I used and recommended cleaners containing Oxalic acid to remove oxidation for years. I always used Barkeepers friend but others used various types of toilet bowl cleaners that also contain 10% Oxalic acid.
These do work, but there are problems. These do nothing to keep the boat clean, in fact the opposite.
These work best on white boats, and after you finish scrubbing with them your boat will be very clean and white. Unfortunately it is also even more prone to staining by tannin's or simply dirt in the water, leaving a "bathtub ring", and the oxidation returns very soon even if the boat never hit the water. I would clean my boat before going to a regatta so it would look good on the trailer but by the end of the weekend it looked nasty for the trip home.
Also using these to strip oxidation does nothing to return the shine, it just gives a dull white finish.
So that means that after you clean with Oxalic you need to wax or seal the boat somehow which can be a lot of work. Once I cleaned with Oxalic and then brought the boat to a detailer and had it waxed with boat wax for $100, it turned out shiny and lasted most of one summer without stains but really didn't "pop".
Two years ago I finally got around to trying one of the "miracle" fiberglass chemical restorers. I got the kit from Poliglow that includes a powerful oxication/stain stripper and a chemical sealer/finish, it was actually quite a bit of work (more time than hard labor) because there are a lot of steps to do it right and the finish requires many coats (at least five, maybe more on a really deteriorated gel-coat).
The results were spectacular and the boat finally was not only really white, but shined like a new boat. the product has been on for nearly two years and still has a shine, the boat does not pickup any stains when sailed in muddy or contaminated water.
I've recently seen a certain older red Nacra 20 that I knew to be heavily oxidized and even after cleaning/polishing had kind of a murky/splotchy look. It was treated wtih Poliglow and I didn't recognize it as the same boat, now has a beautiful deep shiny red finish.
The Poliglow kit is expensive $69.95, because it is packaged to handle much larger boats than our beachcats. If you have a buddy in the same area you could split it, there is plenty for two beachcats.
http://www.amazon.com/Pol…ts-Inc-Kit/dp/B00409S8AG
--
Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
How To Create Your Signature
How To Create Your Own Cool Avatar
How To Display Pictures In The Forums.--