Repolishing Hull

D

damauney

.
May 26, 2004
168
- - Oriental, NC
Maine


I am in NC so UV not like FL but still intense for a couple of months. Two years ago I did the whole process you described including Fleetwax. Turned out great. Thanks. Now I am getting ready to pull and dry out a few months like I do every couple of years. Under this situation would you expect I could just start with Finess or would you expect I will have to go back start with compounding first. My concern is wearing away gel coat on an 1989 O'Day. An idea for a test to see if Finess is a sufficient starting point would be appreciated.

Goodwinds
DaveM
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

.
Feb 6, 1998
11,709
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
I would start with Finesse It and see how it goes. If it works, your golden.. Always best to start with the least aggressive product..
 
FourPoints

FourPoints

.
Apr 8, 2010
1,606
Frers 33 41426 Westport, CT
Dave, I did the full process as outlined about 4 or 5 years ago, and since lightly run over the hull with the polisher and finesse each year, There has been no reason to touch the hull with compound again.
 
R

rockingham

.
Sep 27, 2014
57
Montgomery 17 driveway
Another way to polish an old hull

DaveM said:
Maine

I am in NC so UV not like FL but still intense for a couple of months. Two years ago I did the whole process you described including Fleetwax. Turned out great. Thanks. Now I am getting ready to pull and dry out a few months like I do every couple of years. Under this situation would you expect I could just start with Finess or would you expect I will have to go back start with compounding first. My concern is wearing away gel coat on an 1989 O'Day. An idea for a test to see if Finess is a sufficient starting point would be appreciated.

Goodwinds
DaveM
Click to expand
My sailboat hull is 38 years old and hard to match yellow so instead of doing a lot of buffing and sanding this year I tried one of those polymer coatings that just brush on. They advertise usually for sprucing up fiberglass cars but they also work on boats. The product I used was called "NewGlass Two" as seen in "Good Old Boat" Magazine but they are all the same,I think. You just brush them on with the supplied applicator after washing, drying and dewaxing the hull. It took about an hour to apply the 7 recommended coats and the shine looks a foot deep. I also bought the remover to clean up any drips but if you do not try to apply too much on any one coat the stuff dries quickly enough to not run. All that is necessary next year for a spruce up is a wash and one new coat. I bought a quart for my 17 foot hull and used very little of the product, less than a cup. I also tried this stuff on another boat and the shine lasted three years before I had to recoat. Very little elbow grease involved.
 

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B

bigpapaporsche

.
Jun 4, 2010
116
Catalina Capri 22 Cincinnati
I've had several, new to us, sailboats over the past 9 years, and have done the full hull maintenance treatment on each of them, with great success! I had a lot of comments, as to what products, I've used to get these results. It seems to me, that people expect that all they have to do is spend 1-2 hours applying some miracle liquid, out of a bottle, and you are done. I had trouble giving them answers and on day it came to me, I simply use a lot of "Elbow Grease." The Maine Sail method is exactly what I've done, although I didn't know it by that name! The good news is, that each year after the first, it much easier and your boat looks better than other boats at the marina. I am in the process right now of doing the job again on our newest boat, thankfully its only 22 feet.
 
A

ALNims

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Jul 31, 2014
208
Hunter 356 Huis Ten Bosch Marina, Sasebo, Japan
What is the polishing process or where can I find it?
 
T

tartansailboat

.
Oct 28, 2014
24
Ericson 34 Brickyard Cove
some information about New Glass. Turns out that New Glass is a polyurehtane product with extra UV inhibitors. I am in SF Bay area so UV is not a problem, note that New Glass is a Florida company, lots of UV there. I use ACE Hardware urethane floor wax, much, much cheaper. I also use the acid hull cleaner, ON/OFF but have not needed to compound, hate to use abrasive products on old boat gel coat. I use a very short nap painting pad, Home Depot supplied, and brush on 5-6 very thin coats in one afternoon. I start at the bow, work my way around the stern and the other side, at which time the starting point has already dried, so I just keep going until I either run out of floor wax or daylight. Three years later at haul out, I use ACE Hardware floor stripper (aggressive base chemical, full strength) and start over again.
 
R

rockingham

.
Sep 27, 2014
57
Montgomery 17 driveway
Ha, that is a neat idea. Floor wax. Get a kick out of reading what other people have figrued out about how to get to where they want to from where they are.
Thanks for the UV consideration information. Here is South Texas we have a lot of UV so I guess I better stick with the UV treatment polymer.
 
njlarry

njlarry

.
Sep 23, 2009
1,475
O'Day 34-At Last Rock Hall, Md
Back to Dave's question would you remove the wax before polishing or compounding or just polish without removing the prior years wax?
 
W

waternwaves

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Feb 6, 2009
257
Hunter 40 Camano Island
used to use the Johnson acrylic floor wax with Xtra UV protection on my aerocommander over IMRON, Did not like stripping it completely every 2 years, but for the first 18 months or so it would look fantastic
 
woodster

woodster

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Sep 15, 2009
6,243
S2 9.2a Fairhope Al
waternwaves said:
used to use the Johnson acrylic floor wax with Xtra UV protection on my aerocommander over IMRON, Did not like stripping it completely every 2 years, but for the first 18 months or so it would look fantastic
Click to expand
when i was in the army some of the guys would use Glow Coat floor wax to get that patten leather look on there low quarters ...me i was hard headed i always spit shined them with kiwi wax
 
D

damauney

.
May 26, 2004
168
- - Oriental, NC
Maine

I was assuming that when you suggested I start with the milder finess it to see if that is enough on a repolish that was just with the boat washed and not attempting remove the old residual polish. Thanks for the clarification.

Good winds
DaveM
 
C

chp

.
Sep 13, 2010
432
Hunter 280 hamilton
njlarry said:
Back to Dave's question would you remove the wax before polishing or compounding or just polish without removing the prior years wax?
Click to expand
I would like to know this as well. I had to do the whole wet sand process the first year I had my boat and came out great. I've been down to a quick buffing with Finesse II and wax, but I wonder about any old wax still on the hull. Seems some area's gum up a bit when buffing. However with only a few hours work now the boat looks like new after the initial work. Many comments on how well my 25 yrs boat looks.
 
woodster

woodster

.
Sep 15, 2009
6,243
S2 9.2a Fairhope Al
i think some where in Mainesales instructions ....in the prep part there is something about removing the old wax and dirt ...that should take care of the old wax with out sanding ...but if your surface needs sanding by all mean sand it
 
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