Tips For A Great Buff & Wax

Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Hi love these pics, it's why I wrote the article so you could see your boats look like new again!!
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,915
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
Hi love these pics, it's why I wrote the article so you could see your boats look like new again!!
MaineSail, while I will admit the Sapphire is a well kept vessel and was rather shiny before I started with the compound, the effort put into the hull was still well worth the time spent, she really is mirror like, once the polishing step was completed the wax was so easily applied and removed, I am sure due to the extreme smoothness of the Gelcoat.
IMG_20170424_185552286_HDR.jpg
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,915
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
She turned out beautifully I must say, MaineSail certainly knows his stuff the right gear, the right material and a whole lot of effort and imagine that you get results!
 
Jan 12, 2016
268
Hunter 410 Ladysmith, BC

Been slaving away at this all week. 3M products (compound, finesse it II, and compound and polish wool pads). Also been using a small 6" palm buffer from Canadian Tire to apply compound/polish as its nice and light and easy to use. Everything gets removed with my dewalt heavy duty buffer as well as microfiber cloth.

Finesse It II is tricky to work with in the sun, having a spray bottle of water nearby at all times, especially when buffing off has been essential as the material dries out very fast. Tomorrow we're going to wash everything with a gentle soap and start hand waxing with the collinite paste wax. Hope to be back in the water by Monday.

Only regret is that I didn't start with a 1500 wet sand on the dark blue stripe. It came back with compound but it was a lot of work. The boat is from 1998 and hasn't seen much attention to the gelcoat in a long time from what we can see. We've had it just one year.
 
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Sep 20, 2015
123
Navigator 4200 Classic New Bern, NC
COATS (plural) of collinite? How many should I be doing? I am just doing one. :(
 
Jan 12, 2016
268
Hunter 410 Ladysmith, BC
COATS (plural) of collinite? How many should I be doing? I am just doing one. :(
We did two coats above the blue cove stripe, and three coats on/below the blue cove stripe in the images. Maybe it's overkill but I want it to last at least to the fall if possible.
 
Sep 23, 2009
1,475
O'Day 34-At Last Rock Hall, Md
How did you apply and remove the collinite?
I apply mine with a round yellow foam applicator and remove it with micro fiber towels. However the pro working on the boat next to mine was removing wax with some sort of wool bonnet on a buffer. Naturally that boat had a deeper shine than mine, so thinking of trying that method next year.
 
Jun 21, 2004
2,532
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
I am using a 7" Makita polisher and it works good for the open areas, HOWEVER, there are going to be TONS of smaller places where the buffer cannot reach. Should I just accept to do it by hand or is there a smaller buffer with a 3", or less, wheel with a wool pad? Any ideas?
Try using a small hook & loop backing plate and Lake Country pads available in various diameters; the smallest diameter is 4" and you will need 3.5" backing plate. You can adapt the Makita polisher to the smaller pads; however, you will need to purchase an adaptor. Check out the following link http://www.autogeek.net/optimum-rotary-adapter.html as well as http://www.autogeek.net/lc43175.html
 
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Jan 12, 2016
268
Hunter 410 Ladysmith, BC
How did you apply and remove the collinite?
I apply mine with a round yellow foam applicator and remove it with micro fiber towels.
The collinite was applied by hand with a round wax applicator 3" pad, and removed by hand with a microfiber cloth. We misted the glass with water just before application, and changed microfiber cloths frequently. The microfiber cloths load up quickly, as long as you have a clean cloth I found no need for machine removal. All the machine work was only during the compound and polishing phases.
 
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Aug 2, 2009
637
Catalina 315 Muskegon
Shine comes from compound and polishing. If that's done right, the Collinite doesn't add much shine, just protection.

If you look at MS's polishing tips for buff and wax, he says microfiber towels are fine for removing the Collinite wax haze. There's no real need for power buffing.
 
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Jan 25, 2017
4
Catalina 30 mkII New York City
Wanted to post my results. 1990 C30. Started w/ wetsanding @ 800 grit and moved through the process. I am happy I did the swirl remover, I know OP said its a bit overkill but really brings it from 90% to 100%. I cant agree more.



Before:
IMG_0526.jpg

After:
IMG_0432.jpg
 
Feb 29, 2016
7
french production boat blue water ketch Albany
New question... I am starting to wet sand all the topsides (from the rub rail up) on our motoryacht. I am following the above tips and it is turning out quite well. I am using a 7" Makita polisher and it works good for the open areas, HOWEVER, there are going to be TONS of smaller places where the buffer cannot reach. Should I just accept to do it by hand or is there a smaller buffer with a 3", or less, wheel with a wool pad? Any ideas?
I am about to start my boat with Maine's advise. Have the Makita for that and for the small spaces? I found a 2nd hand Milwaukee cordless polisher, with 50 mm (2") pad. It also makes a good sander for tight spaces with 50 mm 'roloc' disks
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-tools/cordless/2438-22x
Hopefully that does work, if not check Ebay or Gumtree early December.....
 
Mar 30, 2013
700
Allied Seawind MK II 32' Oologah Lake, Oklahoma
OK. 40 year old boat with less than "adequate" attention paid to the gel coat.
Am I just whizzing in the wind trying to bring this back to at least presentable?
The pic is a 8X magnification from about 4 inches out the partial strip at the top is about an inch wide in normal view.
 

Apex

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Jun 19, 2013
1,197
C&C 30 Elk Rapids
OK. 40 year old boat with less than "adequate" attention paid to the gel coat.
Am I just whizzing in the wind trying to bring this back to at least presentable?
Wowzers Larry: Looks like a perfect candidate for some topside paint.
 
Mar 30, 2013
700
Allied Seawind MK II 32' Oologah Lake, Oklahoma
There is still some shine in the old girl. This is after extensive wet sanding and a little hand glaze work. No wax has been applied.
P3261016 by lmmiers, on Flickr
 
Apr 8, 2016
114
Beneteau 361 Clipper Garrucha, Spain
Just wanted to thank Mainsail for giving me the confidence to polish my GelCoat myself. It was hard work but worth the 45 hours I put into it. I bought and used everything recommended, the only thing I tried was I used a machine to wet sand the 2000 grit stage, luckily without damage. I did try a large section with the final 3M hologram & swirl remover but really could not see a difference, even wearing my glasses:) Other yacht owners here were shocked when I told them I was going to take sandpaper to my boat, the same where equally shocked and suitable impressed by the finish I achieved. I can confirm new signage can be applied after final waxing.
 

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Sep 23, 2009
1,475
O'Day 34-At Last Rock Hall, Md
Very impressive. What was done to bow in the before and after bow shot? Any reason not to put the graphics on before the wax?
Boat looks showroom new.