Purchased a new Catalina 400 at the Annapolis Sailboat show last fall. While I'm a big supporter of Poli-Glow products for older, oxidized hulls, I don't think that product is called for here. Still, I want to do as much as I can to retain the new look on the hull as long as possible. What do you guys recommend for new hulls such as mine? Thanks in advance. Tim
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Try this
I'm not sure we have it on our site yet, but it's on the IG site for certain. The stuff is called Mirror Hard Superglaze and it's designed to protect new fiberglass. it's supposed to do exactly what you're asking.
I'm not sure we have it on our site yet, but it's on the IG site for certain. The stuff is called Mirror Hard Superglaze and it's designed to protect new fiberglass. it's supposed to do exactly what you're asking.
best stuff on earth
collinite boat wash collinite fibreglass cleaner 2 good coats of fleetwax every spring on hull and topsides and if possible before winter storage - no need to completely cover during winter. AND - a five gallon drum of elbow grease - budweisser and sometimes coors lite sometimes have it on sale! - nothing will do it better no matter how much you pay. above best for older and new boats.
collinite boat wash collinite fibreglass cleaner 2 good coats of fleetwax every spring on hull and topsides and if possible before winter storage - no need to completely cover during winter. AND - a five gallon drum of elbow grease - budweisser and sometimes coors lite sometimes have it on sale! - nothing will do it better no matter how much you pay. above best for older and new boats.
Collinite 385
This is the hard stuff, in a can. Three coats on the hull and three topside will protect you magnificently.
This is the hard stuff, in a can. Three coats on the hull and three topside will protect you magnificently.
Collinite Plus Power Waxer
I took the advice of Practical Sailor magazine and completely waxed my new Hunter 380 last August/Sep/Oct with Fleetwax No. 885 from Collinite (315: 732-2282). They also have an excellent fiberglass boat cleaner which I recommend you use before the wax is applied to make sure the surface is prepared properly. It is an excellent product that continues to wear well in San Diego's mostly sunny environment. I would suggest you use a professional buffing machine. The folks at Meguiars (800: 545-3321) have an excellent one, a Dual Action Polisher. for about $300 when you add in the the extra bonnets (you need several each day you wax). I used Collinites Metal Polish for the stainless steel and found it to be excellent. I know all of this sounds like a lot of money, but a boat wax only job here goes for $10/foot. That is $400/time for my boat. As you can tell from my months of effort above, I did not do it all at once. It is a lot of work, but well worth it in reduced maintenance now. Good luck!
I took the advice of Practical Sailor magazine and completely waxed my new Hunter 380 last August/Sep/Oct with Fleetwax No. 885 from Collinite (315: 732-2282). They also have an excellent fiberglass boat cleaner which I recommend you use before the wax is applied to make sure the surface is prepared properly. It is an excellent product that continues to wear well in San Diego's mostly sunny environment. I would suggest you use a professional buffing machine. The folks at Meguiars (800: 545-3321) have an excellent one, a Dual Action Polisher. for about $300 when you add in the the extra bonnets (you need several each day you wax). I used Collinites Metal Polish for the stainless steel and found it to be excellent. I know all of this sounds like a lot of money, but a boat wax only job here goes for $10/foot. That is $400/time for my boat. As you can tell from my months of effort above, I did not do it all at once. It is a lot of work, but well worth it in reduced maintenance now. Good luck!
Don't want to start a wax war, but...
I've used Collinite which Practical Sailor rates as #1 and Trewax which is rated #2 and found Trewax much easier to buff out. I waxed my wife's Dodge Stealth with Collinite this summer and the finish looked like new paint, but I wore both my arms off all the way up to and including the elbows... worth it? you bet, but sometimes in the Spring when it's warm (Collinite is a b---- to buff out when the surface gets warm)or I'm pressed for time, I use Trewax with little noticeable difference and a lot less work. tom
I've used Collinite which Practical Sailor rates as #1 and Trewax which is rated #2 and found Trewax much easier to buff out. I waxed my wife's Dodge Stealth with Collinite this summer and the finish looked like new paint, but I wore both my arms off all the way up to and including the elbows... worth it? you bet, but sometimes in the Spring when it's warm (Collinite is a b---- to buff out when the surface gets warm)or I'm pressed for time, I use Trewax with little noticeable difference and a lot less work. tom
Of Strings and Sealing Wax etc etc
Becuase I wanted to seal in the anti-oxidants etc of SEA GLOW and our other cleanser/conditioner after restoring and conditioning the gelcoat, I recommended Collinite Fleetwax, over an undercoat of Silkenseal. If you then use Silkenseal to "shine up" the Collinite surface you get a tougher surface with the "wet look" that can be shined up now and again just as easily. However, after doing a whole boat out here with this approach did see what hard work it is buffing out the Collinite or any paste wax (liquid waxes by contrast have higher silicone content and solvent, so are easier to buff out - but don't last. The real way is to use a machine buffer that "melts" by friction the wax and gives a better surface anyway. If you want a classic wax, my vote goes to Collinite, especially since they have stayed loyal to their independent distributors and did not "Sell Out" to the major discount house. However there is now a MUCH easier way! While acrylics like New Glass (available here), poliglow, Vertglass TSRW etc are about equally rated and have their role for "basket case" highly porous gelcoat, these products are NOT suitable for new boats, especially white boats. As Phil said, we have just introduced a new "wipe on" sealant called MIRROR HARD Superglaze. It is SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR NEW FIBERGLASS BOATS or PAINTED BOATS, INCLUDING LPU. How does it work? You just wipe on a VERY THIN COAT (one coat usually) over a new or previously waxed CLEAN surface and let it dry. How about THAT for simple instructions! A nice thing about this new product is that it also dissolves surface dirt (although a bit wasteful for this purpose, so we preclean , if necessary with diluted Pink). It also dissolves oxidation from painted surfaces, including LPU in addition to sealing. This product is part of a new boat kit that also contains our non-skid sealant. These products will be coming to the Chandlery on this site very soon. If you want to see more, with pictures, they are posted on www.IslandGirlProducts.com, go to products, then MIRROR HARD Superglaze, For older boats, look up SIMPLY BRILLIANT Superwax. You can always glaze over the SB Swax instead of starting from scratch. MH SUperglaze is great on car paint too. To good to be true? Any previous customer is very welcome to request a freebee sample to see for yourself, but I will need an e-mail or mailing address. There is already a testimonial on our site. Roll on the Boating Season so that I can sell instead of spend on this business! Thanks Jim W
Becuase I wanted to seal in the anti-oxidants etc of SEA GLOW and our other cleanser/conditioner after restoring and conditioning the gelcoat, I recommended Collinite Fleetwax, over an undercoat of Silkenseal. If you then use Silkenseal to "shine up" the Collinite surface you get a tougher surface with the "wet look" that can be shined up now and again just as easily. However, after doing a whole boat out here with this approach did see what hard work it is buffing out the Collinite or any paste wax (liquid waxes by contrast have higher silicone content and solvent, so are easier to buff out - but don't last. The real way is to use a machine buffer that "melts" by friction the wax and gives a better surface anyway. If you want a classic wax, my vote goes to Collinite, especially since they have stayed loyal to their independent distributors and did not "Sell Out" to the major discount house. However there is now a MUCH easier way! While acrylics like New Glass (available here), poliglow, Vertglass TSRW etc are about equally rated and have their role for "basket case" highly porous gelcoat, these products are NOT suitable for new boats, especially white boats. As Phil said, we have just introduced a new "wipe on" sealant called MIRROR HARD Superglaze. It is SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR NEW FIBERGLASS BOATS or PAINTED BOATS, INCLUDING LPU. How does it work? You just wipe on a VERY THIN COAT (one coat usually) over a new or previously waxed CLEAN surface and let it dry. How about THAT for simple instructions! A nice thing about this new product is that it also dissolves surface dirt (although a bit wasteful for this purpose, so we preclean , if necessary with diluted Pink). It also dissolves oxidation from painted surfaces, including LPU in addition to sealing. This product is part of a new boat kit that also contains our non-skid sealant. These products will be coming to the Chandlery on this site very soon. If you want to see more, with pictures, they are posted on www.IslandGirlProducts.com, go to products, then MIRROR HARD Superglaze, For older boats, look up SIMPLY BRILLIANT Superwax. You can always glaze over the SB Swax instead of starting from scratch. MH SUperglaze is great on car paint too. To good to be true? Any previous customer is very welcome to request a freebee sample to see for yourself, but I will need an e-mail or mailing address. There is already a testimonial on our site. Roll on the Boating Season so that I can sell instead of spend on this business! Thanks Jim W
Tom - miss my Stealth!
When I was a hot shot Chief Scientist with Biotech, I had a twin turbo with convertible conversion. Broke my heart to sell but that is what you sacrifice for small business. I did use my products on it though and had two great years seeing all of the CA coasline while learning to be a sales rep! Nothing to do with boating, but hey its Winter! JW
When I was a hot shot Chief Scientist with Biotech, I had a twin turbo with convertible conversion. Broke my heart to sell but that is what you sacrifice for small business. I did use my products on it though and had two great years seeing all of the CA coasline while learning to be a sales rep! Nothing to do with boating, but hey its Winter! JW
THANKS!!
Great suggestions from all. Just proves you really can teach an "old dog" (well, not toooo old!) new tricks. First time with a new boat and don't want to screw it up! Now if I could just turn back the clock and get my old back back (pun intended) or find some HS kid willing to work for $1.00/hr, I'd be in business!! Score one for IS products! Thanks again. Smooth Sailing! Tim Leighton (S/V "MAGIC")
Great suggestions from all. Just proves you really can teach an "old dog" (well, not toooo old!) new tricks. First time with a new boat and don't want to screw it up! Now if I could just turn back the clock and get my old back back (pun intended) or find some HS kid willing to work for $1.00/hr, I'd be in business!! Score one for IS products! Thanks again. Smooth Sailing! Tim Leighton (S/V "MAGIC")
MAKING MONEY ON THE STOCK MARKET!
FROM THE RESONSES, COORS LITE AND BUDWEISSER SEEM TO BE THE ANSWER TO ALL UR DREAMS OF THE FUTURE. TED. p.s. combined cleaner waxes are, in my experience, are not very satisfactory. on the occasions i have used them, they do not clean very well, leave streaky finish and the wax protective finish not satisfactory for very long. use collinte cleaner and fleetwax for our cars - excellent. a coat of fleetwax spring and autumn does the job great and protects excellently.
FROM THE RESONSES, COORS LITE AND BUDWEISSER SEEM TO BE THE ANSWER TO ALL UR DREAMS OF THE FUTURE. TED. p.s. combined cleaner waxes are, in my experience, are not very satisfactory. on the occasions i have used them, they do not clean very well, leave streaky finish and the wax protective finish not satisfactory for very long. use collinte cleaner and fleetwax for our cars - excellent. a coat of fleetwax spring and autumn does the job great and protects excellently.
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