Boat gelcoat polishing topic

[RED DRAGON]

unclench

Some of you'll need to unclench a bit on the topic. At least your started in the right directin-doing it yourself. You get much more satisfaction from a shine when your arms are tired from rubbing. I'm know expert (clearly Mainsaul is) nor a perfectionist, but I know of 2 steps. First rub it out with a compound, depending on the amount of chalking. Then, put on a wax. Repeat as needed. Just start rubbing. If it does not look perfect, try again next year. You need to get your boat in the water. Your id wants to be sailing, dammed the shine.

 

[Maine Sail]

Ken..

Always apply and remove by hand.

The buffer can destroy a wax real quickly. It essentially heats it up (read bad) then it transfers from the hull, where you just put it, to the pad thus removing the protection and ruining your pad at the same time. Waxes and silicones do not like to wash out of wool pads or foam on a cold wash cycle. Silicones will almost never wash out. Application and removal by hand yields greater longevity too because you leave a thicker film..

 

[Adirondack Bob]

Thanks and One More Question

Mainesail, jviss,

Thanks very much for this information. I clearly misunderstood--conceptually-- just what I was doing when I was compounding and polishing. I assumed each of those steps was essentially the same as waxing. I was wrong, obviously. I think you're right, Mainesail: I was using too much pressure when compounding and polishing. I was also not keeping the surface and pad damp. Live and learn.

So let me make sure I understand the process: Apply the compound, buff with the buffer (using proper pad and pressure and keeping surface moist), then wipe with clean cloth. Is that last step right?

Red Dragon, I take your point. I spent the day on the water yesterday, in fact. But up in these parts, it's a short sailing season, and like many others on this forum, I take pleasure in maintaining my boat and trying to improve it when it's on the hard. All the polishing and waxing (and repairs) didn't keep me from sailing since they were done in the spring before I could reasonably get my boat on the water.

Thanks again for all the advice, gentlemen.

Bob

 

[jviss]

Compound "application"

One term that many pad and polishing product manufacturers use that irks me is "apply," when referring to the use of the product. You're not really applying the compound or polish the way you apply a wax, any more so than you apply sandpaper when sanding, or apply a knife when cutting.

This occurred to me (in an "Aha!" moment) when MainSail said in some other article that you should think of compounds and polishes as liquid sandpaper, albeit of much finer grades. I like this way of thinking about it, and I think it is correct, from a physics perspective. Note that none of the compound or polish remains on the surface after the step. (The wax does, of course).

 

[Ross]

Symantics! Jviss, what verb would you use in

place of apply in this application.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mistress 39]

Sometimes, you can apply

Pressure. I can even apply the brakes in your car.
A dictionary definition od apply : 1. To bring into nearness or contact with something; put on, upon,

Tony B

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mistress 39]

jviss

"think of compounds and polishes as liquid sandpaper, albeit of much finer grades". That is 100% correct.
When I had to do piano finishes on some of my custom furniture, I would use pummace or rottenstone 'applied' with a felt pad, by hand. Sometimes I would use a pre mixed solution of the above in a paste form and sometimes I would use it as a powder and add a special oil for lubrication.
Jewelers use rouge to polish up gem stones. These particulates are too fine to be used with a paper backing as in sandpaper, so they are applied in a liquid or paste solution.
To take things a bit further, think of a grinding wheel as sandpaper with a stone backing. Really no different than a sharpening stone.

Am I talking jibbereish here?. Someone please stopp me.

Tony B

 

[elle]

And you can also

'apply' changes in software menus.

 

[jviss]

O.K., I get it...

... I only recoiled at "apply" because to me it connoted the application of something you would leave there, like paint or wax, rather than "cut" with a polish; but its probably just me.

By the way, I found a really neat wax applicator puck at Wal-Mart for just $2.00 - a circular pad of about 4" with a knob on top, plus a microfiber, foam and cloth bonnet.

If it's not a good sailing weekend I will try to try this all out on the cockpit surfaces - I guess I'm overdoing it now, with a 5 gallon plastic bucket (for cleaning pads), Makita, 4 CSS foam pads, two wool pads, microfiber cloths, five or six different polishing products, 3M wet/dry from 220 to 2000, spray/misting bottle, pad cleaner, pad spurring tool, carnauba wax - let's see, what did I forget?

 

[jviss]

What about textured adn non-skid surfaces?

How should I clean/polish the textured and non-skid surfaces? On the C36, there's the plain white textured surface, as on the cockpit coaming tops, and then there's the light brown deck non-skid.

Any info appreciated.

Thanks,

jv

 

[Ross]

I would clean non-skid and texture but not polish

it . Get it too shiny and it may cease to be non-skid.

Jviss, Google the word "apply" you will love the range of meanings. It is almost a good as "fix"