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Waxing gelcoat

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by hopper5, Feb 6, 2013.

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  1. hopper5

    hopper5 Member

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    Spring is coming and I'm thinking of detailing the boat. 44' is a lot of waxing so I want to use the best and longest lasting product. Any suggestions??
  2. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Collinite paste wax for the hull, Woody Wax for the nonskid, and don't forget a bit of CRC-656 or Corrosion-X on the stainless, some Starbrite White Teflon on snaps and some 3M on the canvas.
    Over here were just waiting for the snow on Friday.:(
  3. RB480

    RB480 Senior Member

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    I would be buffing the boat out with Yacht Brite Buff Magic and follow up with Rejex for protection. Makes my Carver shine like new!
  4. hopper5

    hopper5 Member

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    Thanks for the info. My gelcoat is in great shape with little to no apparent oxidation . Should I still use the Buff Magic ?? Is it very abrasive ??
  5. RB480

    RB480 Senior Member

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    Not very abrasive at all, its more a cream paste. It will bring the shine out and then the Rejex will be able to adhere to a clean shiny surface. The top coating does not make any shine, it is just there to protect.

    If the boat has not been buffed in over a month, there is probably oxidation from rain, dirt, and sun. It all depends on how picky you get but putting a wax on a non buffed seemingly clean surface will not net the best results.
  6. Old Phart

    Old Phart Senior Member

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    I dunno
    Just curious.

    Have you ever tried Boeshield T-9?
  7. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I like Collinite Fleet Wax for gelcoat.....do you have gelcoat? High speed buff with the appropriate grit 3m compound.

    s/s= Polish with Collinite Metal Wax, then coat with Collinite insulator wax, let dry, wipe off......
  8. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    It's good....I think the Corrossion Block stuff is the best.
  9. hopper5

    hopper5 Member

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    Does anyone have any opinion on Meguire's Flagship Premium Marine Cleaner / Wax ??
  10. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    The Flagship works pretty well, here in South Florida the Collinite seems to last a few months longer.....
  11. rocdiver

    rocdiver Senior Member

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    Agreed. Awesome products.

    Also plus 1 for Rejex for protection. Best I've tried for the areas where soot normally collects. Good for the RIB tender too!

    ROCKY
  12. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Are you kidding? Oxidation in a month's time? I have several boats, yachts that are at least 5 years old, sit in direct sunlight every single day, and their gelcoat has never seen compound or a buffer in it's life. If you keep the gelcoat waxed regularly, the surface should not oxidize.

    I'm not a big fan of rejex.....if you put it on when it's under 80F it works good on some gelcoats, but not all. If you try to apply it here in the summertime it is like spreading mud and doesn't work well at all in the South Florida heat.....
  13. rocdiver

    rocdiver Senior Member

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    Valid points Capt J,
    It also wants to cure 8-12 hours between coats and without rain. In summer I usually try to apply it evening when the temp is lower and chance of rain is less. Then I pray :)
    ROCKY
  14. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Yes, all the time. It's a great protector, dries hard and stays on, however it's not for use in visible areas as it tends to yellow. I use it in areas such as extendable swim ladders and the stays under swim platforms, drain outlets, etc., places that get a lot of spray and not seen up close.
  15. RB480

    RB480 Senior Member

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    Agree to disagree, you said if you keep them waxed regularly... If he hasn't waxed it in the last few months, it needs to be buffed. I also agree if you keep the boat pristine since new it wont meed to be buffed however a 1994 Carver 440 probably needs it regardless. I used rejex all summer long on several boat and it doesn't mud up at all. Also, it works awesome on Carver gelcoat.
  16. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I knew of a 1987 41' Viking SF that up until 2005, had never ever been compounded and had been religiously been hand waxed every 3 months since new, had always been in direct sunlight and saltwater and the origional gelcoat looked as new. But most likely a 1994 Carver will need compounding of some sort.

    Rejex does not apply/work here in South Florida and is like spreading mud around when trying to apply it, since it is almost never below 85F during the 6 months or so of summer. It's near impossible to apply it on a decent sized yacht down here in South Florida. You live in MI.

    This is from Rejex website:
    RejeX should be applied to a cool (less than 85° F) dry surface out of direct sunlight. If the surface is too hot, the coating will cure before it has properly bonded to the surface, and it won’t perform up to its potential. RejeX is wiped on, allowed to dry to a haze for approximately 20 minutes, wiped off, then allowed to cure for 12 hours.

    Curing is required to allow the monomers (polymer building blocks) that make up RejeX to attach to the surface being treated and to polymerize (crosslink) into a crystal-clear, impervious film. It is very important to allow RejeX to cure for 12 hours after the haze has been wiped off. If the coating is exposed to contamination such as oil, fuel, soot, water, cleaners, etc. before it has cured, the contaminants may interfere with the film, preventing the RejeX from achieving it's maximum performance and durability.

    RejeX
  17. Fishtigua

    Fishtigua Senior Member

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  18. hopper5

    hopper5 Member

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    Wow !!

    I wish I could just dip my entire boat in it ......top, bottom......the whole thing !!
  19. praetorian47

    praetorian47 Senior Member

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    I've tried many products over the years. On my last boat, an older trawler that was painted with awl grip end had a very sooty deisel, I used rejex.

    It worked on the rare occasions I could apply it in their conditions.

    I now have a 466 with regular gelcoat. I tried woody wax on the nonskid, it works, but I found last year that my properly applied aurora sure step was much much better. It was harder to apple but it lasted strong the whole season.

    I tried colonize and 3m paste wax and simply got tired applying it. I'm a wimp. I went to a liquid and tried a few.

    I tried buff magic and loved it, then I tried 3m Imperial compound and found it was simply better.

    Waxes? Didn't really find one that excited me.

    Near the end of the summer, after watching all these super hydrophobic videos, I looked for a marine product. I found it at Sea-Shield.

    Their stuff is a bit pricey so I decided to order some of the smaller bottles of a few items.

    Their multipurpose cleaner. I first tried it on the diesel soot from my generator. That was the bane of my boating existence. I'm going to sound like an infomercial now, but holy crap did it work. I spray and 1 wipe (1 wipe) and the soot was gone! The cloth was black and couldn't be used again without washing, but my hull was white again!

    I was with friends so we tried it on some of their tough stains, some hard water stains and others. It took it all in one squirt and one wipe. No scrubbing.

    Now I figured it must be prettied damaging to be this powerful, but it didn't hurt my hands and hasn't affected anything so far.

    I applied their nano coating on the cleaned soot line, but it started to rain about 15 minutes into it. Regardless I saw no soot there for the last month of boating. That was one application and no enough curre time.

    They have another product. Exhaust guard for deisel that goes over the nano costing for best deisel repelling. I didn't get that on and it still worked.

    I also applied the nano coating to my shower door, an acrylic door that I had a horrible time keeping clean to my wife's standards. It was nothing short of miraculous! I would get outnof the shower and come back later and there would be a few spots that I would wipe off with a dry microfiber. It looked almost invisible. It was awesome.

    Now I applied this in the last 4 weeks of the season so I cannot comment on longevity. But I can say it was easy to apply. Just spray onto a cloth and wipe on. So if I have to apply monthly I will.

    I recently tried their ,mildew remover on my silicone strips outside on the boat. I had asked the marina to redo them so figured what the hell. Again, spray. Leave for one minute and wipe off. I cancelled the marina. It worked!

    They have a super hydrophobic product for glass but the application is complex and I haven't tried it yet.

    I don't work for these guys but I am super impressed with the products.

    I tried their stainless cleaner and I like it mor than any other product I've tried.

    The nano coating is supposed to work great with hypalon and strataglass. I will be trying it and will let anybody know how it goes.
  20. hopper5

    hopper5 Member

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    Sounds really cool........Have you used the nano coating to the hull instead of wax ? And if so, how did you prepare the surface. I was leaning towards Meguire's Flagship Marine Was but your suggestion sounds much better. My gelcoat is is great condition and for a 1994 has quite a shine. The previous owner had it professionally detailed annually in Seattle. Thanks for ALL of our info.....I plan on detailing it while in a boathouse .......Spring can't come fast enough !!