What makes new gel coat shiny?

[LakeRacer99]

Comparing boats that I have owned and been around in the past, I noticed some manufature's gel coat shine better than others.
I was wondering why this was. I had an '81 hydrostream with original one color gelcoat, that will blind you from the shine and a '96 Mirage that barely shines today. I assume there are differences in a pleasure lay up and a race lay up.
The new STVs seem to shine pretty nice.

What do you guys think, is it in the receipe? I have been thinking about a new hull and want it to be nice.

Thanks,

[Stretch]

Ive noticed it. They may lay up a clear layer before spraying the colored gel. This would result in smoother gel graphics.

Someone here will know for sure.

[Liqui-Fly]

It's all mold preparation.

David

[jay henderson]

IN MY OWN OPINION I WOULD SECOND WHAT LIQUI FLY SAID A PART OF IT IS MOLD PREP AND CARE, IF YOU HAVE HALF ASS DULL MOLDS THAT IS WHAT KIND OF PART COMES OUT AS FAR AS FINISH IF IT IS OF A HIGH LUSTER IT COMES OUT SHINING LIKE A NEW PENNY. THE OTHER PART IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN $1.00 A LB. GELCOAT AND $3.00 PLUS A LB. FOR GOOD HIGH QUALITY GELCOAT, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. JUST MY 2 CENTS WORTH.

[Scream And Fly]

In addition to what these guys said, you might be able to improve the factory finish with careful wet sanding and buffing with the right compounds.

Greg:)

[Racemore]

And if you want your boat to look as good as Greg's all you have to do is buff it out and leave it in the garage untill your ready to wax it again.Oh and only put it in the water once a year.Or is that every other year.:confused: I guess living down here in Florida might change that though.Nah,thats what the skiff is for.:D :cool:

[FX10 Superboats]

Condition of the molds and preperation are essential to shiny parts. Some boat manufacturers go the extra mile and wet sand with 1000-1500 then compound, prior to assembly. Then you have a boat thats incredibly shiny.

[Racemore]

Like FX said and they should be compounded reguarly to maintain the highest gloss.Also if the molds are waxed with mold release wax they have to be clean of residue to assure the highest quality finish.PVA could possibly get contaminated but not likely.When I bought my Eliminator it was so oxidized it looked like the sidewalk,wetsanding and mutiple stage buffing tightened it up though.:cool:

[sho305]

I'm sure the mold and initial finishing(sanding, buffing) will dictate new finish quality. The problem I see here is sun damage that fades it out. This could be based on the quality of the materials used, but I would tell you to keep it out of the sun as much as you can. I have done them that just fade back out after rubbing them, and after a while you have no finish left. A lot of them use clear, and I have had to sand/buff all of the clear off because the color had faded under the clear. Then it seems like the color fades faster than the clear after that. Also some use clear, then a mix of clear/color, then color...another mess to buff.

[Thunderduck]

3M Microcompound and Wax!! :cool: :cool: