To polish or to paint?

Q

Last year we purchased a 1976 Moody 33 Mk1, and have spent our time getting to know her while sailing the East Coast. This winter, we plan to lift her out and tidy up the exterior. Her hull has a few deep marks on it and is dull in appearance, even after washing. The cockpit and parts of the deck have been filled with a white filler where previous instruments have been housed, and perhaps needs to be recoated. Is this what we should do? RICHARD JERRAM REPLIES: The options with the hull are to either polish it or take the bigger step and repaint. If the hull has a dull appearance, which I can understand as the gelcoat is 40 years old, polishing will probably only be a short-term solution. Polishing the hull will bring a shine to the gelcoat, but over the sailing season you will find that loss of gloss will occur.

For polishing, I would recommend a fine cutting paste to remove oxidation, and then apply a marine polish: avoid polishes containing silicones as these are difficult to remove should you decide to paint at a later date. As protection against UV light I would then apply a marine wax to protect the polished surface.

For painting the cockpit area – and later the hull, should you decide to go down this route – I would recommend a twocomponent polyurethane system, which generally consists of an undercoat and gloss. If there has been extensive filling in the cockpit, you may have to apply one or two coats of an epoxy primer before applying the twocomponent basecoat to obliterate the colour of the filler and achieve a uniform colour over which to apply the polyurethane undercoat. Painting should be carried out undercover if possible, as this work will probably be done in the spring.