Eating through gelcoat
 

My 06 X2 is showing little white specks in its blue gelcoat. The boat has been polished a few times and I'm worried that that is the gel coat being worn through? Does anyone know what is under gelcoat? Is it just fiberglass? Any ideas what the specks could be?

Is it pitting with white specs? If so it could be from aerosol sun block.

Usualy one color gel over another color gel over fiberglass. Might be that like you said from polishing, it might be getting transparent.

So it could be white gel behind the blue? That could potentially be very bad.

What colors are the boat?

I just looked at your profile pic. The boat is blue overall so it wouldnt be over white.

Ya it is only on the top deck which is all blue gel. there is no pitting and the specks aren't rough they are just inside the gel coat. It is really strange.

Maybe overspray from another boat during factory assembly?? If the gel gone and white is showing then you might have a problem

Its not like white showing through, the blue is there nice and deep and shinny but there are white pecks with some areas much worse than others.

It sounds like porosity more than over spray. Basically very small air bubbles formed in the gel coat while it cured, as you buff the area you are exposing the air bubbles making them more visible. It's not a structural issue (at least I've never seen it be) but cosmetically its not great.

I'd say contact your dealer and see if they do any gel coat work in house, or if they sub it out who they sub it out to. Usually you'll need to remove the affected area, respray and then get to work finishing it all up to look like factory.

Is it possibly just wax or polish residue that is getting into pores or pits in the gel. What about trying a colored wax and see if that helps or at least makes the spots less noticable?

I am a marine finisher for Sunseeker here in the UK and spend my days repairing damaged yachts.

I would strongly advise you have an experienced detailer have a look before you attempt anything yourself.

It is possible that as you suspect the gel is thin and if that is the case it's something you should address with mastercraft. Polishing alone will not have removed enough gel to create this problem. If that area has been repaired before or wet sanded to remove scratches that could lead to thin gel if the person who repaired your boat wasn't careful.

The reason I suggest contacting mc is that if you know the boat has not been wet sanded then it could be that during the hull lay up process that area did not get enough gel and is thin. Your hull warranty should cover this if you can convince them the area has not been sanded down (an experienced person could tell)

The lay up is probably-

Resin
Filler (polyester gel based)
Colour coat

Id bet its minor pits that are being filled with wax. If you were buffing through it wouldnt be sharp specs unless they were dirt specs in the gel. Youd see fading in spots and it would obivously be darker around the edges. You could try soaking the specs with some light solvent and see if you can remove them with a clean towel or tooth pic. Might want to leave that to a profesional though. I've also seen contimanation in gel jobs. Minor specs of a different color.

its probably porosity if its not overspray, and if its in one spot its usually in the whole boat, its not a structural concern at all. if you have any other questions about structural or cosmetic issues fell free to contact me. liftlockfiberglass@gmail.com..... 1-800-263-0588

Matt