Compounding and polishing for dummies?

[Quandary]

I know there have been lots of threads on this, many of which I have read including Maine Sail's very precise detailed but dogmatic instructions but please bear with me.
In the past my habit was to wash by hand on lift out with Cif on a soft haired floor brush and again before launch and on the second occasion hand apply and rub with 3M 'Cleaner Wax'.
This time I am tempted to buy and use a machine; I have been considering this for donkeys years but have been put off by the complexity and variety of the advice offered. Maine Sail advises that it must be a Hitachi single action but he is dogmatic about everything, almost as obsessive as the car detailers. The choice of products and pads available is quite confusing if you only do this occasionally and when you go to buy stuff a level of experience seems necessary.
I was going to but a cheaper single action machine, a Silverline or the lighter GMC 1300W, several models of both are available at a discount with free delivery from 'T for Tools' at prices that reflects the very rare use I will make of it. I was going to compound using G 10 as a suitable starting stage ( or G3 if it looks as if it needs it) with a heavy duty 3M wool pad followed by a polish with 'Finesse It' using a 3m yellow wool pad. After this I need to wax, any product recommendations? and is this best done by hand or can I use the machine for that?
So, am I okay using wool pads for both? How many might I need for the topsides of a 31 footer? (Most of the boat looks fairly clean and shiny but when doing it by hand there was never much of a before and after effect). Are there other alternative products or methods I might consider without going overboard on time and technique?

 

[pcatterall]

Every 2 seasons I Tcut my 33' hull and then apply a few coats of good wax polish to seal and protect. The hull looks great ( and is 40years old).
Before buying a machine you may care to test hand 'polishing' with just Tcut. Do a foot square see how it looks and how much effort it took.
It is essential to wash off with detergent first to remove any grime and oily stuff otherwise you are just mixing muck with your Tcut ( compound).

I have to admit that sometimes I am having to do sessions with the T cut and am considering a small light polisher myself but one issue is that we are in Spain
so a polisher may have to be stored on the boat ( more junk just for occasional use.

My best trick when I have assistants is to go round the hull treating lots of those square foot patches, show the assistants how much of an improvement it makes then tell them to get the rest of the hull to that standard!

I will be interested in your responses especially where light weight machines are concerned.

 

[pvb]

Are there other alternative products or methods I might consider without going overboard on time and technique?

For years, I've washed the hull with a sudsy sponge and supermarket own-brand "creme cleaner", then applied a polish and wax. I use Meguiars 45 Polish and Meguiars 56 Pure Wax. Usually a couple of coats of each, applied by hand - they're both quick and very easy to apply and to buff off by hand. That lasts 2 years until the next time the boat's out of the water. My old boat was 35ft, the current one is 37ft, no problem doing this by hand. Perhaps try this before you resort to mechanical methods.

 

[Quandary]

I have been doing it by hand using various techniques and products for about forty years, our Achilles was mustard coloured so obviously I did not polish that but the Trapper 300 that followed was light blue and white so that was when it started. I fancied having a go with a machine, though with only a couple of seasons left in me it is probably hardly worth the bother.
There must be someone out there that uses a polishing machine who could give me some advice, or if it is a really daft idea explain why.

 

[ashtead]

Do you have a budget in mind as this might determine the choice? As an occasional user would you be in the sub £100 bracket ? I would have thought if your choice is price driven the next question might be weight ?

 

[Quandary]

Do you have a budget in mind as this might determine the choice? As an occasional user would you be in the sub £100 bracket ? I would have thought if your choice is price driven the next question might be weight ?

Yes, I am a cheapskate who owns a lot of cheap tools many of which rarely see daylight, a Silverline sander/polisher weighs around 3kg. sells for about £55 the GMC is about 1/2 kilo lighter and only about £10 more, good pads etc could add another £50 so I did not plan to spend much over the £100 on this. I did look at a Dodo Juice machine at about double the price but can not see the advantage, the boat is in a yard less than 5 mins away from my door, I have planks and trestles and can work in short sessions with frequent coffee breaks to mitigate the weight?

 

[Sneaky Pete]

I had similar thoughts about polishing a few years ago. I watched several YouTube videos about hull polishing to give me an idea of degree of difficulty. Eventually I bought a Makita variable speed polisher, some sponge pads and a wool mop from Machine mart (Clark tools). I prefer Farecla products but it is a personal choice. I would recommend going for it I have had great results each year I don’t think you will be disappointed.

 

[adwuk]

I bought the dodo juice polisher. Even at 2kg my arms were falling off after a weekend of polishing. I used 3m polish (2 grades) with wool mops and wax was applied by hand. I think we went through about 6 mops in total.

 

[dunedin]

Can anybody explain the point of using polishing tools.
I hand polish the car twice a year and it continues to look the same as it left showroom (at least when it has been washed).
Similarly try to wash then hand polish the boat hull twice a year - doing by hand generally takes 3-4 hours. Again looks good as a result. (Though did need extra brief wash after exiting Crinan and Caley canals)
My thinking is keep simple and do more often rather than make more complex and do less often. Don’t know what I am missing in terms of results

 

[pvb]

Can anybody explain the point of using polishing tools.
I hand polish the car twice a year and it continues to look the same as it left showroom (at least when it has been washed).
Similarly try to wash then hand polish the boat hull twice a year - doing by hand generally takes 3-4 hours. Again looks good as a result. (Though did need extra brief wash after exiting Crinan and Caley canals)
My thinking is keep simple and do more often rather than make more complex and do less often. Don’t know what I am missing in terms of results

My view is similar; it's not hard work to do it by hand if you choose the right polish and wax. More importantly, there's no danger of getting swirl marks in the gelcoat through over-enthusiastic amateur use of power tools!

 

[Keith 66]

If the hull is grotty i cut back with G7 or G3 with a foam pad which is dampened with water. If a hull is really bad i used to go over it with fine wet & dry maybe 600 then 1000 grade before buffing. Every job was different! As for tools the last silverline i bought was an angle grinder, It lasted just 12 minutes before it expired & let out the magic smoke. With a silverline you will be lucky if it gets to one end of the boat. I use a Sealey & its a good polisher.

 

[DuncanHall]

I have polished by hand for years. However, this year, having bought a larger vessel, I bought an old professional units from one of the professionals who works out of the marina and purchased a new lambswool mop. It made the job much quicker. I used 3m combined compound and wax and it did the job in one go. Its a heavy unit but it does the job much quicker than by hand.

 

[pcatterall]

I have polished by hand for years. However, this year, having bought a larger vessel, I bought an old professional units from one of the professionals who works out of the marina and purchased a new lambswool mop. It made the job much quicker. I used 3m combined compound and wax and it did the job in one go. Its a heavy unit but it does the job much quicker than by hand.

Combined compound and wax sounds strange. I thought the compound was to remove a thin surface of stained or 'oxidised' layer then the wax was to build up a protective layer. How does this combined stuff do that?

 

[DuncanHall]

Combined compound and wax sounds strange. I thought the compound was to remove a thin surface of stained or 'oxidised' layer then the wax was to build up a protective layer. How does this combined stuff do that?

Not sure but it works


3m data is here

https://www.3m.co.uk/3M/en_GB/compa...ing-Compound-Wax/?N=5002385+3291239710&rt=rud

 

[gilesfordcrush]

I have a cost effective electric polisher. In order to reduce the weight of the unit I use a combination of bungees and halyards to support it's weight. You can effectively counterbalance most of the weight of the tool, which makes for a more pleasant user experience. You have to adjust the set up two or three times as you go along each side of the hull. Sometimes I just use a bungee on the toe rail, sometimes I use the bungee on the end of the spinnaker halyard.

 

[richardbrennan]

I have a Rupes mini polisher which weighs less than two kilos and has now given many years of reliable service, however they are not cheap. I have always used 3M wool pads as they do not need spraying with water like foam ones. I have also use 3M compounds and polishes but have recently started using G-Technic products. I have a dark blue hull, which is now twenty years old, and still looks good.

 

[dutyhog]

How many might I need for the topsides of a 31 footer? (Most of the boat looks fairly clean and shiny but when doing it by hand there was never much of a before and after effect). Are there other alternative products or methods I might consider without going overboard on time and technique?

Before you buy a machine would you like to try one? I've a Silverline Sander Polisher (output shaft M14 male. Pad size 180mm. No load speed 600-3000rpm.) - PM me if you'd like to borrow it to try out, I probably live quite near you by Argyll standards.

I tend to use a damp "Silverline Polishing Buffing Sponge White 150mm Firm Compounding Pad" with a 3M abrasive to clean up the GRP, then polish with wax by hand or maybe a wooly mop. I also use a combination of bungees and halyards from the lower lifeline to support it's weight. I don't do this often, even though the hull certainly needs it done again.

Gordon

 

[nimbusgb]

I bought one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01J6J24X6 for use on the car, correcting swirl and other 'abuse' marks.

Works a treat. Happy to use it on my Merc, would be great on the boat. ( But I'm going to wrap mine )

I also have a Silverline 180mm polisher, never been used. that you can have for £25 if you like that solution.

 

[Quandary]

nimbusgb,
I notice that the machine that you favour is dual action, most of the gurus that pronounce on this stuff recommend a straight sander polisher like the Silverline etc. and tend to denigrate dual action, though conceding that it may be less risky for a novice? What do you think?

Another question, the cheaper polishers like the Silverline tend to be about 3kg. while the medium price ones like the Dodo Juice etc seem to be only 1/2kg. lighter, is that going to make a lot of difference? I have a 250mm. angle grinder which I use mainly for cutting with a diamond blade, I guess it is a similar weight and I do not find it that comfortable to handle though the torque at high speed may contribute to that.

 

[Vegable]

This may be totally the wrong way to do it but it's how I now go about it.
I bought a cheap 240v single speed car polisher from Halfords and their polishing mops. A packet (or two) of their mops consisting of a putting on mop and a fluffy polishing off mop. I use Maguires cutting compound and then the red lable Autoglym car polish. By scouring the boatyard for planks and supports and variuos Heath Robinson contraptions I make a platform to work from so the boot top line is about knee height and at the bow the deck is just below tip-toe.
I wash the boat with a hull cleaner of sorts. Then I use an oxalic acid and wallpaper paste mix then wash it all down thoroughly with cold water and sponge and hosepipe - dried wallpaper paste is a real struggle to remove btw. When it's dry I then apply the compound with the smoother mop and I recently found that by letting it dry and then going back over with the same mop it comes up nice and shiney. I then go over it again applying the polish with another smooth mop and then the big fluffy mop to finally get a glossy finish.
I did watch u tube videos but got lost! Btw., if the hull isn't cleaned properly you get grey to black streaks when you apply the compound. Took me a couple of years to work out where they came from.
I don't know how heavy the polisher is but it doesn't tire my arms and I generally work in arm length sections using a stantion post or a hull fitting as a guide line for each section. Excluding drying time it takes me about half a day to do a 37' boat but I generally go off and do other things inbetween the various processes.
Mike