A Glaze.

[KINGFISHER 9]

Anybody use it? I know it's expensive but I believe it's the best on the market and, if applied properly, lasts for a very long time. Am I right in thinking it's an extra coat applied after polishing and waxing or have I got that wrong?
If anyone does use it ... would you recommend it?

 

[jrudge]

This has been discussed many times before.

You will get polarised views. I have used it in the past. It is expensive and whilst simple to apply, still not that quick.

Is it better that a wax - views differ. It is a decent synthetic sealant, and may well have been one of the first out ... but now there are many many of them.

The "current generation" are glass based sealants. These range for very very pro products that must be properly applied to the punters quick solution which is what I use.

This stuff

http://www.shopnshine.co.uk/gtechniq-c2v3-liquid-crystal-1000ml?___SID=U

Is £30 odd a litre. I can do a squadron 65 ( not the hull but all topsides) in an hour. I did it in April and it still beads off, so it gets my vote.

There is no magic solution - the above works for me as it is simple simple simple to apply and the cost is peanuts. If I were to wax the boat I have no idea how long it would take. The 1 hour was based of course on a clean boat.

 

[KINGFISHER 9]

A search doesn't bring up any discussions about A Glaze ..... plenty of stuff about everyone's favourite polish - bit like an anchor thread! I was asking about experiences from anyone who has used A Glaze.

 

[NoviceRod]

I use A-Glaze. Hull Cleaner first followed by the Polish, and have been very happy with it. Several seasons now, and 2 different boats.
I also use their Teak Cleaner and Protector with good results, 2 seasons now.

 

[rafiki_]

My boat was A Glazed when I bought it. I was not impressed, and now use Silveryak boat wax.

 

[Medskipper]

Anybody use it? I know it's expensive but I believe it's the best on the market and, if applied properly, lasts for a very long time. Am I right in thinking it's an extra coat applied after polishing and waxing or have I got that wrong?
If anyone does use it ... would you recommend it?

yes I've used it, didn't think it was that good! It's expensive and there are others around which do the job just fine.

 

[sunquest]

yes I've used it, didn't think it was that good! It's expensive and there are others around which do the job just fine.

I have seen many examples of A Glaze ranging from Ok to superb. I conclude that this is a professional product to be applied by professionals. An old Princess circa 1980's is annually A Glazed by a professional and I can honestly say it puts many new boats to shame.

 

[jrudge]

A search doesn't bring up any discussions about A Glaze ..... plenty of stuff about everyone's favourite polish - bit like an anchor thread! I was asking about experiences from anyone who has used A Glaze.

A little terse. I have used it. Was it ok. Yes. Special. Not really.

Forget forum search use google. Aglaze ybw You will find plenty of threads

 

[Marine Reflections]

Of all the synthetic surface sealants out there A-Glaze is without doubt the market leader (IMO), that said I don't use it myself or offer it as a final protection coating, but again that is just a personal preference.

It should be applied to what we would call a naked surface, rather than a final 'seal' after a polish and wax, in other words the surface should be free from grease / wax etc as the product bonds to the surface chemically, also it should be applied to a near perfect surface. It is not a restorer as is often claimed.

There are plenty of discussions on the likes of A-Glaze, but none that completely determine one way or another if it is the 'best' product to use, for those who have spent ££hundreds of course they are going to rationalise their purchase, in many cases quite rightly so, but others have been disappointed.
When you take away many of the preparation elements required by a product to achieve it's optimum performance, it's no surprise the product will perform differently. I feel personally that when they released the product to a DIY market that this is where they lost that wonder product perception.

Many decades ago we first discovered what is now called 'The Lotus Effect', this is where a plants leaves would interact with rain water droplets, directing the droplets to the centre of the plant where it could provide the most hydration.

If they didn't do this and the droplets just landed on the leaf and stayed there, they would be dried by the sunlight and not utilised.
The plant never had the pleasure so to speak.

So on some leaves (where water is scarce) leaves had to develop themselves to make the most of any rainfall. It did this by either changing the structure of the leaf or by secreting a surface wax on top of the leaf in order to create a hydrophobic surface.

Hydrophobic as the name suggests is simply water fearing, the opposite hydrophilic is water attracting, washing powder etc.

When we discovered the potential for hydrophobic surfaces, the world went crazy for it, PTFE non stick surfaces for pans, coatings for windscreens and so on, the claims were bold - never wax your car again etc.

The reality was somewhat different and this is down to a couple of main factors:

Just how hydrophobic was the surface with this application?

How long could this hydrophobic state remain under different conditions, cold, heat, sunlight etc?

So, not only was the actual performance measured, but also the duration.

The initial performance of a hydrophobic surface (be it the actual surface or a coating) is measured by what is called 'the contact angle'.

Imagine if you will in my mini lab I've created a coating that offers a contact angle of 90º

So on the surface I now drop one droplet of water, instead of simply splatting on the surface, the droplet raises in the middle somewhat where the surface is rejecting it to a degree.

The droplet has formed an arc, think of a half dome. The flat surface is a line and 90º measured in the middle to the highest point of the droplet is the measured 'contact angle'.

We now raise one end of the surface and try to get the droplet to roll off, we would have to raise the surface a fair bit to get the ball rolling so to speak as half of it is sticking to the surface, but it will roll.

So lets go back to the lab and create a hydrophobic surface that has a higher contact angle, say 120º.

We repeat the process, but now the bead of water is more spherical, of course it is going to be easier to roll it.

The higher the contact angle of the bead, the easier that droplet will roll.

Now what has been achieved by nature has been replicated in the labs, but finding a synthetic coating that will provide this has been an epic task. It may well have been achieved to a certain extent but don't forget that durability also plays a part. It is no good having a surface that offers water a contact angle of 120º if it is short lived.

A-glaze offers a contact angle of around 120º and of course this is subject to prep and environment. But for this reason alone it is why it is the market leader.

There are others that claim they are pushing the boundaries of contact angle much further, 150º + (Super Hydrophobic) but as of yet the duration of such has been short lived. The videos offering as such have never really been released to the general public and what has been released was a disappointment.

So perhaps this is also why A-glaze is still the market leader, the performance (although not quite Superhydrophobic) offers a balance between a decent contact angle and durability?


Why don't I use it? some ask, the answer is simple, I prefer a decent Carnauba wax that offers that same degree in contact angle, sometimes more.

Carnauba wax is formed as a secretion on the top of the Carnauba palm leaves in Brazil. Many think that a wax would melt in sunlight, but if it's good enough for the tree tops of Brazil it's good enough for me in the UK.

It is a simple wipe on wipe off (if you have the correct smooth surface condition which you would also need to get the most out of any final finish) and the cost - around £20 for a good tin. Considering my profession, I'm on the same tin as I started with at the beginning of the year.


For years countries tried to make a pen that would work in space where the lack of gravity would make normal pens useless, the British took up a pencil.

Tony

 

[Nick_H]

I've tried it twice, once applied by myself, and once professionally, and on both occasions it didn't look better or last longer than a good quality conventional wax.

On the A Glaze website, there's a test report from Scott Bader, which seems to show that a boat treated with A Glaze once a year maintains a better surface quality after 4 years than one which does not receive the treatment. I think this may be misleading though, as part 1 of the A-Glaze treatment is just a conventional polish. It's fairly obvious that if you polish one surface, and don't polish another, then after 4 years the polished one will look better, regardless of the effectiveness of any sealant.

The one product I've used which did seem to look better, and last very noticeably longer, was Dulon. You don't hear about it much here, but it's widely used in many other places. This is the only product that has lasted a full season in the med without
starting to go a bit chalky in the most exposed areas.

 

[Marine Reflections]

I've tried it twice, once applied by myself, and once professionally, and on both occasions it didn't look better or last longer than a good quality conventional wax.

On the A Glaze website, there's a test report from Scott Bader, which seems to show that a boat treated with A Glaze once a year maintains a better surface quality after 4 years than one which does not receive the treatment. I think this may be misleading though, as part 1 of the A-Glaze treatment is just a conventional polish. It's fairly obvious that if you polish one surface, and don't polish another, then after 4 years the polished one will look better, regardless of the effectiveness of any sealant.

The one product I've used which did seem to look better, and last very noticeably longer, was Dulon. You don't hear about it much here, but it's widely used in many other places. This is the only product that has lasted a full season in the med without
starting to go a bit chalky in the most exposed areas.

Nick, is the same not true with Dulon?

I've invented a product that keeps the grass short, firstly you will need a lawnmower....

Did you notice anything different about it when comparing applications, or was it just the durability that stood out?

I wonder if they have dealt with the UV factor better than A-Glaze?

 

[Nick_H]

Nick, is the same not true with Dulon?

I've invented a product that keeps the grass short, firstly you will need a lawnmower....

Did you notice anything different about it when comparing applications, or was it just the durability that stood out?

I wonder if they have dealt with the UV factor better than A-Glaze?

I had the Dulon professionally applied, so of course I don't know whether they did a better prep job that the professionally applied A Glaze, as it was different yards that did it. Reading the web site, it's not the same as A Glaze, in that both stages of the Dulon process form part of the protective seal, and are done after the required polishing.

It was the durability of it that stood out. Normally by the end of the season with either A Glaze or 3M ultra paste wax the upward facing areas of GRP on the port side are starting to go powdery, as this is the area that gets the worst of the sun on my home berth. When I had Dulon applied it lasted so much longer, it wasn't just a marginal difference.

 

[Portofino]

+1 for Dulon .
I use the 2 pack version .
The Yard at Aire d Boom (LaRague ) sell / use it too .-so we just copy them
Still beads now applied early May
Something like €40 a pack -2 bottles A and B

 

[Marine Reflections]

Interesting...

If it's lasting longer over in the hotter climates, it stands to reason here in the UK should see even better durability.

Just contacted Dulon International for a sample, thanks guys.

 

[Medskipper]

I have seen many examples of A Glaze ranging from Ok to superb. I conclude that this is a professional product to be applied by professionals. An old Princess circa 1980's is annually A Glazed by a professional and I can honestly say it puts many new boats to shame.

Hi,
I found that it looks good after completion but when the boat needed polishing again, you cannot wash and add more, it leaves a sort of film that needs cleaning off before more is added and cleaning off this film is hard work!

 

[Jamesuk]

For a sexy boat finish use nothing other than AutoSmart Wax (http://www.autosmart.co.uk/WAX.html)

I use it on board a 62 ft yacht and the finish is "sexy". It is so good and forgiving that you can apply the wax, forget about it and come back in the morning and simply buff it out with no sweat. Unlike 3M Ultra Performance Wax which is awful!

I tried A Glaze (Boat show) although it is good, Autosmart Wax is better!

 

[Medskipper]

For a sexy boat finish use nothing other than AutoSmart Wax (http://www.autosmart.co.uk/WAX.html)

I use it on board a 62 ft yacht and the finish is "sexy". It is so good and forgiving that you can apply the wax, forget about it and come back in the morning and simply buff it out with no sweat. Unlike 3M Ultra Performance Wax which is awful!

I tried A Glaze (Boat show) although it is good, Autosmart Wax is better!

The mind boggles! I'm trying to imagine a sexy polish but for the life of me I can't ? I must be way too old.

 

[Nick_H]

The mind boggles! I'm trying to imagine a sexy polish but for the life of me I can't ? I must be way too old.

Here you go, sexy Polish:

 

[Medskipper]

Here you go, sexy Polish:

Ah yes indeed, tad overdressed but I agree sexy polish!

 

[Marine Reflections]

For a sexy boat finish use nothing other than AutoSmart Wax (http://www.autosmart.co.uk/WAX.html)

I use it on board a 62 ft yacht and the finish is "sexy". It is so good and forgiving that you can apply the wax, forget about it and come back in the morning and simply buff it out with no sweat. Unlike 3M Ultra Performance Wax which is awful!

I tried A Glaze (Boat show) although it is good, Autosmart Wax is better!

James, I personally use 3M's Ultra performance wax and find it superb.
Considering the 'sexy' as you call it is in the condition of the surface and the final finish shouldn't really make a difference to the eye, I'd be very interested to know what it is you don't like about it?

Just to compare say the melting points of both:

Autosmart wax ..... 50ºc
3M Ultra performance wax....95ºc