3M or Farecla for shiny GRP hull?

antaris

antaris

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Goodmorning all,

as the title sugggests, which one would you propose? Hull is almost 20 yrs old, fairly good condition, must have seen a bufffer a few years back (not chalky)... Just want to get it all really shiny again!

I believe Farecla are water-based and 3M petroleum based....

Any experiences? Any suggestions?
 
I've used both and frankly you can't go wrong with either of them.
Both brands make excellent products and provided you choose the correct product for the application you really can't go wrong.

For information a few years ago when I first did ours, hull similar age but quite chalky, I used the Farecla marine compound.
It brought it up a treat, far better than the G3 I started with which is primarily designed for automotive.

This year just for restoring the shine to the fender areas which had minor scratches etc I used some 3M "Machine polish" compound that I bought at a boat jumble a few years ago.
It's much finer and just brings back that high gloss shine without any swirl marks.

I don't think the water / petroleum base difference is relevant to final result.
 
I've used both and between those I'd choose 3M. The £M Imperial rubbing compound is hard work but it does a good job on my boat which is 24 years old.

This year I have switched to Maguiars which I think has been very easy to use and has given a good finish. I don't know how well it will do over the season which is the real test. 3M lasted quite well over the season - better than Farecla.
 
Stooriefit said:
This year I have switched to Maguiars which I think has been very easy to use and has given a good finish. I don't know how well it will do over the season which is the real test. 3M lasted quite well over the season - better than Farecla.
Click to expand...

Meguiars is brilliant stuff! I only clean and polish my hull every 2 years, when I have it lifted for antifouling. I find that a couple of applications of Meguiars polish, followed by a couple of applications of Meguiars wax, gives a good shine which lasts very well. The best thing is, it's easy to apply by hand and polish off by hand - minimal effort.

homeflash5_zpse20fe761.jpg
 
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Goodmorning all,

as the title sugggests, which one would you propose? Hull is almost 20 yrs old, fairly good condition, must have seen a bufffer a few years back (not chalky)... Just want to get it all really shiny again!

I believe Farecla are water-based and 3M petroleum based....

Any experiences? Any suggestions?[/QUOTE]

Hi

I have used both in the past with equally good results, but for the last few years I use 'T' cut first, then MER polish, then MER wax (both from Halfords), but I do use my Meguiars G220 polisher.

Many people just finally polish which will look good, but they then wonder months later why it has faded, this is because you need to wax finally over the polish which will give a much more longer lasting shine to the boat and washes off much better.


Apart from anything else if it has got 'marine' on anything it will cost twice as much min!

Mike
 
antaris said:
Goodmorning all,

as the title sugggests, which one would you propose? Hull is almost 20 yrs old, fairly good condition, must have seen a bufffer a few years back (not chalky)... Just want to get it all really shiny again!

I believe Farecla are water-based and 3M petroleum based....

Any experiences? Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Be aware this isnt a one stop process. It would be a bit like taking an old piece of wood and using a coarse grade sandpaper and expecting it to end up like your dining room table!
So, for a tired old gel, you need to go from washing,drying,compounding,fine finish,polish,wax. Using products from the same company does mean it is easier to know where you are in the "cutting" scale.
Farecla (marine, note) and 3M both do complete product lists, and there probably isnt alot of difference- both get well reviewed. You will need a proper polisher, the Silverline £60 job being the cheapest, and some decent wool bonnets and a backing plate. That will be another £75. You can use foam pads for the finer work, but then you might need yet another backing plate. 3M direct shop is actually a pretty cheap place to get their stuff.
You can of course just try with Autoglym resin polish, which will improve things a bit, but it is a bit like decorating.. the poorer your preparation, the poorer the finish- and, worse, the less time that finish will last.
You can read here, though the 3M products migth have moved on in name...
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=117266
 
Many thanks to every one of you for all your replies.

Lots of interesting links and ideas... I am a little surprised that automotive products are mentioned - since I' d have imagined that GRP oriented products would be different to painted metal surfaces (but then again sandpaper is sandpaper whatever you use it for!)...

Well I already have a buffer/polisher with a a 3M Wool attachment, and I intend to go for a 2 or 3 step process (had, thin-cut and wax).

As for the prices, indeed, this stuff is well expensive...

Someone did a good job overe here (it's from the Catalina link above!): ;)

110191009.jpg
 
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antaris said:
Many thanks to every one of you for all your replies.

Lots of interesting links and ideas... I am a little surprised that automotive products are mentioned - since I' d have imagined that GRP oriented products would be different to painted metal surfaces (but then again sandpaper is sandpaper whatever you use it for!)...

Well I already have a buffer/polisher with a a 3M Wool attachment, and I intend to go for a 2 or 3 step process (had, thin-cut and wax).

As for the prices, indeed, this stuff is well expensive...

Someone did a good job overe here (it's from the Catalina link above!): ;)

110191009.jpg
Click to expand...
One tip is to try with the medium finish as a starter test on an area and see how that goes. If that seems to be doing ok, maybe just use the harsher stuff on the worst areas. You cant put the gel back on again ;) Another tip is wipe the area with acetone, as, especially car products, can have fillers that initially make the hull shiny. If you wipe that off, you can see how the underlying gel has actually been restored (or not!)

There are some good videos on Youtube, often for 3M.
 
Thank you very much - that makes all the effort worthwhile!

I would echo the comments about thoroughly applying a wax coat (or two). It gives much increased longevity to the look of the polished surface.

Rob
 
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