Actually, if you can hold yourself back from
sanding the
gelcoat, you can do yourself a big favor. Simply put, the
gelcoat, if sanded, sands off the tops of tiny bubbles, which then remain open to: whatever, filth, stain, etc. that impair its appearance. If your gelcoat is still good, but oxidized, I would recommend PolyGlo applications to the
hull. The stuff comes in two
parts, a cleaner, which you hose off, and a polymerizing substance that you put on with the
equipment supplied by PolyGlo. We found the finish thus applied on a 30 yr. old Yank
boat, made it look really good. And subsequent annual applications kept it that way.
There's a similar substance
sold in the US, called TSRW (This Stuff Really Works). Never used it, but the Poly Glo has my personal seal of approval.
Ann