Boat wrap vs restoring gel coat

[Ampusa]

I have a 1992 Champion 20 DCR that I absolutely love the original colors but the exterior was not taken care of and its finish is extremely oxidized, dirty, dingy, etc. I tried to remove much of the oxidation myself following some of the guidelines that members have posted on this site. It didnt turn out much better than it was - i'm not sure if I sanded too much or not enough. So I'm looking for some input from the group on either continuing to work on the gel coat, having the gel coat redone by a professional, or having the boat wrapped. Any experiences you can share wrapping the boat vs continuing to work on the gel coat regarding costs, durability, maintenance, etc. would be greatly appreciated. I live in Phoenix AZ so the summers can be extremely tough on the exterior. The boat is not garaged, but I do have a cover. I've attached some pictures. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

[wmitch2]

It looks like you may have gone down into the flake. If you run your hand over it and it feels really rough, yeah, you have. If you go any further, your boat will look silver. If not, you can wet sand it with a really fine paper and then use a soft cutting compound and a buffer. I've seen some pretty bad looking boats suddenly look almost show room new doing this !!

[Rick H]

Wraps are short term fix

[Ampusa]

How short term would u say?

[Rick H]

Well all I can tell you is at least a few times a year I see wraps peeled on boats. So it depends. Seems to peel more on running surfaces and could be caused by getting nicked then water under pressure getting under it and causing to release in large sheets.

Its not cheap I don't think and its no more than a temporary. Sooner or later its going to peel.

[Les Young]

If you can swing it i'd get the gel restored if you plan on keeping it long term. Heck i just put a very low hour 150 four stroke on my old 2003 stratos 18 XL & am completely satisfied other than i need a bigger prop. I've put livescope & a spotlock trolling motor on it too. I've had new boats & unless i hit the lottery to where money is no object i'll never own another new & severely over priced boat again & have no desire too. I can afford a new one but absolutely refuse to spend that much on one.

[golfpro307]

What grit sand paper did you use and what process. I did a Triton that was baked in the AZ Sun for 2 years . Came out great. 2000 grit to 1500 grit. Bucket of soapy water. I wet the area and the sand paper in the soapy water. Continued to sand until the milky oxidation was gone in that area. Did the whole boat . Then used a buffer with a fine Polish . . If the Gel Coat feels smooth you should be fine. I am in Az as well