My own testing to examine customer feedback
Silkenseal contains small amounts of the cross-linker than I cannot put in the wax itself because it affects shelf life (eventual "kicking off" in the bottle). However I have found that if the gelcoat is very porous, a thin coat of SILKENSEAL not only acts to reduce SB Superwax soaking into the pores (localized "blotchiness" or dulling) but it also acts as a catalyst causing a much faster cure rate for the Superwax. You can apply the Superwax within minutes of the Silkenseal application as long as it evenly spread and feeling "dry". If the waxed surface is incompletely cured, it will feel "oily". Then exposure to rain water or sea-water causes "blooming" with a loss of superficial shine. The surface is, however, still completely protected (test by water beading). The fix is to remove excess oiliness (usually due to improper, too thick application, residue from SEA GLOW not removed etc, bottle not shaken etc) by lightly wiping with microfiber cloth and restoring shine by wiping over with Silkenseal which also cures the surface quickly. All this is, of course, mainly common sense if you know how the products work and I thank you and Mr Adam Howard for the feedback that matches my own findings. I am currently redoing the instructions on the web-site and literature to explain this more easily. One thing I did again confirm when I did my cockpit sides, was how incredibly fast the Island Girl Approach is compared to conventional compounding and waxing and how much longer it lasts. I did my boat that had been neglected here in the tropics for years and it rained (torrentially) just as the swax application was finished. I fixed one hull sides with Silkenseal to restore the shine that is still great some 6 months later. The other side I left "dull" but both sides bead water equally. I need to get the dinghy out to do the "dull" side (that is away from the dock) with silkenseal. After two months I shined up the dark green stripe with silkenseal and it still looks good and "waxed" (have made photographs to post on website) but it is about due for a 5 minute touch up again for the original "wet look". I hose the boat down about once a week and wipe over the areas that show with the microfiber cloth to remove water spots. This prevents penetration by air pollution (road film etc). Incidentally you will find that applying a thin coat of the Superwax (but shake well) over a previously superwaxed surface gives a mirror shine and very fast set up due to partial redissolving of the underlying wax/resin. I also found that this is the fastest way to remove any streaks due to polluted run off. Thanks for the feedback Jim Willis
