Wax vs Polish

A wax places protective coating on the surface.
A polish acutually puts "nutrients" into the surface.
Compounds are abrasives that slighty remove the surface to make is smooth again.

Once something is polished, it then should be waxed to seal the polish.
 
I have always been concerned regarding what nutrients fiberglass would need.
 
sfergson727 said:
No, you shouldn't. It depends on the polish, but most are a stand alone product, if you apply wax over the top of it, you are just removing the polish and wasting your time.
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Scott, that's not really true. Only with the product you're using(and a small handful of other similar products). A typical process would be compound, then polish, then wax. Yes the waxing is a protective coat to preserve the work you've done to obtain a polished finish. Starbrite's polish with PTEF is an exception that provides that protection as you're polishing.
Most other product are separate components to the process of the "normal" or traditional method to make your boat shine and have a protected finish.
 
Well it's not even that either. Many of us are still using those 3 steps, in different degrees.
I use 3M super duty compound for any troubled areas, then either Meguiar's 67 or 49 for the intermediate compounding that has diminishing abrasives that really gets you to a good spot to step into the polishing mode. I used the Starbrite polish with decent results on one section of the boat. I will spend much time this winter tinkering some more. On the other sections I've used several other waxes after using Meguiars 45 polish.

Read up on Jeremy's(280SeaRay) steps in the Polishing before and after thread. He has proven results and I've used a few of them with a twist of my own.
 
Polish is just what it's name implies. It polishes the surface. It's used to remove small imperfections and bring out the final shine, usually after you've used a more aggressive product (compound) on the surface. A traditional polish has no protective qualities.
Wax (carnauba) is a last step product that puts a protective coat on a polished surface. It may provide some additional shine depending on how it reflects light, but it's main purpose is to protect. In recent years polymers, or sealants, have been used in place of traditional carnauba wax. One of the benfits of these sealants is that they typically outlast traditional carnauba. The other side of that coin is that some people (myslef included) still prefer the look of the carnauba on a finish.
A typical wax or sealant has no polishing abilities and won't do any surface correction.
The lines get muddled between polish and wax because there are many "one step" multi purpose products out there that describe themselves as "polish wax" or "cleaner wax". These products generally contain solvent which is used in place of a typical polish to clean the finish. Many times you can actually smell the solvent in the product. Garry's Royal Satin is one "cleaner wax" that I can think of off hand that you can smell the solvent in. They also contain either a wax or sealant.
"One step" products can be good and at times I use them for a quick touch up here and there. But overall I like the results I get when using seperate steps. It's more work to do a polish and then a wax, or for more surface correction, a compound, polish, and then wax, but I think it's worth it.
 
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Well, I thank you for the info. I am always looking for the best polish, wax, cleaners you name it. And a process. However, the thought of doing a 400EC two or three times, well........:smt089
 
The problem is that "polish" is used as both a verb, like process JVM described with a non-coating midly abrasive product, and as a noun, when the manufactures of polymer-based protecting products call their wax alternatives "polishes" to avoid the stigma of natural waxes.

I think the industry has done us a disservice by not coining a better term for their polymer products.
 
sfergson727 said:
No, you shouldn't. It depends on the polish, but most are a stand alone product, if you apply wax over the top of it, you are just removing the polish and wasting your time.
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You might be thinking about automotive polish/sealant. People often apply a sealant to their cars then apply a coat of wax. This is redundant because a sealant does what the name suggests -- it seals the paint and protects it. The extra layer of wax actually removes the sealant so you waste your time on the sealant stage.

Here's the deal with wax though -- automotive or marine. Wax has a low melting point -- just over 100° -- and it needs to be reapplied about every 30 days. A sealant has a melting point in the 400° range and lasts 6 months or more depending on exposure. Starbrite with PTFE is not a sealant but the PTFE protects the surface from the UV rays and oxidation. So if you apply just one coat of Starbrite with PTFE every 30-60 days you won't need wax or sealant.
 
Tonka Boater said:
You might be thinking about automotive polish/sealant. People often apply a sealant to their cars then apply a coat of wax. This is redundant because a sealant does what the name suggests -- it seals the paint and protects it. The extra layer of wax actually removes the sealant so you waste your time on the sealant stage.

Here's the deal with wax though -- automotive or marine. Wax has a low melting point -- just over 100° -- and it needs to be reapplied about every 30 days. A sealant has a melting point in the 400° range and lasts 6 months or more depending on exposure. Starbrite with PTFE is not a sealant but the PTFE protects the surface from the UV rays and oxidation. So if you apply just one coat of Starbrite with PTFE every 30-60 days you won't need wax or sealant.
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30-60 days:smt101 That's lots of rubbing...lol
 
floriduramax1 said:
30-60 days:smt101 That's lots of rubbing...lol
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That would be a lot of rubbing if you are applying wax but Starbrite just wipes on/off -- it's not any more difficult than drying your boat after washing. Plus you only need to polish above the rub rail every 30-60 days in most cases. The hull can be done annually -- at least where I live.
 
Tonka Boater said:
That would be a lot of rubbing if you are applying wax but Starbrite just wipes on/off -- it's not any more difficult than drying your boat after washing. Plus you only need to polish above the rub rail every 30-60 days in most cases. The hull can be done annually -- at least where I live.
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I purchased the Starbrite and then had to take boat back to dealer:smt013 So far I have owned it for approx 75 days and it's been in my possession 20 plus or minus 1 or 2 days:smt021 The "up side" is, it will have all new boots, bellows, and steering pins and seals, waterheater and tables and so on, and so on:thumbsup: Too cold to use anyway. I should get it this week and will bring to my shop and try this Starbright.
 
OK I’m going to need to duck and cover after posting this.

One very nice person with one of the biggest if not the biggest boat in our marina uses Nu-Finish.

I said nothing to him about how it’s a car finish.

Well, his boat looked darn shiny all summer long. It held up better then my McGuire Flagship.
 
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