Hi there,

My wife and I were just given a 20 year old Mad River Explorer, kevlar canoe. Needs a little work. The replacement of gunwales, seats, etc., seems straightforward, but we can't find any definitive information out there about how to restore the badly faded color.

We called Mad River Canoes, and they told us to buff in 303 Protectant, which we did for an hour with zero results.

Also, there's a little ding, which we think a gel coat repair kit will fix -- unless anyone has other tips!

Any advice?

Thanks!!!

Welcome to the broken down Explorer club! I recently got one for free also, the original owner stored it outside under a tarp which eventually led to the demise of the wood components.

The fading on the hull is possibly UV damage. If it's chalky and seems to kind of scrape off with a fingernail that's one sign. You could wet polish the hull progressing from 800-3200 grit and that could restore the original look. I've seen a few others where people have found a marine paint that closely matched the hull and rolled on a thin coat.

Mine is currently sitting in storage for fall, when I'll have time to order & install new components.

This one is a bit tricky. I don't own a gel coat boat, but my buddy has a Wenonah with a gel coat. He used an automotive buffing compound, a power buffer, and a lot of elbow grease to bring the shine back. I can't speak to this being the correct way to go, but I am sure they make something similar for standard power boats.

I joined the Explorer club a few years back. 1990 blue kevlar in the same or worse shape as original posters canoe. I have the aluminum gunnels from Nowthwest Canoe, also have their plastic end caps ands alum seat hangers. My plan is to sand the whole hull and then a few layers of West epoxy, probably tinted blue to kinda match the original color. Now I just need more time and less health issues to make some progress.

I would try an automotive buffing compound with a power buffer. Follow up with a polishing compound, again with the power buffer. Do it outside because the buffer really throws the compound around. I did that on scuffed up Bell black gold boat with fairly good results. I know it works on cars with chalky paint.

JB Weld or other two part epoxy is what I use for small holes and dings.

craigcilley: "I joined the Explorer club a few years back. 1990 blue kevlar in the same or worse shape as original posters canoe. I have the aluminum gunnels from Nowthwest Canoe, also have their plastic end caps ands alum seat hangers. My plan is to sand the whole hull and then a few layers of West epoxy, probably tinted blue to kinda match the original color. Now I just need more time and less health issues to make some progress."

I did this method with good results, but mine was a colored skin coat hull. MR made some UL versions in some models for a few years. Colored resin and Kevlar. I did however also do a Wenonah gel coat solo with good results. I do think you will have to do some repair work on that funky area prior to addressing the whole hull. Not sure whats going on there.

Just paint it. It will make you really happy in no time. You can fill and sand any imperfections first if you want.