Fiberglass Scratches and Overall polish

May 28, 2015
275
Catalina 385 Long Branch, NJ
what? are you looking for a polish or compound?
Actually both polish and compound but what I’m really looking for (and I did a poor job in the post) is whether one of the brands is an outright leader today ... it’s time to replenish my stock ... I started as a 3M, migrated to Fleetwax, now Meguires but I can’t figure out which direction I should go in 2021.
 
Aug 10, 2020
511
Catalina C25 3559 Rocky Mount
for gelcoat i prefer 3m super cut or meguires pro speed cut, followed by a quality paste wax such as meguires California gold.

for polishing stainless or aluminum it's hard to beat good ol mother's mag and chrome polish.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Andy from Boatworks Today is pretty happy with TotalBoat Total Buff(?). Says it works better than anything he's found. I look forward to trying it.
 
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Dec 23, 2016
191
Catalina 27 Clinton CT
for gelcoat i prefer 3m super cut or meguires pro speed cut, followed by a quality paste wax such as meguires California gold.


Are you using Finesse after the compound or just the wax?
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
Formerly sailboat dealer now retired.

First you did not say how deep scratches which is important.
1. If oxidized, I used comet to clean and wash off if needed; otherwise, used Dawn to wash off first.
2, used Finesse It by 3 M compound. Never go over 1000 rpm nor keep polisher in one place or you will burn gel coat.
3. Washed off residue again using Dawn
4. Used cleaner wax by 3M. Wiped off
5. Covered by a good pure wax with UVB inhibitors.

Sometimes I had to do a procedure twice. Worked well for over 30 years
 
Aug 10, 2020
511
Catalina C25 3559 Rocky Mount
for gelcoat i prefer 3m super cut or meguires pro speed cut, followed by a quality paste wax such as meguires California gold.


Are you using Finesse after the compound or just the wax?
Just wax. On darker colors I use meguires diamond cut before wax. It polishes out very nicely.