Blue Hull Shine

[RS340DA]

I’ve read lots of posts on here about how to remove oxidation from the hull and how to polish it to get a mirror finish. I even bought all the Shurhold products (Dual Action Polisher Pro, Buff Magic Compound, and Polish Sealer Wax). My blue hull is lightly oxidized, but I still cannot get that mirror finish. I still see swirl marks and compound residue. Am I using too much product? Any input here would be awesome. Thanks!

 

[Espos4]

I use ”Finess it” after compound and before the wax. It removes the swirl marks from the compound.

I also use a rotary polisher, not a “DA” or dual action.

 

[Strecker25]

Yeah, sorry to say but the shurhold stuff just didn’t do it. It seems like a decent wax, but a true rotary, foam pad, and finesse-it II was the answer to a pro finish. I ended up using colinite wax to finish it.

 

[RS340DA]

Espos4 and Strecker25,
Thanks for the responses. My original fear was that a “DA” wouldn’t do the job, but went with it due to the fear of burning my gelcoat. Looks like I will buy a rotary and try the finesse-it II. Thanks!

 

[bbwhitejr]

Rotary with a wool pad is the only way to go. Since you already have the Buff Magic, try it first with the rotary/wool combination. You may be surprised. If that does not do what you want, gets more aggressive with the compound.

Use DA polisher to apply polish and then wax.

The above has served me well. I use the Shurhold products as well.

Bennett

 

[sbw1]

I've posted before about rotary buffers. Big fan of them. Also, like wool pads and use nothing else. Our 2004 boat still shines like brand new, but it is white and easier to keep up than a blue one. I've never polished a blue boat so I'm not sure what wool would do to it. It is more agreesive by itself so you get some grit just by using a wool pad. I learned years ago that the finest compounds give you the best and deepest shines. Your boat sounds like it is in pretty good shape. I'd be tempted to use a wool pad on a rotary buffer starting with Finess-it II and see what you get. Keeping your RPMs at 1600-1800 will prevent burns. Just keep the pad moving around sideways and up and down without staying in one spot too long. Don't be afraid to lean into it a bit while working it. Use a good wax after the polish and apply that with a fresh wool pad and use the same routine of spreading it out. I apply the wax with a clean fresh towel over an area that is about 3 by 5 feet and then go over it with the buffer until it disappears. Do this with the polish as well. You may be pleasantly surprised with the result. I did this routine on a dark Forest Green hull last April with great results. It was heavily oxidized so I started with heavy rubbing compound out of necessity as Finesse-it was too fine cut through the oxidation. Followed up with the Finesse-it and wax. When done, you could see your face in the shine. Not sure this will work on a blue hull, but I think it probably will. Any blue boat owners out there who have used this routine?

 

[stg099]

I use buff magic first with a twisted wool compounding pad and rotary buffer, then follow it with a wool polish pad and finesse it, to get it to a mirror like shine I then follow up with finesse it on a dual action polisher and finally a coat of Collinite fleetwax. Lot of work but it pays off.

 

[KevinC]

Love the Buff Magic and we use it with a DeWalt rotary. I keep lots of wool pads available and use a spur to clean them as we go (they can be washed and refused a few times - I presoak in simple green). The DA is used to apply the wax and we use a microfiber to clean off.

-Kevin

 

[Espos4]

As mentioned above, you may not need a heavy compound.
My first year with this blue hull, I have to compound most of blue due to heavy oxidation.

I’m at the point now where for the most part, Finess It II is all I need for the annual polishing. Only a few small areas near the stern get compounded.

 

[sbw1]

View attachment 63688 View attachment 63689 View attachment 63690 View attachment 63691 View attachment 63692 I use buff magic first with a twisted wool compounding pad and rotary buffer, then follow it with a wool polish pad and finesse it, to get it to a mirror like shine I then follow up with finesse it on a dual action polisher and finally a coat of Collin it’s fleetwax. Lot of work but it pays off.

Beautiful result. So wool does work on blue without leaving swirls.

 

[RS340DA]

Thanks for all the replies/advice. I will certainly give the rotary buffer and wool compounding and polishing pads a try this week. Sure glad I decided to put her into heated storage....

 

[RS340DA]

View attachment 63688 View attachment 63689 View attachment 63690 View attachment 63691 View attachment 63692 I use buff magic first with a twisted wool compounding pad and rotary buffer, then follow it with a wool polish pad and finesse it, to get it to a mirror like shine I then follow up with finesse it on a dual action polisher and finally a coat of Collin it’s fleetwax. Lot of work but it pays off.

Now that is a mirror finish! Great work on that blue hull. I will take this advice (and the others) and give this process a try! Sure seems like a rotary buffer, wool pads, Buff Magic compound, finesse-it, and a good wax is the common variable is most of the input.