Spring Buff - product change

Strecker25 said:
Quick pass with elevate on a 3m wool yellow pad, then Ignition on a 3m black foam polishing pad (3m PN 05707)

both ran about 1800rpm in a criss cross pattern until the product completely dried or had worked off on its own. It Didn’t require much of a wipe to remove the remaining residue.

I’m going to do a quick elevate pass but my Hull sides probably don’t need it since I’ve compounded and glazed with 3M products for the past two years. Starke products seem to go faster though, so this year I’m going to stick with the 3 step process. My final step is the Starke hybrid sealant
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Thanks.
Haven't gotten there with the hybrid sealants yet... I do 2 coats of collinite heavy duty fleetwax 885 before she gets splashed and try to get another on the hull mid-ish season.
Have you used the Starke hybrid sealant before? Anything you need to do to remove it prior to the polishing?
 
Shaps said:
Thanks.
Haven't gotten there with the hybrid sealants yet... I do 2 coats of collinite heavy duty fleetwax 885 before she gets splashed and try to get another on the hull mid-ish season.
Have you used the Starke hybrid sealant before? Anything you need to do to remove it prior to the polishing?
Click to expand...

it’s my first year with the hybrid sealant so the jury is out until I get some real seat time but I have done a couple spot areas as a test. My feeling is it is a good product and seems to be very hydrophobic once applied, which I like. The only criticism I have is when applying it with an applicator sponge is clumped up a little bit and had to be smoothed out. It was only 55* that day though, so it might have been temperature related.

I wash the whole boat in dawn and any trouble spots get an acetone wipe as well, so previous wax is well removed.

I plan on applying two coats of sealant so my process will be —

wash the whole boat with dawn

below rub rail: compound with yellow wool and elevate, polish with ignition and foam black pad, two coats of hybrid dealt

above rub rail: compound with Restore and a white wool pad, compound with elevate and yellow pad, polish with ignition, two coats of sealant.

I need a little extra on the topsides which is why I’m cutting it twice

now that I type it out, I should get started if I want to be in the water by 4/15….
 
Strecker25 said:
it’s my first year with the hybrid sealant so the jury is out until I get some real seat time but I have done a couple spot areas as a test. My feeling is it is a good product and seems to be very hydrophobic once applied, which I like. The only criticism I have is when applying it with an applicator sponge is clumped up a little bit and had to be smoothed out. It was only 55* that day though, so it might have been temperature related.

I wash the whole boat in dawn and any trouble spots get an acetone wipe as well, so previous wax is well removed.

I plan on applying two coats of sealant so my process will be —

wash the whole boat with dawn

below rub rail: compound with yellow wool and elevate, polish with ignition and foam black pad, two coats of hybrid dealt

above rub rail: compound with Restore and a white wool pad, compound with elevate and yellow pad, polish with ignition, two coats of sealant.

I need a little extra on the topsides which is why I’m cutting it twice

now that I type it out, I should get started if I want to be in the water by 4/15….
Click to expand...
I actually postponed my splash for a week , was going to be 4/16 but now 4/23 for the same reason!
 
Strecker25 said:
it’s my first year with the hybrid sealant so the jury is out until I get some real seat time but I have done a couple spot areas as a test. My feeling is it is a good product and seems to be very hydrophobic once applied, which I like. The only criticism I have is when applying it with an applicator sponge is clumped up a little bit and had to be smoothed out. It was only 55* that day though, so it might have been temperature related.

I wash the whole boat in dawn and any trouble spots get an acetone wipe as well, so previous wax is well removed.

I plan on applying two coats of sealant so my process will be —

wash the whole boat with dawn

below rub rail: compound with yellow wool and elevate, polish with ignition and foam black pad, two coats of hybrid dealt

above rub rail: compound with Restore and a white wool pad, compound with elevate and yellow pad, polish with ignition, two coats of sealant.

I need a little extra on the topsides which is why I’m cutting it twice

now that I type it out, I should get started if I want to be in the water by 4/15….
Click to expand...

Holy Cow! I would have needed to start last year to get 4 passes in by the time I retire.
 
Blueone said:
@Strecker25 I know there are absolutely no shortcuts in these processes so I’m wondering if the product is a tiny bit “gimmicky”

if this is gimmicky…. Then I am all in on gimmicky…. I have been using Smooze products for 3 years now. Very happy

View attachment 119760 View attachment 119761 View attachment 119762
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I can say.... For as much of an all-in-one as you can get, Starke Level R is pretty much it. I buffed this corner of a new-to-me 390 Sundancer that the prior owner did not keep regularly detailed using Level R with a rotary buffer and wool pad. I was amazed, and now that the spring is here the shine has held all winter and looks identical. There are no fillers or silicone in Level R, the compounds with fillers make the gelcoat look as though its perfectly buffed, but after a wash or two you see a much more dull finish.

I am still following up with a finish polish and polymer sealant. For the topsides above the rub rail I hired a professional, she is being wet sanded, buffed, polished, and sealed.


273668104_10159386597170733_3596615505526117409_n.jpg
 
Jmac572 said:
I can say.... For as much of an all-in-one as you can get, Starke Level R is pretty much it. I buffed this corner of a new-to-me 390 Sundancer that the prior owner did not keep regularly detailed using Level R with a rotary buffer and wool pad. I was amazed, and now that the spring is here the shine has held all winter and looks identical. There are no fillers or silicone in Level R, the compounds with fillers make the gelcoat look as though its perfectly buffed, but after a wash or two you see a much more dull finish.

I am still following up with a finish polish and polymer sealant. For the topsides above the rub rail I hired a professional, she is being wet sanded, buffed, polished, and sealed.


273668104_10159386597170733_3596615505526117409_n.jpg
Click to expand...

looks good. I agree, level R or similar will give great results on their own but at those grits you will see the scratches in the morning or evening sunshine. Your finish polish step will smooth those out considerably
 
So far I am very happy. This is after a pass with elevate and a yellow wool pad. The gelcoat was in good condition prior to this but the product is definitely bringing back additional shine

The most noticeable thing for me is the speed. I have almost completed the entire port side below the rub rail in less than 2 hours. That took me nearly 4 hours last year with the 3M products.

I will be doing a pass with ignition next. I don’t expect a noticeable difference in daylight but since it is a 1500 grit compound that will eliminate the swirls and scratches that you can usually see at dawn/dusk

BFFA8B9E-F47B-4A39-9798-A3234462DEC0.jpeg
 
Ok, I’m a believer now. This is one coat of hybrid sealant. It’s a buildup product so I’ll be adding a second pass before it splashed

the ignition product is a little difficult in cold conditions, 45* and windy today, but it comes off without residue
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Can't say enough about the Starke products. Applied last fall and still looking good coming out of winter and into the prime season herein AZ. Lucky enough to get the boat in the water during the winter. We will see how it holds up to these crazy hot summers.
On a side note....when I placed my order for elevate and hyper hold.....the staff at Marine Detail Supply (Starke distributor) also recommended using a surface prep to decontaminate the surface prior to applying the hyperhold or any other sealant. He said any type of alcohol based clean will work to remove any residual oils from elevate or level r.
Keep up the great work.
 
MS Tarheel1 said:
Can't say enough about the Starke products. Applied last fall and still looking good coming out of winter and into the prime season herein AZ. Lucky enough to get the boat in the water during the winter. We will see how it holds up to these crazy hot summers.
On a side note....when I placed my order for elevate and hyper hold.....the staff at Marine Detail Supply (Starke distributor) also recommended using a surface prep to decontaminate the surface prior to applying the hyperhold or any other sealant. He said any type of alcohol based clean will work to remove any residual oils from elevate or level r.
Keep up the great work.
Click to expand...

Thanks! glad to hear you've had lasting results. One thing I've learned is most products look great right after application but not many of them last. We don't see the sun like you do so if its good enough for the desert it should hold up nicely in western NY's 1 month summer.
 
Looks great!

If properly maintained (use Starke Pure Clean boat wash) you will be amazed at how good everything still looks at the end of the season.

The Starke products are so much easier to work with than anything I have ever used.

A big killer for the sealants have been the off the shelf wash / wax boat wash products. I ran out of Pure Clean last fall and decided to use some Orpine I had on hand, maybe it was just me but the boat didn't have that fresh shine look after that. I have had numerous people tell me the same.
 
Carver370 said:
Looks great!

If properly maintained (use Starke Pure Clean boat wash) you will be amazed at how good everything still looks at the end of the season.

The Starke products are so much easier to work with than anything I have ever used.

A big killer for the sealants have been the off the shelf wash / wax boat wash products. I ran out of Pure Clean last fall and decided to use some Orpine I had on hand, maybe it was just me but the boat didn't have that fresh shine look after that. I have had numerous people tell me the same.
Click to expand...

interesting, maybe I’ll try some. I have a bunch of the colossally expensive 3m boat wash that I use in my foam cannon. I love the cannon, but it uses a lot of product even on its lowest setting

any idea what the sds is on pure clean? Always interesting to read the components on these products to see how they compare to each other
 
The progress continues.

I started cutting above the rub rail with Restructure and absolutely love it. It remind me of the imperial polish from 3M before they messed with it and rebranded, but seems to break down into a finer polish than the imperial ever did. It leaves holograms, but that’s expected and will be cleaned up with elevate and ignition

25 hours in so far…probably 25 more to go.

628E348F-2654-4C09-A45F-13537F6C7138.jpeg
 
@Strecker25
Looks fantastic!

What pad and speed are you running the ignition?
And...
What happened to your anchor?:eek:
 
Shaps said:
@Strecker25
Looks fantastic!

What pad and speed are you running the ignition?
And...
What happened to your anchor?:eek:
Click to expand...

haha keen eye…I took it home this year to straighten a little bend the shank had

im running everything around 1400 and finishing right at 1800 as it diminishes and picks up some heat. I used the black foam 3M polishing pad for ignition
 
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