hull clean / polish / wax

[BarryL]

Hello,My boat, a 1986 Newport 28, has the original finish on the hull / deck / etc. The boat is white, and is sort of dingy looking. I would like to make it look better by polishing and waxing it. My question is how to determine which product to use? There are rubbing compounds, in both heavy and light duty, finishing compound, oxidation removers, color restorers, etc.I know I should use the gentlest thing that will work. But I don't want to buy 3+different products, and I don't want to have to make 3 trips to the store. Any suggestions on how to choose a particular product? My plan is to use an electric buffer, if that makes any difference.Thanks,Barry

 

[Rob]

I popsted this yesterday but I reread the article

and this may help .The rubbing compound recomended is3M's Imperial Compound and finishing material or "Mirror Glaze"...its $30-$ 32 per 32 floz.this is a Liquid compound to remove moderate scratches, and applied with an electric buffer.As for the wax...they do not recomend a brand name but they do say to use a Silicone synthetic polymer as the prefered wax. VS the carnauba wax....the polymer wax tends to get into all of the microscopic holes in the fiber glass and form a flat layer...where the carnauba wax requires hard rubbing which causes the wax to crystallize and become glossy. tedious to appy and can be removed with perto chemicals ...like gasoline.The complete write up was inCruising World April 2004 "There is a great 5 page article in cruising World on just this subject..Written by William Burr and Aln Cothran ....EXCELLENT!...it helps to be out of the water....but to sum up the article it kind of goes like this...#1. Scrub hull with Clorox and water to remove dirt and mildew.#2. mark Hull with pencil "x" marks to indicate areas not yet sanded. Wet sand with 800 grit paper, repeat with progressivly finer paper.#3. Buff the hull using finishing compound and a lambs wool polishing pad with variable speed polisher.#4. rake the pad to keep it clean during compounding.#5. After washing and rinsing the hull again....Apply your favorite wax. and finish with a final buff.It does help to read the article to get all the fine points with pictures but thats the gist of it."

 

[jmcclain]

Wax, Polish .. and the Beat Goes On!

Barry,A similar question on the Beneteau owners site resulting in a 3 day long thread with no less than a 100 responses. There is no more volitile subject among boat owners than hull treatments. You might want to consider one of the newer sytems such as Woody Wax, Island Girl or Poliglow, that work well on older boats. I just completed cleaning applying Poliglow on our 1996 Beneteau 321 and am very pleased with the results. The shine is fantastic. Do a google on these systems to get a better feel for the alternative systems available. Practical Sailor had a very informative series of articles on the subject in the last few montheJon

 

[Larry]

Polish and WQax

Do NOT use chlorox on anywhere on your boat. It will degrade plastic and fiberglass so that they eventually become brittle. Silicon waxes do bond better to the gelcoat resulting in less oxidation, but any gelcoat repairs are now more difficult as silicon is hard to remove and the gelcoat repairs will not hold well.Having brought back a few sailboats from light to extreme gelcoat oxidation here's the best route: Wash bought first with marine wash. If there is heavy staining try FSR stain(rust,brown scum,etc) remover.1: Use marine rubbing compound to remove heavy oxidation.2: Then use a polishing compound to remove any swirls or light oxidation.3: Apply two or three coats of a premium marine wax. Use an electric polisher/buffer for all of the above steps.Be sure to follow exactly each products instructions.I have used both 3M and Meguiars products with great success. It's alot of work but it pays off.I think Island Girl or Poliglow are more or less permanent and are extremely difficult to remove if those finishes should fail.