Is expensive polish worth the money??

[Jim@sea]

Turtle Wax. When it came out the writing on the bottle said something like " In Death Valley the only animals to withstand the searing heat are the Turtles who are protected by the special wax contained in their shell, each bottle of Turtle Wax contains the wax from 100 baby turtles"
I bought a bottle recently and they have changed the wording. Perhaps Baby Turtles are now an endangered species.

 

[boatshiner]

I think this thread is going in totally the wrong direction. Let me explain my thinking.

You have a boat. Its a large and expensive piece of kit which you bought to use, and costs you even when its doing nothing with mooring fees etc. Its not like a classic car which sits in the garage and costs you nothing yet which goes up in value whilst your boat deteriorates out in the elements and need maintaining.

In order to get the boat you probably worked hard and probably still do, so your time is not 'free'. If your time is free, and you're retired, its not an easy job polishing or waxing a boat as they are large surfaces. So an easier route would perhaps be attractive ?

So - question - why try to save a few quid on cheap wax when the durability is poor and it takes you, over a year, far more of your precious time to continually re-wax the boat when you could, for a few pounds more, use a higher grade product once or twice and save loads of time which you could, for instance, spend using your asset ? I'm assuming few owners buy a boat solely to polish it btw.

So the question posted by the OP of 'is expensive polish worth the money?' I think is actually - 'what is the cost of my time?'. I think if you price your time even at minimum wage some of these so-called expensive products work out actually quite cheap, and give a better result and allow you to enjoy using your boat. Always remember - if you're putting product on less often you're using less of it anyway, therefore making it cheaper.

PS Turtles live in water, there isnt any in Death Valley, so TW arent endangering turtles - phew !

 

[Rickard]

I have pretty much always used expensive products.
The cheaper stuff stands out as a joke when comparing results and use of the products

And stay away from NANO

 

[Marine Reflections]

@Marine Reflections: have you any thoughts on or ever used Chemical Guys products? I'm a satisfied customer having used their liquid carnuba wax. It perhaps doesn't last a long as others but it's ease of use negates that somewhat. I'd be interested to hear if you have a professional opinion on their products.

They are kind of playing baseball where I'm playing cricket, as in they are dealing with automotive finishes, but they have a big following in the car detailing world, most of the products would be safe to bring over to the marine environment with very good results.

What effects the bigger picture on product choice is not brand or what product to use, but rather what, when and why.

Huge demands are placed on products that were simply not designed to be in a particular stage of a correctional process from A to Z.


If 'ease of use' could be summed up in a sentence, it's getting the surface to a performing condition 'without wax', then increasing the clarity of the reflection, how much of a nelsons patch you use prior to applying a protective coating (wax or other) determines the 'ease of use' in any further product in it's maintenance.

Now if when the surface starts to fail again and the first signs of degrading begin, we reach for a quick type spray on version of the wax, you have to bare in mind the question of what separated the wax in a way that enabled it to be sprayed?
Will it do the same separation to my base layer as it has in the bottle? or will it add to the base providing more protective qualities?

The same can be said of paste type waxes and many other man made chemical formulas.

One can search for the very best, but when what works is so simple...why bother?

It's not the quality of the cherry on top, it's the baking that's gone on underneath.

What wax would you apply to the screen of a fighter jet?


Tony

 

[bigwow]

Oh dear! I thought I'd get the liquid rather than the paste Collinite Fleetwax this year, as I got a frozen shoulder using the paste last time, and the liquid looked easier to use.
Is the liquid not going to be as effective as the paste?

 

[boatshiner]

Depends on whether its the same product without the solidifying agents or not....I think you'll be hard pressed to find out from the manufacturer though.

If you've got time and some of the paste left, do a couple of test squares on your car to assess durability - may help if you're not planning to wax the boat for a while

 

[Trundlebug]

And stay away from NANO

Interesting you should say this as I was about to ask the guru!
Can you elaborate, why do you say this?
I was interested in the gTechniq Nano products http://gtechniq.com/products/marine/ and was wondering how their performance compares with the "old school" Carnauba wax?
One or two forumites have said they've had good results..

 

[boatshiner]

They are good products from what I read, a bit specific as to application temperatures and not cheap, but if my post from yesterday finally appears I dont see that as an issue..

 

[Rickard]

Interesting you should say this as I was about to ask the guru!
Can you elaborate, why do you say this?
I was interested in the gTechniq Nano products http://gtechniq.com/products/marine/ and was wondering how their performance compares with the "old school" Carnauba wax?
One or two forumites have said they've had good results..

Well as no one so far can answer how the NANO products effects the body I decide to stay away
One thing is for sure. The small small NANO particles goes right in to the users body. Gloves won´t protect you. It goes right thru

Another thing is that according to NANO users the protection against the sun is bad and it doesn´t last long
Me and others people have also noticed that to rubbing on a boat that have had NANO earlier is a pain in the...

When people ask me what products to use I always tell them to look at what the professionals use
They don´t use NANO and they always says "there´s no shortcuts"

I nomally use Autosmart. Have earlier used 3M and Meguiars. All good products and easy to work with. Lahega should be very good also I heard :encouragement:

Happy buffing

 

[Marine Reflections]

Interesting you should say this as I was about to ask the guru!
Can you elaborate, why do you say this?
I was interested in the gTechniq Nano products http://gtechniq.com/products/marine/ and was wondering how their performance compares with the "old school" Carnauba wax?
One or two forumites have said they've had good results..

I've only heard positive, nice things said about gTechniq and their products.

You would be hard pushed to tell the difference in durability here in this country, but for the hotter climates sealers and coatings seem to rule the waves due to temperature.
Depending on the specific wax / content not being able to measure up, lesser content waxes tend to melt in the hand and not in the mouth. Sealers can withstand much higher temperatures and maintain status better, but then so can higher content waxes.

There are many types of sealers and again, yes most of them were geared up around the automotive, some will work well if presented at the right time, in the right conditions and most of all, in a safe manner.
The likes of A-Glaze, gTechniq and many, many others have released their technology to members of the public, common sense and constant observations hint that not everyone applying will be wearing a full face, gloves and full PPE and so yes, in complete agreement with Rickard on that.

Yes, there is a concern with breathing this type of product due to the obvious.

Also agree that sometimes if someone has previously had a poor application of the product, or procedure hadn't quite gone to plan, then these types of products can be a pain to reverse.
When the surface needs correcting again in the future, there will be areas that have taken to the product well and some areas not so much, a patchy effect, but this is rare and relatively easy to cure, you have to admire the 'bond'.

At least with waxes, they can be removed relatively easily and allow you to enhance the actual raw surface overall easier, it is much harder on a sealed boat to gain a uniformed finish but not out of the realms of most DIY.
It all boils down to having the surface 100% as I've said.

So I guess the easiest way to describe the difference is by likening it to the difference between varnishing teak or feeding it with International woodskin, or Semco into the grain. Or the difference you would treat external teak to say the cockpit table maintenance routine. One's more permanent and the other is more user friendly, you have access to the surface.

These chemicals all roll into the word 'Nano' somehow?|? I guess it went that way a while ago, lots of companies jumping all over the word 'Nano" now you get nano flakes for breakfast and nano burgers for lunch, is there no end to it?

Nano -

From my viewpoint ( and sadly I've been heavily interested in) Super Hydrophobic Surfaces for a few decades now.
I was first interested in how treated glass dealt with water, interest spiraled from there.

The nano extravaganza really stemmed from drilling down into the reactions between a liquid and a solid, how they met and what interactions took place etc.

Of course this has huge potential, something really relevant in the marine world.

Understanding this relationship between liquids and solids and how they meet under different circumstances is truly fascinating and I can safely say it is one tricky mistress to learn.

It was from the natural world that we starting looking into what was going on, it was termed The Lotus Effect, this was due to the surprisingly interesting way the Lotus leaf handles water.
It pools it all together and acts like Mercury.

What was happening at a microscopic level was studied and it wasn't long before surfaces being coated were extremely water proof and were handling water as though it were Mercury.

As the understandings advanced the tape measures came out.
The contact angle was measured (basically, the more 'sphere like the water droplet the better) or the more the water feared the surface the better and then the surface could be deemed Superhydrophobic if its contact angle was over 150 degrees.

Bare in mind going back a few years, I think Rain-x for windscreens were a contact angle 110 under the right conditions, A-glaze were slightly above that at around 120 to give you some examples of contact angles.
The other measurement was durability, how long could that surface (or coating) remain in that state for under certain conditions, under water, salt water, heavy sun/UV exposure and rain.

As these works progressed, normal wax and polish product manufacturers starting calling this 'Nano bannana wax ' and Super Nano polish, but these weren't products that were interacting at a microscopic level any more than my dinner.

 

[Wetsoundsnz]

Hey guys,

Great question in the waxing & polishing.

Over the years I have learnt a lot about waxing and polishing paint and gel coat.

Firstly, depending on the weather for drying times, clean your whole boat with a heavy duty wax degreaser detergent.
This helps remove a lot of debry off the surfaces that you will spend far to much time trying to get off while polishing.
If your paint work looks good after its clean, just wax it.
If not give it a polish/buff working evenly and small areas at a time, they start to blend together.
I have found buying a marine wax from a marine shop in the NZD $100 mark has been enough wax for 3-4seasons, just keep it in a dry/cool/dark place.
This waxing is the vital to keep your boat shiny and clean year round, I could multiple waxs in a season and it keeps it looking great during the winter.
Wax on wax off with small areas and small amounts of wax, you want it to haze off after 2-3minutes of applying.
Use plenty of microfibre cloths and you can't go wrong.

 

[Marine Reflections]

Hey guys,

Great question in the waxing & polishing.

Over the years I have learnt a lot about waxing and polishing paint and gel coat.

Firstly, depending on the weather for drying times, clean your whole boat with a heavy duty wax degreaser detergent.
This helps remove a lot of debry off the surfaces that you will spend far to much time trying to get off while polishing.
If your paint work looks good after its clean, just wax it.
If not give it a polish/buff working evenly and small areas at a time, they start to blend together.
I have found buying a marine wax from a marine shop in the NZD $100 mark has been enough wax for 3-4seasons, just keep it in a dry/cool/dark place.
This waxing is the vital to keep your boat shiny and clean year round, I could multiple waxs in a season and it keeps it looking great during the winter.
Wax on wax off with small areas and small amounts of wax, you want it to haze off after 2-3minutes of applying.
Use plenty of microfibre cloths and you can't go wrong.

This thread sure is attracting new users...??

Nothing wrong with that of course, but anyone else finding things a little fishy here?

 

[Wetsoundsnz]

This thread sure is attracting new users...??

Nothing wrong with that of course, but anyone else finding things a little fishy here?

Sorry i think somehow it got posted in that other thread.
I tried to delete it but it wouldn't go.
Ill try again now.

Nothing Fishy here just a KIWI on a mission

 

[Marine Reflections]

Mission?

 

[Marine Reflections]

PM received and understood, best of luck with that interesting.

 

[boatshiner]

Sorry, is this a private forum ?

Maybe there are a few folks out here who can provide considered opinion on the subject, so a live thread with plenty of well considered debate and input should be welcomed.

It doesn't appear that anyone is punting product either.

 

[SolentPhill]

Well as I started this thread I guess an update is required some 14 months later.
I decided to buy the polish I asked about, the boat was out of the water and after I had done my usual anti foul and service I started on the polish, I have a deep black hull so all of the side of my boat is black. I applied the first coat to a really shiny boat, and stood back and thought it was quite dull, so as per instructions the second coat was applied and it was a bit brighter. A few weeks later the boat was put back in water and we took it for a engine warm and run.

On return to berth I gave it a splash of water to get the salt off and as you expect the water beaded and ran off. However April, May,June July came and went and I usually have to polish the boat on a monthly basis as the issue I have is as water dried it leaves the White dots which looked horrible the next time you return to the boat. But as the summer went on when I returned to berth I use their shampoo and hosed it down and water beaded an ran off again and again leaving no white dots, so it was still doing its job.

For someone who used to polish every month I went to once a year, I have already bought another pot for this year.

To answer my own question, is expensive polish worth the money? Yes , was worth every penny. I still polish the top sides and roof so I'm still busy.

 

[Spi D]

Interesting. Which of Boatsheen's products did you use?

 

[SolentPhill]

Interesting. Which of Boatsheen's products did you use?

Premium sports boat wax

 

[slipknot]

Premium sports boat wax

Looks like a good reccomendation for this product, supporting 'boatshiners' previous comments about using a high quality product on your pride & joy so that you can sail it instead of spending time maintaining it. I'm really grateful that this debate takes place and forumites with more experience than me (whether professional or otherwise) make it available for me to consider. I currently use the 3m wax but will probably try the 'sportsboat wax' next and make my own mind up.