Wax and Silkenseal complement each other.
Recent discussion has convinced me that I HAVE to do something better about explanation. Will try to do something soon with pictures etc. Silkenseal is a surface sealant that can be used on any opaque plastic (would make clear plastic look a bit milky) and on leather too. It forms a "plastic skin" that is perfect for soft plastics and grained plastics, even painted surfaces, but does not have the thickness and durability of a wax. We used to (and still do) recommend Silkenseal as a sealant under a conventional paste wax (we like Collinite Fleetwax) and when applied over a convential waxed surface it can be used to produce a "wet look" finish and adds additional durability even good waxes will dull as the silicones evaporate. Now to the Simply Brilliant Superwax. This is best considered as a combination of wax and sealant all in one. It has a hard synthetic wax base (more durable than carnuaba) and 3 resins and a gloss enhancing silicone. It is (after shaking the bottle) applied as one or two THIN coats (too much thickness at one time makes for a slow setting sticky surface). There is nothing wrong with applying Superwax over the Silkenseal, since the Silkenseal has a cross-linker that will act to seal the gelcoat pores so saving on SWAX that would otherwise tend to soak in and be wasted. When completely cured the Swax tends to have a non-slippery "resin" feel and Silkenseal can be used to impart the more classic "waxy" feel if you want. It will also make the surface more durable. Confused again? bottom line is that it doesn't really matter what you do with these two products- they are compatible as long as applied separately. My boat (can be seen on IslandGirlProducts.com/product list/superwax page) has lots of coats of ASwax applied over time to really pitted gelcoat. All I do know is wash it down (dilute pink if really dirty) and wipe over with Silkenseal and it's back as new with the wet look. As it weathers (but kept clean) it then tends to revert back to a high class buffed wax look. Hope this was of some help. One last thing. Cockpits are to be sat in so I would be very sparing with the Swax if you want to use it right away and then neutralise and fast harden the surface with some Silkenseal. If this is still confusing call - I will be working on my boat this week but you can reach me on the cell phone via 800 number (they are linked). Thanks Jin Willis
