Products to repair and polish your boat

Polishing products for your boat

A polyester boat is immensely durable and can be beautifully maintained with a good boat polish. By maintaining the substrate and polishing it every so often, the original gloss is retained. A boat's gel coat can be damaged by UV rays and wear from sand and saltwater. At V-Sure, we are happy to advise you on a suitable boat polish, so you don't have to repaint the entire boat.

Below, we provide more insight into how to apply the right repair techniques, which products work best and how to maintain a long-lasting shine. At V-Sure, you will find all the information you need to make boats shine like never before!

Discover how to restore and polish a boat for an impeccable shine. Whether you are a passionate sailor, a professional boat builder or simply enjoy relaxing trips on the water, we offer you valuable insights and practical tips to keep your boat in top condition.

Check out the specific product range for boat repair and maintenance here.

How to optimally clean and protect your boat?

C1 Bottom Cleaner

C2 Cleaner Concentrate

SL One Step Heavy Cut & Gloss

S1 One Step Cut & High Gloss

S2 Extra Shine Polish

S5 Shine & Protect Quick Wax

Polar fleeces

At V-Sure you can find all products to restore your boat to its original gloss. Below you will find a step-by-step plan you can follow, including our recommended products. These products are fully tuned to get the desired result as quickly as possible. They can also be used mechanically, which considerably reduces the time.

STEP 1: Cleaning your boat
Before polishing your boat, it needs to be well cleaned. In any case, start with cleaning the hull. Our professionals recommend the Cleaner C1 Bottom for this. This powerful cleaner removes oil and dirt quickly and efficiently. To get the deck and the like clean, use the Cleaner C2 Concentrate.

STEP 2: Polishing your boat
Next, use the Polish one step heavy cut to remove the coarsest and dullest areas on the boat. If there are no visible scratches or damage to the gelcoat, you are in luck! If only the substrate of the boat has become dull, use Polish one step S1 immediately. Make sure you use the right polish. Do you want more high gloss? Then use the Polish extra shine.

STEP 3: Protecting your boat
To make the whole more UV-resistant and easier to maintain, finish the polyester of the boat with the Polish quick wax. This will block harmful UV rays and make your gel coat less prone to chipping and dulling.

How do I carry out small repairs on polyester gelcoat?

Gelcoat Repair kit

Polyester dye

For this we can recommend a Gelcoat Repair Set. This is a 2-component sealant with an A-component (resin) and a B-component (hardener). Useful for every boat owner in case of unexpected repairs to the gelcoat.

Gelcoat is a repair material for damaged polyester gelcoat and exists in the colour RAL 9010 and colourless. The colourless (transparent) version can be coloured with polyester pigments (10-25%).

How do I colour gelcoat myself?

G35-1 Polyester Gelcoat

Polyester dye

For this we recommend a brushable gelcoat based on polyester type G35-1. This is a two-component gel coat based on isophthalic acid neopentylglycole (ISO/NPG) containing polyester resin, which has very good water and weather resistance with increased impact and scratch resistance.

This gelcoat is mainly used for finishing a laminate where the moulded parts need to obtain an increased water and chemical resistance.

Working with V-Sure's gelcoat:

The gelcoat is pre-cut and the viscosity is set as standard for brush application.
The gelcoat should be stirred before use, avoid air bubbles under mixing the resin.
The temperature of the gelcoat, the working area and the moulds should be 18-25°C.
The humidity should not exceed 85%.
A 1.5 - 2.5% MEKP hardener should be added.
Remains slightly sticky for optimum adhesion to the laminate.
The thickness of the gel coat should be approx. 300 - 600 micron, depending on the application.
Use a gelcoat brush to determine the layer thickness.
Can be coloured with 10-15% UP pigments.
Store the gelcoat at maximum 25°C in a dark place during 6 months.
Storing the products under different conditions can significantly change the shelf life.
Always make small quantities in proportion to the potlife.

How do I polish painted substrates on a boat?

S1 Polish One Step Cut & High

The polyester of your boat is painted with a two-component varnish, a so-called 2K lacquer. This varnish can become matt and dull due to UV rays or the water load caused by sea salt. A two-pack varnish on your boat is easy to polish. Use an extremely soft polish, such as Polish S1 from Sealine. This product is specially made to polish the polyester of a boat or lacquered substrates. The polishing paste S1 makes the substrate that was matt or dull quickly glossy again. Moreover, there is no risk of damaging your lacquer or gelcoat.

How do you polish a 2K paint on your boat?

C1 Bottom Cleaner

SL Cleaner Degreaser

Polishing pastes

Cleaning
Before polishing, the boat must be thoroughly cleaned. Otherwise, the remaining dust and dirt will move around and cause even more damage. With plenty of clean water and the Sealine C1 cleaner bottom you create a clean substrate. After this treatment, you will have a clean and dry substrate. Then degrease with the Sealine cleaner degreaser.

Polishing manually or by machine
All sanding and polishing pastes can be used manually or by machine. Obviously, polishing the boat with a machine is much faster and more efficient than by hand. When polishing by machine, our professionals recommend that you keep an eye on the speed! Make sure that it is not too high, otherwise you will burn the polish. Also read the instructions carefully about the use of a polishing fleece or polishing paste. The hardness or softness of the polishing fleece partly determines the shine of your substrate.

How do I restore a degraded gelcoat substrate to a high gloss?

Sandpaper grit 400

High Gloss Finish

Boat Wax

A polyester gelcoat is generally very durable and colourfast. However, over the years, the substrate may become affected by UV rays and chemical attack. As a result, the originally shiny gel coat will become dull and matt. However, you do not have to think about repainting your boat right away. After all, we have various products for this that will enable you to achieve a high-gloss substrate again.

In general, you should first thoroughly clean the substrate. This is where the Cleaner comes in. Rinse the substrate thoroughly and then make it dry. Now first check the condition of the substrate. If it is very damaged and full of deeper scratches, it is best to sand the substrate with P400 sandpaper.

Then polish in two steps:
STEP 1: Use YC HIGH Gloss Finish to restore the gloss and remove scratches.
STEP 2: Protect your substrate even more effectively against soiling and UV rays with YC Boat Wax.

How do I get yellowed polyester gelcoat back to white?

YC Antigilb

Boat Wax

Your boat once had a beautiful white polyester gelcoat hull. And it has now yellowed due to ageing and pollution. Then you can find the solution with the Yachtcare product Antigilb.

This liquid cleaner ensures that discoloured gelcoat returns to its white colour. Thanks to its unique composition, this product ensures that yellowed gelcoat or topcoat is generated back to nearly its original white colour.

Apply the product with a soft cleaning cloth and let it soak in for at least 5 minutes. The harmless oxalic acid will then change the yellowed substrate. Afterwards, rinse the substrate thoroughly with plenty of water. For a long-lasting protection, apply Yachtcare Boatwax. This wax offers resistance to pollution and UV rays.

How to remove matt spots on plastic substrates of a boat?

High Gloss Finish

Here we recommend our HIGH GLOSS FINISH. This special soft sanding and polishing compound restores the shine to plastic substrate such as plexiglass or gelcoat.

How do you remove fine cracks from a deck?

Gelcoat Repair kit

Polyester dye

Use V-Sure's handy kits to make a gelcoat repair to the deck. You can change the colour of the gelcoat yourself. By carrying out a gel coat repair, it becomes possible to polish away fine cracks on deck. These fine cracks are also called spiders. They occur where the tension or pressure has risen too high in the gelcoat, requiring a repair.

How do I perform a gel coat repair?

Gelcoat Repair kit

Polyester dye

Open up your cracks with a router or a three-point scraper. This will create a v-shape that gives you a larger substrate area to apply the repair coat in. The gelcoat repair kit consists of a specially formulated gelcoat that does not discolour during curing. This is particularly useful if you first need to recreate the colour of your aged gelcoat.

How do I adjust my own gelcoat colour with pigments?

Gelcoat Repair kit

Polyester dye

The gelcoat sets come in the colours white (RAL 9010), off-white (RAL 9001) and colourless. Of course, it sometimes happens that you don't find the right colour. That is why we offer you the possibility to tint your gelcoat yourself to the desired colour for your repair. Over the years, a white gel coat will yellow or grey in colour. Add a very small quantity of our PU colour pigment and you will have an almost invisible repair.

What do I do with large cracks in a polyester gel coat?

Gelcoat Repair Filler

FEW

Epoxy Light Primer

PU Varnish

Sandpaper

If the cracks are larger than a 2 euro coin, it is better to work with a gelcoat filler. This is a filling polyester gelcoat in a white colour. After application, you need to sand and polish it thoroughly. If you have many cracks, or if the damage is spread over too large an area, you can work faster with the FEW finishing putty, based on a fast-drying styrene-free polyester. Thanks to its fine structure, it can be applied smoothly. When using the finishing putty, always use a primer, such as Light Primer, and finish with a varnish, such as Topcoat PU Varnish.

How do I mount polyester parts on a boat?

V11 Filler

Here we suggest the fast-drying fibre-reinforced polyester bonding paste type V11. A 2-component polyester that hardens quickly.

How do I repair a boat with fibre-reinforced epoxy putty?

Epoxy Fiberglass Filler

Epoxy Universal Filler

We recommend the 2-component FIBER FILLER, based on epoxy. This paste can be used above and below the waterline and can be finished with the Universal Filler.

How to finish my boat with fine epoxy putty.

Epoxy Universal Filler

Here we recommend the 2-component grey and fine finishing putty based on epoxy, type Base Filler. This can be used both below and above the waterline.

How do I make GRP mouldings with a water-resistant gelcoat?

G35 Polyester resin

If you want to make a gelcoat for GRP shaped parts that have to be water-resistant, we recommend working with an Iso NPG quality of G35-1.

The G35-1 is a 2-component gel coat based on isophthalic acid neopentylglycole (ISO/NPG) containing polyester resin, which has very good water and weather resistance with increased impact and scratch resistance.

This gelcoat is mainly used for the finishing of a laminate where the moulded parts need to obtain an increased water and chemical resistance.

Working with V-Sure's G35-1:

The gelcoat is pre-accelerated and the viscosity is set as standard for brush application.
The gelcoat must be stirred before use.
The temperature of the gelcoat, the working area as well as the mould should be 18-25°C.
A 1.5 - 2.5% MEKP hardener should be added.
Store the gelcoat at maximum 25°C in a dark place for 6 months.

How do I make polyester parts with polyester gelcoat?

G35 Polyester resin

The G35-1 gelcoat can be used to create a colourfast and wear-resistant moulded part for general applications. This is available in various Ral colours and there is also a sprayable version. It should always be processed in combination with Mekp hardener.

How do I make the underwater hull watertight?

Epoxy Anti Osmosis & Corrosion

We recommend using the 2-component epoxy coating type ANTI CORROSION PRIMER. This makes it water and vapour tight on virtually any substrate.

How do I finish the laminate after a boat has been repaired?

T35 Topcoat

Polyester dye

After repairing your polyester boat, with the liquid polyester and glass fibre, it is best to finish it with a so called Topcoat. Here we recommend Topcoat T35-1. A 2-component polyester paint that can be coloured to any RAL colour. This can be applied with a roller or brush in the desired layer thickness. This coating makes the laminate completely waterproof and will give a satin finish to the whole.

We supply this topcoat standard in a white colour (ral 9010), but you can also take the colourless variant Topcoat T35-1 and add your own colour pigment. Adding the colour pigments is fairly easy if you can find what you are looking for in one of our standard Ral colours.

How can I repair and restore the boat's polyester?

Epoxy Universal Filler

Epoxy Fibreglass Filler

Epoxy Lightweight Filler

For the repair and restoration of smaller scratches in the polyester of the boat, use the Epoxy Universal Filler as a finishing putty. For larger repairs, Epoxy Fibreglass Filler is available. In order to repair the polyester of a racing boat, it is best to use the Epoxy Lightweight Filler. This is a filler that is much lighter, because weight is very important in racing boats. This is a very expensive and cost-effective method of repairing polyester.

Which primer do I use to apply your finishing coat below the waterline?

Epoxy Light Primer

To repair the polyester of the boat below the waterline, we recommend using a two-component epoxy primer. This is because this system offers the best guarantee that the adhesion to the substrate remains. This is another advantage for making your polyester hull more resistant to osmosis. In the case of a polyester hull, the substrate is not very hard, so you can kill two birds with one stone by applying several layers of Epoxy Light Primer. This is a good way to ensure that the substrate is not contaminated with water.

How do I protect the metal hull below the waterline?

Anticorrosion Primer

Epoxy Light Primer

Also with metal boats, a protective layer of primer should be applied first. This will stop the rust under the putty better. Use the Anti-corrosion Primer for this. This is coloured red, so that after filling you can check where you can sand. You can apply this coating in several layers. The next step is to putty and then apply the Epoxy Light Primer.

How do you work with a polyester repair set or repair kit?

Polyester resin Quick

H30 Azur Laminating resin

Glass mat

FEW Putty

V11 Putty

SL PUR Varnish

When repairing polyester, you can use fast-drying or slow-drying polyester resin, both in combination with glass mat.

The fast-drying polyester resin, Polyesterhars Quick, is recommended for repairing smaller or horizontal substrates. The slow-drying one, H30 Azur, has the great advantage of being able to treat a large substrate area, but also of giving you more time to impregnate the resin in the glass mat.

The next step is to finish with a polyester filler (FEW) and a lacquer system (SL PUR Lacquer). We even have a fibre-reinforced filling putty (V11) that can be applied up to a thickness of a few centimetres. Finishing is best done with the fine sandable white filler (FEW). The result is a nice smooth finish that is usually stronger than the original. You may assume that the repairs will last for years.

Make sure you grind out the polyester in the so-called V-shape. In this way, you create a larger contact substrate on which to apply new layers of glass mat. Always ensure that you mix the polyester with the correct amount of hardener. Brush this mixture over the damage and immediately place the first layer of glass mat over it. After that, you thoroughly tamponade the resin into the glass mat with a round brush. Tamponing means that you apply the mixture with a dabbing motion. Then place a slightly larger piece of fibreglass as the second and third layer, all approximately 1 mm thick. An average polyester laminate is 3 to 4 mm thick.

How do I maintain my boat with V-Sure products?

S3 Finishing cleaner

S1 One-Step Cut & High Gloss Polish

SL PUR Varnish

You own a beautiful boat and want to keep it that way. Usually it consists of fibreglass-reinforced polyester finished with a gelcoat. If it is a wooden or metal boat, it will be finished with a paint. Usually 2-component PU paints are used for this. After a while, the gelcoat or paint can become dull and matt. This is due to the influence of UV rays or simply because of use. Regularly maintaining the substrates yourself will contribute to the quality of the varnish and gel coat. And thus to the value of your boat. At V-Sure we offer convenient and very simple solutions.

First, make sure the substrate to be polished is clean. You can do this with the S3 Finish Cleaner. Then apply the S1 One Step Cut & High Gloss. This sanding paste will remove the worst scratches and then, as a polish paste, bring back the original shine. Super convenient because you only need to buy one product. You can use the S1 Polish manually with a polishing cloth or mechanically with a polishing wheel and a polishing pad.

How can I remove a hologram in my lacquer or gelcoat?

S2 Extra Shine Hologram Remover

S3 Finish Cleaner

Microfibre cloth

After polishing your paint or gel coat, a hologram can remain. This is a reflection (haze) that gives the impression that you have not polished adequately. Nothing is less true. With the Hologram Remover, you quickly and efficiently obtain a perfect deep gloss. It is best to apply this product manually with a polishing cloth.

First clean the substrate with the S3 Finish Cleaner, which cleans and degreases the substrate. Then apply the Hologram Remover and polish it off.

How do I clean the hull of my boat?

C1 Bottom Cleaner

C2 Concentrate Cleaner

To quickly and efficiently remove fouling and dirt below the waterline, use the C1 bottom cleaner. This powerful cleaner removes all the dirt and algae, so that you can continue to work with primers and/or antifoulant. To get your deck and everything above the waterline clean, use the cleaner C2 concentrate during boat maintenance. This highly concentrated soap is used, diluted with tap water or not, to polish away rudder deposits or substrate contamination.

How do I clean and maintain wood and plastic substrates on my boat?

Teak Maintenance Cleaner

Bright Teak Oil

Gelcoat repair colour renovation

If you have soiled and dulled teak on board, include it in your regular boat maintenance. Use the cleaner C4 teak. Apart from cleaning the wood, it will also regain its original colour. To protect your teak, use the clear teak oil.

Do you want to restore the colour of the thermoplastic parts? Then use the colour repair restorer. This restores the colour and leaves a protective layer on the substrate.

How do I protect my boat from UV radiation?

S5 Shine & Protect Quick Wax

Microfibre cloth

Of course cleaning is important when carrying out boat maintenance, but extra protection is perhaps even more important. Providing the substrate with good protection from harmful UV rays prevents the gel coat from becoming dull and matt. The polish quick wax will prevent the substrate from chipping. Always use the accompanying microfibre cloth and work by hand. The great advantage of these boat care products is that they are compatible and coordinated with each other. This allows you to get the desired result quickly and efficiently.

Discover Sealine's 3-stage plan for the optimal maintenance of your boat.

C2 Concentrate Cleaner

Microfibre cloth

S1 One Step Cut & High Gloss Polish

Polishing fleece 150 mm

Polish fleece 180 mm

S5 Shine & Protect Quick Wax

Maintaining your boat is easy with Sealine's 3-step plan! After cleaning, polishing and waxing, you are assured of a beautifully shiny substrate and optimal protection from all weather conditions.

STEP 1: Cleaning of the substrate with C2 concentrate Cleaner

Cleans practically all substrates
This powerful biodegradable cleaner can be used for fenders, sails, aluminium parts, all gelcoats and painted substrates
First rinse the substrate with clean water
Mix C2 Concentrate Cleaner (art. HUL36340042) in a 1:10 ratio with water and apply generously with a microfibre cloth (art. HUL36500008) .
Allow to soak in briefly and rinse again with water.
In case of stubborn dirt, you can also use the C2 concentrate cleaner undiluted.

STEP 2: Polishing of the substrate with the S1 One Step Cut & High Gloss

Polishing with the S1 One Step Cut & High Gloss is possible on most substrates
All gelcoats, painted substrates, plexiglass and polycarbonate can be treated.
You can process the S1 One Step & High Gloss (art. HUL36330007) manually or by machine.
In both cases, apply a small quantity to the polishing material.
During machine processing, pay attention to the low speed of 800 - 1000 rpm.
Preferably use a Sealine lambswool polishing fleece (art. GER41370009 with diameter 180 or GER41370010 with diameter 150).
Repeat this operation to obtain a perfect result.

STEP 3: Protect the substrate with the S5 Quick Wax

Optimal protection can be achieved with the S5 Quick Wax.
This wax contains UV filters and protects against oxidation.
You can use it on gelcoats, painted substrates, plexiglass and polycarbonate
Apply the S5 Quick Wax (art. HUL36330032) in small amounts and on a dry substrate
Rub out immediately in circular movements with a microfiber cloth (art. HUL36500008)
Attention ! Do not let the wax dry up after application.