Tips on fighting fiberglass oxidation

[Surfergirl]

can anyone describe how I can go about getting a 20 year old fiberglass boat to shine like new?

specifically, i'm trying to avoid incurring costs of a full paint job but want to fight the years of oxidation, minor fiberglass repairs and the "shadow" on the transom from the last boat name. a detailer mentioned wet-sanding with 1500-2000 grit paper, then compounding and buffing and then polish and followed by a teflon wax however i don't want to pay $38 per hour (received an estimate north of $5k to do the whole boat )

this is a project i am fully capable of tackling myself with a little guidance so as not to burn through the gelcoat and with a little knowledge in what supplies I should use

thanks to all!

$38 Per hour That is insane!! I can remove that 'shadow' in half a day.. I would not wet sand a boat UNLESS the top surface is what I call balling off in your hand, and that is if the owner does not want to repaint and I would not charge $38 an hour. Yes it is hard work to remove a shadow, but it does not require wet sanding your boat. And it should not take 5K to detail your boat.. Now, being I said that.. You can improve the condition of your boat with some hard work. I would not hire a detailer unless they give you a price by the foot (and with a reasonable price) and stick to the price when it is finished. If you decide to use the heavy duty compound and your boat is heavly oxydized you need to be careful that the brown in the compound does not soak into the pores, then you will have a mess, it is very hard to remove the brown, make sure you keep the compound wet by misting it with a spray bottle filled with water, and buy LOTS of buffing pads, I like the 3M compounding wool pads for cutting oxydation. I use a multi speed buffer it will be your best friend Oh, and make sure you charge your IPOD it gets very boring if you do not have something to occupy your mind.

[Surfergirl]

My warning to all who hire a detailer, if they say they will compound your oxydized boat by hand.. run away, run as fast as you can! I don't care who you are, even popeye would have a hard time getting a good result using only hand power. I get so pissed when I hear boat owners say that they got another price quote and the detailer told them they would compound by hand. That just shows that there are detailers who have not done their home work to educate themselves on the surface they are working on, and are not concerned about the boat owners investment.