Wax/Buff Hull

Blueone said:
If I am too old to take care of the boat then I should get rid of it
Click to expand...

Disagree! When I watch the mid-80's couple walk down to their boat together and help each other board to spend time where they love to be and have been coming for 35 years. It matters not that they cannot wax the boat.

MM
 
Okay ...pull the love, old and forever card all at the same time... You win :)

I am just saying I would go crazy if the boat didn't look perfect... I just wouldn't be happy going out in it if I wasn't proud of it...
 
Blueone said:
Okay ...pull the love, old and forever card all at the same time... You win :)

I am just saying I would go crazy if the boat didn't look perfect... I just wouldn't be happy going out in it if I wasn't proud of it...
Click to expand...

I understood what you meant, but could not resist pulling the love, old, and forever card. LOL. Thanks for being a sport. Hopefully when we get to that stage our eyesight will not allow us to see how bad it really is.

MM
 
cod said:
Wait..... Carter..... Are you saying you are over 70 years old? I'm more interested in your diet! I never would have guessed it......you are aging very well my friend......Cheers
Click to expand...
"It's not the hard miles you put on your body that causes aging...it's the cheap gas you put inside it!". From one of my old prematurely gray friends that drank Pearl Beer! He'd point to my Michelob and then his hair and his Pearl!
 
MonacoMike said:
I understood what you meant, but could not resist pulling the love, old, and forever card. LOL. Thanks for being a sport. Hopefully when we get to that stage ouH it really is.

MM
Click to expand...
Hopefully, we will have boats painted with Imron/Awlgrip, and they will look great with no need to wax and polish...
 
Blueone said:
True very true... But I am done paying to find out I didn't get the pro as promised....and these were very reliable recommendations... So this year I am going to get the boat back to my standards myself.
Click to expand...
I had a guy do my boat a couple times. Poor looking job, one pass with Buff Magic. Last year he raised his price so I didn't use him at all. I figured I'd punish him and not let him do my boat.

Now my boat is in great need and I'm going to try to catch it up this winter. I have a bad feeling that it's me that will feel punished before it's over. The last couple years I've started to understand what my Dad meant when he'd mutter under his breath 'I'm getting to old for this shit'.
 
There are a lot of great products out there these days.
The real trick is to understand the differences and when to use what type of product.
People often confuse things like wax and polish, polish and compound, Sealants and waxes. Cleaner wax and wax.
Here are some basics.
Always start with a freshly cleaned surface.
Compounds: For badly oxidized surfaces. No protection qualities. Use with wool pad and rotary polisher.
Polishes: For use after compounds, or for surfaces needing less correction than a compound. No protection qualities. Use with wool pad and rotary polisher.
Cleaner Wax: Can be used on surfaces that are in good shape to just bring up shine and also protect. Apply with wool pad and rotary for best results, but can be done by hand. Doesn’t layer well because the cleaner portion is usually solvent based and additional layers will remove the previous ones.
Last Step Products:
A. “Carnauba Wax”: Layers well, including over cleaner wax, and is applied on a properly prepared (polished) surface. Can be applied over synthetic sealants for a little extra pop and warmth.
B. “Synthetic Sealants”: Also layer well, applied to a properly prepared polished surface. Not to be applied over a Carnauba cleaner wax or Carnauba wax because they will not stick to it.
 
JVM225 said:
There are a lot of great products out there these days.
The real trick is to understand the differences and when to use what type of product.
People often confuse things like wax and polish, polish and compound, Sealants and waxes. Cleaner wax and wax.
Here are some basics.
Always start with a freshly cleaned surface.
Compounds: For badly oxidized surfaces. No protection qualities. Use with wool pad and rotary polisher.
Polishes: For use after compounds, or for surfaces needing less correction than a compound. No protection qualities. Use with wool pad and rotary polisher.
Cleaner Wax: Can be used on surfaces that are in good shape to just bring up shine and also protect. Apply with wool pad and rotary for best results, but can be done by hand. Doesn’t layer well because the cleaner portion is usually solvent based and additional layers will remove the previous ones.
Last Step Products:
A. “Carnauba Wax”: Layers well, including over cleaner wax, and is applied on a properly prepared (polished) surface. Can be applied over synthetic sealants for a little extra pop and warmth.
B. “Synthetic Sealants”: Also layer well, applied to a properly prepared polished surface. Not to be applied over a Carnauba cleaner wax or Carnauba wax because they will not stick to it.
Click to expand...


I agree, there is so much confusion. It is partly caused by the marketing of greatly varied products that are called the same.

Meguiars polish is as above, after compounds, before wax.

Starbrite polish, probably not polish but likely a synthetic sealant, goes on very last.

The fact both are called polish makes it very confusing to new folks.

MM
 
JVM225 said:
There are a lot of great products out there these days.
The real trick is to understand the differences and when to use what type of product.
People often confuse things like wax and polish, polish and compound, Sealants and waxes. Cleaner wax and wax.
Here are some basics.
Always start with a freshly cleaned surface.
Compounds: For badly oxidized surfaces. No protection qualities. Use with wool pad and rotary polisher.
Polishes: For use after compounds, or for surfaces needing less correction than a compound. No protection qualities. Use with wool pad and rotary polisher.
Cleaner Wax: Can be used on surfaces that are in good shape to just bring up shine and also protect. Apply with wool pad and rotary for best results, but can be done by hand. Doesn’t layer well because the cleaner portion is usually solvent based and additional layers will remove the previous ones.
Last Step Products:
A. “Carnauba Wax”: Layers well, including over cleaner wax, and is applied on a properly prepared (polished) surface. Can be applied over synthetic sealants for a little extra pop and warmth.
B. “Synthetic Sealants”: Also layer well, applied to a properly prepared polished surface. Not to be applied over a Carnauba cleaner wax or Carnauba wax because they will not stick to it.
Click to expand...
I understand when to use a cleaner or polish. What confuses me are the different pads. For instance when do you a foam or wool pad. Also when to use low or mid speed on the buffer vs. high speed.
 
Captn TJ said:
I understand when to use a cleaner or polish. What confuses me are the different pads. For instance when do you a foam or wool pad. Also when to use low or mid speed on the buffer vs. high speed.
Click to expand...

I only use wool pads on boats.
Ambient and surface temperatures and the particular product will dictate the speed you use for the rotary.
I’ve got a Makita 9227 and usually start at a setting of about 1800 RPM which is a bit more than 3 on the dial on that particular machine.
If you are just doing your own boat a couple of times a year you don’t need to spend the money on a Makita.
I’ve had mine for many years and it just one of 4 machines I own because detailing has been a hobby for many years now. I’ve also got a small Flex Kompact rotary that I use in tight spaces above the rubrails, a Flex 3401 random orbital that I use on cars, and a PC 7424 that I use with carpet brushes.
I’ve got no personal experience with the cheap rotary from Harbor Freight, but have read here many times that others use it and are happy with it.
If you are doing multiple boats, or just want to spend a lot of money, I highly recommend the Makita. It’s a workhorse and the choice of many professional detailers because of it’s reliability and longevity.
If not, then any rotary will do the job. I don’t generally recommend random orbitals for polishing boats. They aren’t nearly as effective on gel coat, and it will take a lot longer to do a boat with one.
Whatever machine you use, just apply the product to a 2’ x 2’ section of the surface, make a few passes with the machine at a medium setting.
If the product dries up too quickly then slow the machine down. If multiple passes aren’t working the product well enough then speed it up a bit.
I prefer to apply my Last Step Product (usually Collinite Insulator Wax on the boat) by hand. It goes on a clean polished surface very easily, as would most LSP’s, and doing a couple of coats by hand is much easier on the back, arms, and shoulders.
 
Last edited:
IMG_2098.JPG
I use wool pads and 1200 rpms for everything. Have owned just one high quality rotary buffer for the past 40 years. A friend and I did his badly oxidized forest green sailboat hull with it this past spring. Because of the oxidation, we compounded the hull first with a coarse grit, followed by Finnese It and then finished it with Flagship Wax. The hull was very shiny when we finished. I reuse the pads after washing them in the washing machine on a gentle cycle. The pads are as old as the buffer. While they are not new looking, they function just as good as new pads. I have never tried foam pads because the result achieved with the wool ones are so outstanding.
 
I do the waxing the same way SBW1 does it and use my 30 year old Makita on a low setting. I only use wool pads to apply the wax and, after it has dried to a haze, use clean towels to take it off. I probably have 10 wool pads and after they start to get a buildup of wax that is starting to dry I put on a new pad.
 
I watch my Guatemalan waxers use a small wooden wedge that they run against the wool pad and that cleans the wax build up off the pad. Glad you can still do it - last time I did my 410, I ran out of Aleve!!
 
IMG_2098.JPG
carterchapman said:
I watch my Guatemalan waxers use a small wooden wedge that they run against the wool pad and that cleans the wax build up off the pad. Glad you can still do it - last time I did my 410, I ran out of Aleve!!
Click to expand...
Actually, watching the process can be better than doing the process. I was sore for three days after doing a sailboat this past spring, and it was only 23 feet long. I do the stick thing too.
 
I did my 410 below the rubrails last weekend and my back and shoulders still feel like crap. But after seeing results from some of the guys who get paid to do it, it was a weekend well spent.
 
JVM225 said:
I did my 410 below the rubrails last weekend and my back and shoulders still feel like crap. But after seeing results from some of the guys who get paid to do it, it was a weekend well spent.
Click to expand...

I removed 5 separate vinyl tape stripes that ran the length of my 3870 in a cramped storage building, it took several days to recover from the contortions.

MM
 
MonacoMike said:
I removed 5 separate vinyl tape stripes that ran the length of my 3870 in a cramped storage building, it took several days to recover from the contortions.

MM
Click to expand...

I’m considering having a local sign guy re-do some stripes on my boat in the Spring.
Sign guys can usually custom make any size and can get just about any color.
He recommended using “Rapid Remover” Vinyl Letter Remover. He does striping on a lot of boats and said this is the best product he has found yet for removal of the old stripes.
I’ve used “747 Adhesive Remover” in the past with good results, but the sign guy told me that “Rapid Remover” works better.
Both products are available on Amazon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,117
Messages
1,426,412
Members
61,029
Latest member
Curious
Back
Top