wet sanding gel coat??

[hot_rod]

My gel coat is faded and I have been told that if I wet sand it it will look much better. Has anyone ever done this and if so what is the correct method. (grit of paper, sanding direction...etc)

[superdave013]

Hot_Rod, you should to to Barney's site. In his forums he has one entier forum just for gel coat questions, tip and tricks. He's been very helpful to lots of people so far. www.havasubarney.com (http://www.havasubarney.com)

[propless]

Following the advice from this board, I started wetsanding with 400, then 600, then 800 and finished off with 1000. Instead of polishing it and waxing it to a finish, I shot clear urethane and I'm thrilled with the results.
Make sure you use the correct urethane, or it is hell to pay.

[Kwicherbichen]

Originally posted by propless:
Following the advice from this board, I started wetsanding with 400, then 600, then 800 and finished off with 1000. Instead of polishing it and waxing it to a finish, I shot clear urethane and I'm thrilled with the results.
Make sure you use the correct urethane, or it is hell to pay.
Hot Rod, I'm definately no expert (Barney re-gel'd my boat) But I would at least follow the above instructions and I was watching a segment on TV featuring "Meguires". THe guy from meguires went a bit further and did it with 2000 grit and 3000 grit. He soaked all the paper for about 1/2 hour (I have heard overnight is better ?) and sanded with it in one direction keeping it wet (area of about 20" x 20"). After he was all done sanding he took a buffer to the surface and it was a mirror (considered show quality). I even think Meguires has instructions on their website about their methods. Or, you could just go ask Havasu Barney and he will definately point you in the right direction.