billyfish
Well-Known Member
The old French stuff that came with the boat is running out. What do you guys recommend for topsides?
Recomend me a polish
- Thread starter billyfish
- Start date
johnalison
Well-Known Member
I’ve no idea. I’m sure they all work if used properly. For my topsides I just used wax, reserving polish for the parts that were more UV exposed. For ease of use I found ‘solid’ polishes in a pot much easier than liquids which need two hands all the time. I once had a polish from 3Ms that smelt gorgeous but never found it again.
Refueler
Well-Known Member
I've always been advised to stay away from any polish that contains Silicon.
johnalison
Well-Known Member
Me too. I was once mortified to find that a polish that I had bought at a chandlers' contained silicone, fortunately before I had used it.
SimonX
Well-Known Member
The guy who did mine prior to sale used Farécla buy not sure exactly which one
Marine | Farécla
Marine | Farécla
Minerva
Well-Known Member
When I asked a similar question I was recommended this stuff.
Amazon.co.uk
Seemed pretty good and my hull maintained a decent shine all season. Would recommend
Amazon.co.uk
Seemed pretty good and my hull maintained a decent shine all season. Would recommend
Graham376
Well-Known Member
I've been using Starbrite for many years, usually one application by hand every 2 years - Starbrite Premium Polish with PTFE
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gjgm
Well-Known Member
Polish is a finer compound for cutting than just "compound". Comes in different grades depending on how fierce a cut you want. Different brands will have different additives to stop it slopping,breaking down too fast, drying out too fast etc etc. Some also now have a wax additive so ( maybe) you can do two jobs in one.
How effective it is probably depends more on your machine and what bonnet you use than the brand of polish itself.
The polish is mainly to remove grime and mild oxidation, and it is more of a secondary result that the gel then ,hopefully,becomes shiny! You then protect that with a marine wax ( better UV protection).
3M is generally highly regarded as it works well,,easily available and is easy to use. It is not the only marine brand,of course, but this also depends on what you hope to achieve. No need to use a premium top brand that can achieve top results if you actually only want a spit and polish approach to make the boat look a bit better. In which case, most will do!
OTOH, you are unlikely to get a great result with poor quality polish and poor quality bonnets!
Lastly, most people dont want to spend longer than necessary on this job, and if you are going to spend the time, maybe you may as well use a decent marine polish and make the job easier!
3m Medium cut and wax is a good option. You can also use it by hand for a mid season refresh without too much hassle.
PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
Assuming the OP means wax, rather than cutting compound, I use this one Profile UV Wax Hand Application
RunAgroundHard
Well-Known Member
My boat has old GRP, from '74, white hull, grey topsides. If a wash doesn't fix the shit, I use 3M Perfect It Gelcoat Light Cutting Polish + Wax. It works very well, no hassle, no tools, just apply with a cloth and buff up. On the grey topsides which can become quite faded, I get about two years out of a polish and wax, by hand, no machine. The white hull lasts about 3 years. Scottish environment, so maybe UV intensity is less up here, definitely less traffic, industrial dirt on the boat
3M Perfect It Gelcoat Light Cutting Polish + Wax 946ml
3M Perfect It Gelcoat Light Cutting Polish + Wax 946ml
mjcp
Well-Known Member
"before and after" - homebrew oxalic, water and wallpaper paste, gentle scrub with a green scouring pad. Wash with hose, dry, machine "polish" (cut and polish) with Koch-Chemie GP3.01 Gelcoat Micro Cut & Finish Polishing Compound and then buff with a microfibre cloth. (1980 vintage, unknown history of paint / polish etc.)
gjgm
Well-Known Member
Aha!
Worth noting then that how well the wax lasts is very dependent on how well the surface has been prepared- bit like varnishing.
Google will throw up various tests in various parts of the world that may help OP, or maybe not.
Personally, after all the prep work, I am enthusiastic about a wax that lasts acceptably well and is very very easy to apply! Again 3M, and also Maguires Flagship suit me. They are merely the ones I have continued to use,rather than being exclusive.
Baddox
Well-Known Member
I use Autoglym products, starting with car polish to good effect and if the surface needs a little more cutting then their "Paint Restorer" works well. After that, a couple of coats of the Super Resin Finish has proved very durable; I was pleasantly surprised that last year's treatment was still in fairly good condition before I started this year's polishing.
Zing
Well-Known Member
I use International rubbing, polish and wax. Quite satisfied.
gjgm
Well-Known Member
Just for info, there was a Pro on here some years ago, and while not saying you can't or shouldn't use Autoglym Super Resin, from memory he said it contains fillers that aren't what you really want on gelcoat.
I dont think it was a question of do not use, more that is designed for car paint and is not the right product for gel.
Make of that what you will !!
Allan
Well-Known Member
As the person who polishes a dark blue hull every year I take an interest in most threads about polishing. I have a large tub of 2000 grit cutting compound for the worst areas, then use a liquid fine polish like Farecla g10 after those areas and for the rest of the hull. I then put two coats of 3M wax to protect the surface. Products that contain polish and wax are not for me. I've read that two coats of wax are not necessary but I feel it may offer better protection and certainly ensures no areas are missed.
Allan
Allan
Baddox
Well-Known Member
Fair enough. Perhaps it is not for all boats and finishes but I've found it worked well for ours over the years. The only place it doesn't work too well is the painted blue hull stripe which always fades by the end of summer.
stu9000
Well-Known Member
I am no expert but keep the cutting process separate from the polishing.
With polish I'm essentially blocking the porous pitted surface of my 1980s fibreglass hull so it does not attract dirt.
This has worked well for me over the last two seasons. It goes on easy and lasts pretty well. Because it does not have "boat" on the label it is not stupidly priced.
I apply with a hand cloth and then buff with an orbital sander with fluffy wool pad. At least I think it's wool. I have got a bigger orbital polisher thingy but the sander works pretty well.
A couple of years ago I did a lot of work cutting back the oxidation and embedded grime. In bad spots I used wet n dry sandpaper 2500 grit. I also used a fine cutting paste from car detailing. Annual waxing hopefully avoids this relatively aggressive and time consuming process for years to come
With polish I'm essentially blocking the porous pitted surface of my 1980s fibreglass hull so it does not attract dirt.
This has worked well for me over the last two seasons. It goes on easy and lasts pretty well. Because it does not have "boat" on the label it is not stupidly priced.
I apply with a hand cloth and then buff with an orbital sander with fluffy wool pad. At least I think it's wool. I have got a bigger orbital polisher thingy but the sander works pretty well.
A couple of years ago I did a lot of work cutting back the oxidation and embedded grime. In bad spots I used wet n dry sandpaper 2500 grit. I also used a fine cutting paste from car detailing. Annual waxing hopefully avoids this relatively aggressive and time consuming process for years to come
Allan
Well-Known Member
Sorry to be a bit of a pedant. While I agree with you 100% about not combining cutting and waxing, I think the term polishing is often misused. As I've said above, I cut, polish and wax. For me polishing is just another word for cutting but normally means something finer.
Allan
johnalison
Well-Known Member
I think that for non-technical people like me the terms are often confused. In the past I would always have bought polishes without much thought but I eventually learned that a good surface, like my topsides, only needs wax, which I have also used to freshen up the aluminium round windows and windscreen. For difficult areas, such as those that get more UV or stain from the exhaust, I have found Starbrite Color (sic) Restorer Polish is the easiest way to improve small areas. Although it claims UV protection I would follow with wax.
