I'm going to buff out the scratches as best I can on my glass coat. Anyone have tips? Brand of buffing compound? How abrasive? I've never done it before so any tip, no matter how obscure is welcomed.
B
if you have scratchs just in the gel not in the glass..you can use scratch out available at walmart..put it on lighty let dry and hand buff out..that done you'll have to re wax the whole boat or it will have a funny looking spot in it...
i use merguires 100% carnuba with a 10" power buffer-super cloth bonnet-...i do mine 4 times a year using pledge after every outing between waxings..i fish year round from my boat and am pretty anal toward keeping it clean...
zooker
Shurhold (http://www.shurhold.com/) has the products you could use to do a good job with less effort on your boat.
OK, as many will attest, I'm a shiny freak. I love all my rides to have that deep shine you could read a paper in. I've done a fair amount of research, and have reached this system as my present favorite. I treat my boat and cars alike. Be warned, this is pretty time consuming the first time; but upkeep is much easier. But if you don't keep it up, you'll be back to square one over time.
I like 3M, meguires, and mothers. There are many great brands out there, these are just the ones I've come to like.
Start with a good cleaning. Wipe the hull with a wax/grease remover to clean up any road deposits. If you've got water spots, a bath in CLR with a wash right after will get them out. Wipe it dry and stay in the shade.
Using a buffer rub out the whole hull with 3M Finesse-it. This puts a great shine on the whole rig. You'll have spots with deeper marks that still show. Hit those areas with 3M Perfect-it. It's a deeper cut cleaner; it should remove most of the marks. Those areas will be hazy, follow up with another round of Finesse-it.
You'll be left with the slightest haze. Get rid of it by going over the hull with a machine glaze. A glaze isn't abrasive; it fills in the micro scratches left from buffing so the surface looks smoothe. It also contains conditioners that help keep the gel from becoming brittle.
Now that you're shiny, time for some protection. You can use a carnuba wax, that leaves a deep shine. But it won't last more than a couple of weeks. A polymer sealant will give protection for about 6 months, but has a glassy shine to it.
Best bet is a combo. I wax the hull with meguires NXT tech wax; it's a polymer sealant. Rub it on like you're massaging the hull, and remove when it dries. Next day, rub a coat of a carnuba wax of your choice on the hull. You can follow up each night with as many coats of carnuba as you like.
The result will be a deep, easy to keep shine like no other. Follow this pattern twice a year; once in spring, and once in fall. It goes much quicker after the first time, since you've worked over the bad spots the first time. It also gets better each time, as you keep improving your bad spots each time you do it.
For upkeep, wipe down right after you leave the water. Always use a microfiber towel; they don't scratch. Spray the hull while it's still wet with with a "wax as you dry" product. I use the turtle wax version, but only since I can get it at a discount.
I know this sounds like a lot of work. But the result is spectacular. My TR21 is a 2000; but I get that raised eyebrow look when I tell people what year she is. This will leave you with the kind of finish you need to be careful stepping on when wet, it's that slick.
I've been a fan of Meguire's products for deep cleaning/buffing. For regular cleaning my preference is BioKleen products, they have a hull cleaner that gets the nasty river sludge off my boat and then there is a QwikShine that I use for the fresh-off-the-water rub down. They are environment friendly and the company is right down the road in K'zoo.
I'd a let ya use the buffer and all that stuff sitting in my garage, chief!
Clean your fiberglass hull like the manufacturers do it, faster, easier and better with Buff Magic (http://store.shurhold.com/Fiberglass-Restoration-s/24.htm) and Pro Polish (http://store.shurhold.com/Wax-Polish-s/23.htm)
New tool from Shurhold Industries (http://store.shurhold.com/Random-Orbit-Polisher-p/3100.htm) allows anyone to keep their hull shining like new!
lightin
don't ya just hate water spots on the prop???
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/zook_n_stien/zooker-boats/waxjob5-4-08002.jpg)
me too...
zooker