Gelcoat damage

[satch415]

I had a mild wd40 stain on gelcoat and I was advised to sand it out. Unfortunately I went a little too heavy and now I have this spot that stands out like a sore thumb. The gelcoat is smooth, there are no ridges or defects, just looks (to me) terrible.
Can it be blended back in to original gelcoat? Any suggestions appreciated.

[Snowgoose35]

Sand with 240 grit (if you used coarser before) then 320, 400, 600 and 1000 and then polish with cutting compound

[Orion Jim]

WD40 would not have left a stain on gelcoat. The more you sand it the more it will stand out from its surroundings. You COULD try a mild buffing compound on the entire port side but I wouldn’t expect satisfactory results.

[Knotical]

I like Snowgoose35’s method, try it on the patch and a little surrounding area but I suspect you may have to do the entire port topside to make it look uniform.

Btw I wouldn’t get any more advice from that person again.

[satch415]

Thanks guys. I already compounded and polished the boat and the picture shows the results. I guess I'll have to live with it for the time being.

[goboatingnow]

This is very common. It’s simply that your finish is not as smooth as the surrounding gel cost plus if it’s off white you get a fade in the original colour ,

Surface finishing gelcoat to factory mould finish requires a “ lot” of prep

[Pete7]

Leave it and go sailing, it will fade over a couple of years

[GreenWave]

I have a similar spot on my boat in almost the same general location as you. It is from a repair resulting from a jetski hitting our boat. This occurred prior to our ownership. I thought about trying to make it look better for about 6 minutes then realized that was foolish.


Bottom line - my boat is clean, I am not "showing" my boat - I am sailing it and enjoying it.