polish (3m)

[VADROUILLE]

Ok, that time of year again.

looking to polish the boat, the lot. done it last year by myself with starbrite products, but done it the once and never touched it for a year, consiquently with the winter we have had it looks a mess again, living on it dont help either.

so, fancy trying 3m products, expensive, but then im doing it myself so it aint so bad. 38ft boat, getting lots of worn gelcoat in places and might take a bit of wet and dry to try and get some of the worn areas back up to scratch. (very fine spider cracks appearing with the matting comeing through, if that makes sense?, its had a lot of sun on the gelcoat which does not help matters) want some good strong products, something that will get marks out.

im also doing it by hand (will take ages i know).

im sure this type of question has been asked before, but when i typed 3m in the search it came up with nothing!

cheers

 

[Trundlebug]

3m products are very good, as are Farecla who have branched out into marine products in the last few years from automotive.

You generally can't go wrong with either of them.
If your gelcoat is getting rather thin though, I would be very wary of removing even more of it with wet & dry; you want to remove as little of the precious gelcoat covering as you can, and you won't do that with wet & dry.

If it's getting as thin as you say in places I would be tempted to patch over it with gelcoat repair, then blend in, rather than keep making it thinner.

The most important thing is to regularly wax it afterwards to maintain the shine and protection. The you won't have to keep doing this every year.
I generally wax it with Autoglym or similar at least once, but preferably 2-3 times a year. I've done that for the last 2 years when the boat was in the water and this year I didn't have to get the rubbing compound out at all

 

[Pitterpatter]

Farecla for me

I have previously used G3 but this year tried Farecla gel coat restorer. Worked an absolute treat with a polisher!

 

[bigwow]

http://www.shipshapenorfolkltd.co.uk/ect/products.php?cat=3


920 then 885 you will be amazed

 

[pvb]

im also doing it by hand (will take ages i know).

It needn't necessarily take ages, but it depends which products you choose. I do my 35ft boat by hand every couple of years. The easiest and most durable products I've found are from Meguiars. I clean the boat, using lots of sudsy water and own-brand "creme cleaner". Then apply Meguiars #45 Boat/RV Polish - it goes on easily and polishes off very easily by hand (although you'll need a copious supply of cotton polishing cloth). Then I repeat the polish. Then I apply Meguiars #56 Boat/RV Pure Wax, which is very easy to apply and polish off. Then a second coat of that. I can do my 35footer by hand in a couple of days without knocking myself out too much. And it seems to last well, I only do it every 2 years.

If your gelcoat is deteriorating, I'd suggest you avoid anything very abrasive - it'll only make it look worse. The solution is expensive and professional, and best put off as long as you can.

 

[johnalison]

I had rather more success last year than usual by following the usual Starbright polish with International Polish Sealant. The blue line on my HR had become rather faded which I brought back with Starbright Colour Restorer (mild abrasive), followed by polish & sealant and it was still looking good at the end of the season. It will need some more treatment this year, but less than before. I'm not bothered about overdoing it as the next option is to paint it. The white hull doesn't need help but still looks good.

 

[VADROUILLE]

http://www.shipshapenorfolkltd.co.uk/ect/products.php?cat=3


920 then 885 you will be amazed

can anybody else recomend this stuff? sounds good, but is it?

the wet and dry has been advised by a gel coat restorer. he had a go on an area and it improved it by about 60 to 70%. he said that depending on the way the gelcoat lays depends on how the wet and dry turns out. in my case, i thought rather well. he said its that, or new gelcoat. something that he did not advise. (cost)

another gel coat person advised spray gel (lasts 5 years give or take) or again new gel coat. both methods taking in excess of ten weeks. i have not had a full quote for jobs like that and i dont really think i want to hear one!

so im basically wanting to do the best i can by myself, id sooner spend £100 on polishes than thosands on a "proper job".

the time dont bother me, and i intend on giving it another polish/wax in 6 months.

she is in a state and some wet and dry will be required in minor areas to bring up again. so fire away, i dont mind using polishes that are nasty (in small amounts of course) just along as the ugly marks get removed!


p.s if anybody recomends stuff and has pictures of before and after i would appreciate some pictures!

 

[trapezeartist]

I'm a bit bemused by all the references to "wax". I need to give my deck and coachroof a serious going-over, but surely wax will make it slippery? Am I missing something?

 

[bigwow]

http://cruising.stuffiminto.com/9348-post1.html

nicked from another forum, thanks Sully

 

[yoda]

can anybody else recomend this stuff? sounds good, but is it?

the wet and dry has been advised by a gel coat restorer. he had a go on an area and it improved it by about 60 to 70%. he said that depending on the way the gelcoat lays depends on how the wet and dry turns out. in my case, i thought rather well. he said its that, or new gelcoat. something that he did not advise. (cost)

another gel coat person advised spray gel (lasts 5 years give or take) or again new gel coat. both methods taking in excess of ten weeks. i have not had a full quote for jobs like that and i dont really think i want to hear one!

so im basically wanting to do the best i can by myself, id sooner spend £100 on polishes than thosands on a "proper job".

the time dont bother me, and i intend on giving it another polish/wax in 6 months.

she is in a state and some wet and dry will be required in minor areas to bring up again. so fire away, i dont mind using polishes that are nasty (in small amounts of course) just along as the ugly marks get removed!


p.s if anybody recomends stuff and has pictures of before and after i would appreciate some pictures!

I'm afraid that trying to do it by hand is just madness if it needs a lot of work. Had mine done by a professional and it took him all day with a machine. Why not hire or borrow a buffing machine and use the 3m products at the link below (not me selling). They may be expensive but used correctly achieve a fanstatic finish. A local boat builder (large) uses the stuff to great effect.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....akeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

Yoda

 

[Vara]

I'm with Big Wow the Collinite products are the best cleaners, waxes and polishes around for DIY use.

 

[Chris.mcc240]

Might be worth a try

I did my centaur last week ..hadn't been touched for 2 years..pressure washed it first.
Brought some starbright rubbing compound which gave a fairly good resault. And a friend did a bit of the hull with G3 and a polisher great resaults , but i don't have a polisher though im looking for one.
In the end i used Astonish rubbing compound its for kitchens and bathrooms , available in most pound shops ..yes £1
The advantage is you rub on but wash off instead of polish off unlike the starbright this saves a lot work and you can do the job by hand at next to no cost then use a wax polish..
I was really pleased with the resaults looks great .. !