Man it's glowing now that I finished waxing it. HaulinBass thanx for the motivation. Still have hrs of cleaning left my son put it up filthy last couple times he used it. Next time we get some sun I'll post a pic.

I got some pics today of the top cap and the sides. Top cap sanded and pre-compound then after I compounded and polished.
I have to say, I thought I was going to get away with not having to compound the boat but I found some 1500 grit scratches that the polish couldn't get out. I went and got some Meguiars rubbing compound and compounded it by hand....and the difference is amazing. You can't get away with missing that step if you go with wet sanding.
Tomorrow I'm going to buy a polisher and do it the easier way.

After sand, compound and polish
left side sanded, right side sand and compound
top sanded bottom not yet

Militarybrat I swear we have the same boat....

They are from the same mold those SX boats are the old ZX. That was my first thought then I remembered they are. They used composits in yours with structual foam transom. Mine is wood built with 1996 design mine is 98 because of warranty replacement. I ended up with a 50th anny one of a kind ZX180. Same color gel and stripes she sure is a pretty girl.

Finish the sanding with 2000 grit and a constant water flow (hose) to make sure all sand scratches are gone or they will show up when you buff. Also always use the lightest compound you can get away with after sanding. Heavy is not needed as you have stripped the gel already. Polish to a brilliant shine and Wax..Wax...Wax with Meguiar's Flagship Wax.

Here's the finished product. Fiberglass spots repaired, whole boat sanded with 1000, 1500, compounded, polished, sealed and waxed. Not bad for a '99 hull. New updated decals look better I think.
I think I'm going to have to call Iguana Grafix and have the "bug" made bigger, didn't quite fit the area like I thought...

The problem is, I still have to install the LED lights. That's what promped all of this. I wasn't going to put the light strips on a boat that needed to be polished and waxed.......

That came out SWEET! You are right about the bug bigger would be better. Blue and white with silver pins is a pretty beast!

Thanks militarybrat. I'm pretty proud of it myself. I'm going to try and salvage at least one of the bugs and put it on the front of the console and get two bigger ones for the sides.
I have the nav LEDS on and wired and am almost done with the deck lights. It was all worth it. Just took a long time doing it a couple of hours here and there.
I'll post pics of the lights tomorrow when it is ready to hit the lake. Best part about this is that I can keep up with the wax and polish now that it is done.

I can only do a couple hrs at a time on mine too. My biggest problem is I hate carpet it is gone from mine should never be in a boat always dirty nasty never releases dirt completely. When I can afford it safe floor for me.

The best thing about doing them is when you stand back and look when you are finished. The wow I did that she looks great.

all boats fade at different levels. you have to try a spot in the worst area to know what it takes to bring back the shine. keep in mind that gel coat both clear and colors is polyester resin. same as fiberglass resin (same hardness) not auto paint.because of the hardness of material that you are buffing you need to start with coarse compound (lots of pressure applied)and finish with polishing compound to remove light scratches and residue from coarse buffing. all compounds have oil in them so don't be fooled by applying lightly and thinking job well done (oil dries out and dull finish comes back / you didn't cut the dead gel off). waxing a boat here in the metroplex is a waste of time because of the saline in our waterways. best to buy spray on wax (spray wipe down / no residue). spray and wipe down before going to lake and after getting back. this with help keep surface clean also. keeping surface clean and out of uv rays when not using the boat will make the hard work worth the effert.