Basic Maintenance Questions

[charlietokowitz]

Hello,

I recently became the owner of a 1976 AMF Sunfish in yellow and red. It's in great condition, but I have a few questions about maintenance. I have an electric car buffer; can i use that with some marine wax on the deck and the hull? I'll have more questions as I start to get a feel for sailing it

Thanks,
Charlie

 

[divimon2000]

I'm new to sunfish as well but have many other boats. Gelcoat can be waxed with a buffer, but not needed. There are waxes that apply much more easily than that. But, I would use a buffer and some cutting compound to remove oxidation and bring back the color/shine, if thats what you're looking for. Gel is pretty thick, so a buffer shouldn't get down below it with most compounds. 3M makes some great stuff.

 

[Wavedancer]

Don't wax the deck; it will make it too slippery.

Other than that, as pointed out by divimon2000, there are a several products available to clean up gelcoat. But start out with soap and water, a Scotch-Brite (Dobie) pad and elbow grease.

If you use the Search function (upper right hand corner), you will see that there are other threads that relate to this issue.