Amazing Sunfish Sailboat Gelcoat Restoration

[@SpycoLordOfFire]

I got an old 81 sunfish for cheap, now I'm trying to figure out how to make it look halfway decent. This helps so much!

[@cliner.restoration]

Sorry for the late reply! I am glad it helps. Good luck with your restoration....

[@nicholasmartin7]

This is just what I needed as I'm working on my first-ever sailboat. Many thanks for posting this!

[@cliner.restoration]

A sunfish or something else? Let me know how it goes...

[@timhouse3379]

Good job on your first video! I would love to see you edit this and, at the end, show a "Before" and "After" walkaround video, with lots of light on the boat : )

[@cliner.restoration]

I am planning on doing another series with a different Sunfish. I agree with you that I should spend a little more time focusing on the results and not just the process.

[@MPrybil]

I’m starting to restore a 1968 Sunfish which had been laying hull up for over 5 years. The white hull is stained a mottled gray so after trying to clean hull with Mr Clean pads and then plastic brushes on a drill and watching 50 plus You Tube videos on boat restorations on whether to gelcoat or paint: I’ve decided orbital sander starting with 80 grit and working to up to 220 or 320. Then priming and painting with Total boat Wet Edge bc boat will be stored out of water in sling. Then the same on top side which is also white and has a faded red splash rail. But first have to cut off metal self bailer, replace with plastic one and cut in two inspection ports. I may paint in some color on deck bc white can reflect a lot of sun into your eyes. I’m now sanding and varnishing the wooden dagger board and rudder which are in good condition except for surface. Then new sail and running rigging. Projects always turn out more complex than you initially think! When I get discouraged I watch a You Tube episode of an old guy about my age building The TotalBoat sport dory with hand tools except a portable power planer and it keeps me going.

[@cliner.restoration]

Sounds like you have your hands full! I bet it will come out great. Good Luck!

[@LeeSideSailing]

Good video, keep it up.

[@cliner.restoration]

Thank so much. It means a lot coming from you. You're a natural in front camera and your enthusiasm is infectious!

[@AlwaysDoingSomethin]

great video! would you repeat the same steps on the hull?

[@cliner.restoration]

Up to the point of the wax. So 3 passes of wet sanding, then the three compounds/polish. After that, I used Total Boat Wax Dewaxer & Surface Prep (not sure this needed, but I had it). I have read that wax actually slows hull speed. I am not a racer so not sure why I didn't wax for protection. I am interested in hearing other's perspectives on this....

[@petermeitzler9981]

Will you take on the next step of re-gelcoating the bottom? I have a boat with a hull essentially in the same condition -- will need a re-gelcoat. Amazing transformation on the deck.

[@cliner.restoration]

I have another Sunfish in "the wings". Not sure it needs re-gelcoating, but if it does I will capture that.

[@aubullion]

I like and subscribed, then I got to the part where you said not to... Oh well, look forward to the next ones whenever they appear! I am hoping to follow your recipe exactly for my Alcort flying fish.

[@cliner.restoration]

Thanks! Working on a couple of videos. Hopefully one will be ready in a couple weeks. Also wishing you good luck on the Flying Fish!

[@JohnHuffYT]

Really good result. I attempted to get mine to shine before, but I guess my mistake wasn't doing the wet sanding before compounding. Vinegar wasn't enough to get rid of the oxide layer for me, especially for an old boat.

[@cliner.restoration]

I have another one that I recently tried to clean-up. I used Soft Scrub on the deck behind the splash guard and Bar Keeper's Friend on the deck in front. No difference between the 2. Both cleaned and removed some oxidation, but certainly didn't bring back the full shine. I am going to do the full process to make it pop!

[@richardstaples5902]

Thanks! I also just picked up a “Rosie” of our own that needs some gelcoat TLC so your timing is perfect. Did you go on to restore the rest of the hull?

[@cliner.restoration]

Thank you for watching. For the hull, I did power wash prior to wet sanding (same 3 grits) . Then I used the the first 3 compounds and polish. I DID NOT use the wax on the hull. I see if I can put together a video on that.

[@richardstaples5902]

@@cliner.restoration Why not the wax the hull? Just curious. Also, I used your shopping list and am just waiting on the sandpaper to arrive from Amazon. Managed to get a 15% coupon discount on the sander from HF - good tip!

[@cliner.restoration]

@@richardstaples5902 There's always a coupon! I think that's part of Harbor Freight's secret sauce. I have read that waxing the hull is actually slows the hull speed which seems counter-intuitive, but there are smarter people out there than me. There are some applications to increase hull speed, but I am not a racer so I definitely don't need those. I think there is an extra layer of protection with the wax so it might be worthwhile depending on your needs.

[@richardstaples5902]

@@cliner.restoration At my age, I'm trying to slow things down, not speed them up! Thanks for the reply.

[@cliner.restoration]

@@richardstaples5902 LOL! I love that!

[@richardstaples5902]

Hi there! I’m about to begin compounding. In what order did you apply them? I assume wax was less so is it lower number to higher, wax being the highest at 26?

[@cliner.restoration]

Yes, 26 was the wax. The numbers are not exactly intuitive. 49 is the oxidation remover, then 9 swirl remover, followed by 7 show car glaze.