303 to remove oxidation on gelcoat?

[WBL skier]

303 protectant claims to work to remove oxidation. It says if you spray it on, leave it over night, hit it again and then wipe it off it will bring back the originald color. I was a little skeptical, but I tried it in one spot and it definitely removed the off-white oxidation color that you often get near the water line. I'm not sure it really brought back the original color, but it was definitely the easiest way I have found to get the off-color oxidation removed. I am considering using it over the entire boat now.

Does anyone know why I should NOT do this? It seems like pretty benign stuff. Thanks.

[LS-One]

My understanding is oxidation requires friction to be removed, like wet sanding or rubbing compound.

[Murphy8166]

Spraying 303 over the boat is not going to remove the oxidation. It may hinder it's appearnace but it will be back sooner than later.

There is only one way to get rid of oxidation and it is through the use of abrasives on the gelcoat. No way around it. It could be a simple as using a light abrasive such as a fine cut polish or it could involve wetsanding, compounding and polishing.

[Michigan boarder]

It won't hurt, but it also won't last. The 303 material is filling in the little pits in the gelcoat. The little pits allow light to bounce around, giving it the faded color. Fill them with wax (or 303) or remove them by sanding/compound. Problem is the "fill them" method doesn't last, which is why most eventually resort to abrasives to permanently remove the pits, and then prevent future pitting by regular waxing.

But again, it certainly won't hurt.

[wdr]

I have used it on the window seals next to the hull and think it works great for that, but waxing the hull works better and last longer IMO. One area where I really like it is on the black powder coated areas on my G3 tower. It helps repel the bugs somewhat, and most importantly appears to keep the powder coating from graying out. It says it is "UV 40 in a bottle" I hope it prolongs the life of the powder coat $$$.

[Malibu_Mike]

I have used it on the window seals next to the hull and think it works great for that, but waxing the hull works better and last longer IMO. One area where I really like it is on the black powder coated areas on my G3 tower. It helps repel the bugs somewhat, and most importantly appears to keep the powder coating from graying out. It says it is "UV 40 in a bottle" I hope it prolongs the life of the powder coat $$$.

I used Star Bright Buff Magic on a 97 Sea Ray I sold to get my BU, it took a lot of work, but found the magic sequence, do it in the shade only, in the sun it does not work. Brought the boat to unbelievable color and shine, in fact my boys did not even recognize the boat at the dealership. I had to use an electric buffer, but it did work, depending on how much oxidation, it could take a couple of hard long days to bring it back, but it did.