Shine On

When fiberglass began making inroads into production boatbuilding, one of the selling points versus wood was, “You’ll never have to paint again.” Some manufacturers went so far as to suggest there was no longer any need for antifouling: Marine growth couldn’t stick to the slippery gelcoat. (We all know how that worked out.) The instructions for keeping a fiberglass boat shiny were simple: Compound and wax every year. Nobody mentioned that over time, the compound would erode the gelcoat, and eventually you’d have to paint it to restore the shiny finish.

I’m not here to trash gelcoat. Maintaining it correctly