Star Brite

[Kreole Kid]

Ok, I'm gonna tread lightly on this subject.

I know there are a lot of Star Brite fans on the site, but I'm not sold:smt009.

My boat is dry docked for repairs right now, so I took some time to put some wax on her and here's what I found out.

I used a polisher from Harbor Freight to apply the polish / cleaner wax. I then used a new microfiber towel to hand wipe off the product.

The Star Brite polish worked, just "ok". When finished I found that this product left a oily feeling on the hull. I ran my fingers over the finish and it showed everywhere my fingers ran. It was also a little harder to remove. When finished and standing back to look,(I have a Blue Hull) I could see a difference in where I rubbed really hard. It was just a lot of work for not so great results.

I then used Meguiar's Flagship Cleaner/Wax on a different section and it came out awesome. Nothing but clean, shiny, smooth hull. No fingerprints!!!

Did I do something wrong:huh:

Ok, I've stirred the pot:smt021, give me your opinions.

 

[Cincy Aquaholic]

That's been my experience too. It left a greasy film that could constantly be smeared around with a microfiber towel. It never seemed to removed the entire product. That's why I gave up on it. Maybe it was my dark hull on my old boat that made it more noticeable.

 

[LTD.330]

Do you have an asbestos suit? j/k

Seriously, I've had great results with StarBrite Cleaner/Wax and Polish on a white hull. Never tried the Flagship wax.

 

[Sundancer]

Wipe on, rub off! Piece of cake. I get good results when using it, but you have to wait for it to dry when you take it off.

 

[Kreole Kid]

Just thinking, I'm not really doing a "apples to apples" comparison here.

Maybe I need to compare the Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax to the Star Brite Cleaner/Wax to get an actual and fair answer.:huh:

 

[Sundancer]

True, there are different Starbrite cleaner/waxes/polishes available. I didn't realize there were so many until I was reading the bottle that I used yesterday. Fortunately, I'll get to do it again since we got a HUGE dust storm today! DOH!!!

 

[Skuza]

Here's my take and I've never tried their product. The greasy film is probably wax residue that you shouldn't mind since its a temporary layer of protection.
As far as cleaner wax goes I'm not a fan of one step products. To polish a boat the proper way you should rub the boat with a mild compound to remove any oxidation, then polish it to remove/hide the swirl marks and then wax to preserve the shine. True though some waxes leave more residue than others. Sometimes this is due to trying to wipe it off too soon. If ya still have the residue take a damp rag and go over it drying and buffing with a dry soft towel.
Good luck!

 

[Kreole Kid]

Here's my take and I've never tried their product. The greasy film is probably wax residue that you shouldn't mind since its a temporary layer of protection.
As far as cleaner wax goes I'm not a fan of one step products. To polish a boat the proper way you should rub the boat with a mild compound to remove any oxidation, then polish it to remove/hide the swirl marks and then wax to preserve the shine. True though some waxes leave more residue than others. Sometimes this is due to trying to wipe it off too soon. If ya still have the residue take a damp rag and go over it drying and buffing with a dry soft towel.
Good luck!

Thanks for the info Skuza, but I'm pretty satisfied with the results of the Meguiars Flagship Cleaner / Wax.

I too am not a fan of the one step stuff, but after looking carefully at her, there's not much more to be done. I mean the finish is fabulous. So I guess if it's not broke, I'm not trying to fix it

I'm gonna take some pics before I splash and show ya.:thumbsup:

 

[Scottzzzy]

I have not tried either, but I have always had good luck with Meguiars...........

This will make all of you feel REAL GOOD about just the fact you are doing it yourself! I went to the boat today to grab some paperwork and the 380 across from me was being detailed. SO I asked the guy to take a look at mine and tell me what he would charge me.

Now I have only had her 1 month so I have not done much more than start replacing bulbs and wash her up to this point. So he says "well you need to do the whole boat in compound (I guess polish) and then apply a thick coat of wax all over. That will be $800. :lol::smt043:smt043:lol::smt101:wow::smt101:smt043:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

So once I picked myself up off the dock he went back to working across the way!

Seem high!?!?! I am off to Harbor Freight!

 

[Kreole Kid]

I have not tried either, but I have always had good luck with Meguiars...........

This will make all of you feel REAL GOOD about just the fact you are doing it yourself! I went to the boat today to grab some paperwork and the 380 across from me was being detailed. SO I asked the guy to take a look at mine and tell me what he would charge me.

Now I have only had her 1 month so I have not done much more than start replacing bulbs and wash her up to this point. So he says "well you need to do the whole boat in compound (I guess polish) and then apply a thick coat of wax all over. That will be $800. :lol::smt043:smt043:lol::smt101:wow::smt101:smt043:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

So once I picked myself up off the dock he went back to working across the way!

Seem high!?!?! I am off to Harbor Freight!

Seem high!?!?! That's higher than a set of Giraffe's Nuts:wow:

If you can do it in your slip, by all means, DO IT YOURSELF!!! It's not THAT hard to do. It's only manual labor and only cost you a little money and a little time.
I have done detail work before so I'm pretty familiar with the process, but I wanted to use the best longest lasting product available without killing myself initially.

I'm gonna post pics in a few weeks:thumbsup:

 

[jpk33]

$800 for detailing the hull/topsides on a 340 is about the market rate (at least in our market). That is why I choose to do it myself. I use 3M Swirl-X followed by Meguiar's Flagship Cleaner/Wax (which is easy to use - but still a workout on the arms/shoulders). I then follow up with a minimum of 2 coats of Star Brite premium marine polish with PTEF (I dont have OPD as bad as Scott). Now to work on the non-skid!

 

[Kreole Kid]

My buddy just used SB non skid cleaner and I was very impressed with THAT product. The Polish with the PTEF, you can have that.:smt009