sure what you mean by "clean up"? Gel Coat Restorer can be removed with Prepsol or paint thinner, which if done carefully might remove smears. It can also be polished to remove swirls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazajac Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 Thanks for the reply Ron. The marks going left to right are the smears I'm talking about. Everything else looks good but these spots. I can clean them up by wiping over them with more Gelcoat but I end up creating more. I tried polishing them but that left a dull spot unless I need to wait a day or so before polishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazajac Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 Here's a little bit closer look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron@Optimum Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 I would try paint thinner to remove the smearing. Did you use multiple coats of GCR - we recommend up to 4 and usually the additional layers even out the product? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazajac Posted October 6, 2020 Author Share Posted October 6, 2020 The client and I agreed that paint thinner wasn't going to be an option because of the vinyls. Some areas had 5-6 coats as I was trying to work out the smearing. But even touching the previous pass would create a smear mark from the towel touching it. And rubbing it in a circular motion just kept making a circular pattern in the gelcoat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron@Optimum Posted October 7, 2020 Share Posted October 7, 2020 one suggestion for future applications, the last 2 coats use an up and down motion instead of circular - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazajac Posted October 8, 2020 Author Share Posted October 8, 2020 I stopped doing a circular motion after the first pass. I was doing left to right for every pass after that. I forgot to mention that. I realized the circular motion would probably leave a pattern in the coating. I started using the left to right to try getting it to blend with the pattern in the surface. The sides had a horizontal pattern in them probably from the manufacturing process. I was hoping to blend the Gelcoat Restorer into that if it was going to leave some sort of pattern from the microfiber. My client did call Opti and got in touch with someone. He's going to Tennesse and there's someone down there that using the restorer often. I told him to have him call me since I'd like to talk to him about applying the restorer. I polish dull gelcoats on trailers 2-3 times a year. Not having to waste 2 days would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhannay Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 I used the Optimum Gelcoat Restorer today on my RV and like dazajac I have swirl marks and lines all over the RV. I did as Ron recommended 2 coats with small circular motion and 2 coats with up and down motion. I am extremely dissatisfied with the results. Do you have any suggestions on how to get rid of the lines and swirls? I have a DA polisher. Would using that help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron@Optimum Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 I suggested polishing originally - I might try by hand or a light cut pad with a D/A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhannay Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 19 minutes ago, Ron@Optimum said: I suggested polishing originally - I might try by hand or a light cut pad with a D/A. When you say polishing by hand what do you mean? Won't a light cut pad remove the GCR? Will I have to reapply the GCR after using the DA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron@Optimum Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 polishing by hand means not using a D/A - hopefully a light polish will remove the swirls with minimal effect on the GCR. If you remove too much GCR, you will need to reapply, that's why I suggest very light effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhannay Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 2 hours ago, Ron@Optimum said: polishing by hand means not using a D/A - hopefully a light polish will remove the swirls with minimal effect on the GCR. If you remove too much GCR, you will need to reapply, that's why I suggest very light effort. Do you have a polish to recommend to use by hand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron@Optimum Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 Optimum Hyper Polish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhannay Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 11 hours ago, Ron@Optimum said: Optimum Hyper Polish And I can apply Hyper polish without a machine? The directions only talk about applying it with a machine. If I can apply by hand what else will I need to apply and wipe off correctly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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