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My 1979 Mopntauk came with a red and black painted name on both sides also, although the surrounding hull was not oxidized at all. I expected some ghositng, but found very little since the boat was stored indoors all it's life and only had 250 hours of total use on it when I bought it four years ago.

I STONGLY recommend you not use any paint removers, but instead wet sand the paint off. That is what I had to do, and the final result was a like new hull.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/lgolt...9907954993

In your case, with a heavily oxidized hull, you will DEFINITELY have shadowing, and it may be so bad you are unable to totally sand through it.

Here is the process:

1. Using a small block, use #400 wet sanding to get the paint off. If it's really tough, you may have to go down to #220, but no more than that. Don't use you fingers or palm as you may gouge out the flat gelcoat surface with the #400 or 220. Once you have that done, you can look at the surrounding areas and see what you have. It is entirely possible you may have to wet sand the entire hull side in order to get a uniform color and eliminate ghositng, which will also require a new Whaler decal and hull #'s.

2. Then, work you way up though the wet sanding grades, and for this you can use a broad surface from hand sanding. Just don't "dig in" with your fingers. From #400, go to 600, 1000, 1500, and 2000.
It's really not as much work as it sounds.

3. Then, you are ready for 3 grades of polishing if you really want a factory high gloss finish. Wool or artifical wool pads are required. Using your buffer, begin with 3M Imperial Compound and Finishing Material. It comes in a black and purple bottle (about $40/qt) and may now be called Marine Polishing compound. It is really an amazing product and the best I have ever used. Do not use the 3M Marine heavy duty compound they also sell - too-much cut and not needed after the wet sanding.

4. Next is 3M Finessit-II, also at least $40/qt, but you get what you pay for. It really starts to bring up the high gloss, if directions on bottle are followed to buff until the pad is dry.

5. Finally, you can do the "glaze" step. I use KIT Scratch Remover in the yellow bottle from Pep Boys.
This is an automotive clear coat micro-fine scratch remover and leaves an incredible high gloss surface, on either a car or a boat. (I also use it the Mercury Phantom Black outboard paint).

I guarantee if you follow this process, and do it correctly, you boat will look likes it's out of the factory.
but I can't guarantee name ghosting will be totally eliminated with out seeing the hull. Some Whaler gelcoat is so badly damaged by UV that the ghosting can't be elliminated without sanding thru the gelcoat. In that case, new gelcoat is required.

Good luck, and have fun. The end results provide great satisfaction of a job well done.