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Old 06-06-2014, 03:44   #1
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Shine Gel Coat?

What would you recommend for making gel coat shine?

I'm only concerned with the hull from the water line to the toe rail area.

Our boat's gel coat is in very good condition but does need some shine after wintering over.

The boat has already been washed nice and clean.

I tried Westmarine's pure ocean Nanotech fiberglass polish on a test area and was disappointed to see the gelcoat shine disappear to a less than glossy finish.

I want that gel coat to gleem!

What I don't want- Poliglow or other gimmicks.

What would you suggest?
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Old 06-06-2014, 05:21   #2
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Re: Shine gel coat?

On my boat, I use the 3M products, compound, machine glaze, then finishing glaze, using a Milwaukee 5460 right angle polisher and a coarse then fine wool bonnet.

If there are blemishes, then I first wet sand, up to 2,000 grit, for a perfect finish.

The result is a factory-new high gloss finish.
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Old 06-06-2014, 05:49   #3
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Re: Shine gel coat?

Wiingless has it right. There is only one way to get that shine - elbow grease and time. You will need to decide whether it needs wet sanding, then you will need to go through a series of compounding, glaze, and polishing. The wax is not for the shine - it is only for protection. If the boat is not shiny before wax, the wax is not going to make it shine.

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Old 06-06-2014, 05:57   #4
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Re: Shine gel coat?

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-m...olish-wax.html

Best explanation of how to do wax and shine ive ever seen*

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Old 06-06-2014, 06:16   #5
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Re: Shine gel coat?

I'm partial to Colonite for wax, and Makita for the polisher, 3M for compounds. Polisher wise get a light weight one, a heavy one gets real heavy in a short time.
I mostly use foam pads for compounding, wool only for final polish
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Old 06-06-2014, 06:19   #6
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Re: Shine gel coat?

Quote:
Originally Posted by a64pilot View Post
I mostly use foam pads for compounding, wool only for final polish



That's backwards.
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Old 06-06-2014, 06:30   #7
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Re: Shine gel coat?

These ideas are all well known but how long does that finish last? Vegetable oil will give your boat that factory new finish and last about 3 or 4 weeks. Takes about 45 minutes to put it on
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Old 06-06-2014, 06:46   #8
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Re: Shine Gel Coat?

Where we keep our boat, vegetable oil would be growing mold and turning dark in no time. I can't think of a worse solution here (maybe olive oil?).

BTW, a good finish job will last years if wax is reapplied every 3-6 months, depending on cruising area. The wax protects the finish from oxidizing and getting porous again.

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Old 06-06-2014, 06:52   #9
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Re: Shine gel coat?

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Originally Posted by minaret View Post
That's backwards.
Wouldn't be the first time
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Old 07-06-2014, 03:36   #10
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Re: Shine Gel Coat?

I thank you for all of your replies. Pardon the delay in my response but I spent 11 hours yesterday waxing the our boat (Catalina 30').

The following story has a (probably) sad ending.

Previously, I went to We$tMarine and got Macguires High Gloss polish which did a very good job in polishing the boot stripe. I have several random orbital sanders but prefer the Bosch. I used bonnets and foam pads from Harbor Freight.

The hull was then waxed by hand with Collinite 885 which did improve the hull's look. It was shiny before but now it's a bit more glossy. Not a dramatic improvement but satisfactory. I'm still wondering where the glorious comments about Collinite come from?

Hard work is the only way I've read and discovered that'll get an excellent finish.

2 days ago I had washed the boat down and used Star Brite non-skid deck cleaner on the non-skid deck. It did a great job.

The deck was waxed with Collinite 885 and some hand polish work was done just to clean up some dirty areas. I had wondered if after wax is initially applied and time passes that the waxed appearance looks better. I think that's true as the wax conforms to the surface it's applied to.

Our boat looks very nice now. Time and effort seem to be the only way to get a beautiful finish.

Personal comment- I'd like to meet the guy that invented gel-coat and ask the following; "why in the world did you invent a product that requires way too much labor to maintain? A porous surface on a boat?! Couldn't you just have used Clear Coat instead?"

Also, the line "let's make this a family project...it'll be fun!" is INSANE!!!!!

Now the sad story.

Our boat is on the hard located in Maryland. Bugs that look like a mosquito (but doesn't bite) swarm around the leeward part of moored (in the water) boats and really mess up the appearance. It's horrible. These bugs can take the leeward parts of a beautiful moored boat and ruin the appearance of that boat in a few days. The bug mess can only be washed off using a Citrus based cleaner. Yes, I've tried the boat cleaner soap(s) from We$tmarine and they don't work.

The only problem with the cleaner is that it instantly removes the wax! In other words- all of my work yesterday will be wrecked in a few days once the boat is in the water, the bugs mess it up and I clean them off with the Citrus cleaner.

We could let the boat sit in the water, get all messed up and never clean it but that wouldn't be right. I'm not a "bug-a-phobic" or a neat freak but there is a limit I can endure. And sitting in and on dead bugs, their mess and smell isn't my idea of fun.

We could move to a different marina but that would be many thousands of dollars more. Where we are now is perfect in terms of location and cost. (don't waste your time asking- I'm not telling).

Sadly, we're probably going to sell our boat. It's way too much work and I'm already over-extended. I wish it were otherwise.
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Old 07-06-2014, 04:04   #11
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Re: Shine Gel Coat?

Contrary to popular misconception "wax" is not what should make a boat shiny. Wax protects the final finish result of compounding then polishing. Polish and compound are not waxes they create the shine in stages. Once shiny you will only need a polish step every now and then not the compound. The final coat of wax should not affect the gloss of the hull. If it does then you did not properly perp the hull..

See the link above in the thread to the sailnet post..... The right products, correct use / application of those products, right tools and pads make all the difference in the world.. 95% of the people out there I see using a high quality paste wax have not a clue how to properly apply it or remove it.... It is the easiest and fastest product to use when you use it the right way...


Quote:
Originally Posted by PDA1 View Post
I thank you for all of your replies. Pardon the delay in my response but I spent 11 hours yesterday waxing the our boat (Catalina 30').

The following story has a (probably) sad ending.

Previously, I went to We$tMarine and got Macguires High Gloss polish which did a very good job in polishing the boot stripe. I have several random orbital sanders but prefer the Bosch. I used bonnets and foam pads from Harbor Freight.

The hull was then waxed by hand with Collinite 885 which did improve the hull's look. It was shinny before but now it's a bit more glossy. Not a dramatic improvement but satisfactory.I'm still wondering where the glorious comments about Collinite come from?

Hard work is the only way I've read and discovered that'll get an excellent finish.

2 days ago I had washed the boat down and used Star Brite non-skid deck cleaner on the non-skid deck. It did a great job.

The deck was waxed with Collinite 885 and some hand polish work was done just to clean up some dirty areas. I had wondered if after wax is initially applied and time passes that the waxed appearance looks better. I think that's true as the wax conforms to the surface it's applied to.

Our boat looks very nice now. Time and effort seem to be the only way to get a beautiful finish.

Personal comment- I'd like to meet the guy that invented gel-coat and ask the following; "why in the world did you invent a product that requires way too much labor to maintain? A porous surface on a boat?! Couldn't you just have used Clear Coat instead?"

Now the sad story.

Our boat is on the hard located in Maryland. Bugs that look like a mosquito (but doesn't bite) swarm around the leeward part of moored (in the water) boats and really mess up the appearance. It's horrible. These bugs can take the leeward parts of a beautiful moored boat and ruin the appearance of that boat in a few days. The bug mess can only be washed off using a Citrus based cleaner. Yes, I've tried the boat cleaner soap(s) from We$tmarine and they don't work.

The only problem with the cleaner is that it instantly removes the wax! In other words- all of my work yesterday will be wrecked in a few days once the boat is in the water, the bugs mess it up and I clean them off with the Citrus cleaner.

We could let the boat sit in the water, get all messed up and never clean it but that wouldn't be right. I'm not a "bug-a-phobic" or a neat freak but there is a limit I can endure. And sitting in and on dead bugs, their mess and smell isn't my idea of fun.

We could move to a different marina but that would be many thousands of dollars more. Where we are now is perfect in terms of location and cost. (don't waste your time asking- I'm not telling).

Sadly, we're probably going to sell our boat. It's way too much work and I'm already over-extended. I wish it were otherwise.
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Old 07-06-2014, 04:14   #12
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Re: Shine Gel Coat?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maine Sail View Post
Contrary to popular misconception "wax" is not what should make a boat shiny. Wax protects the final finish result of compounding then polishing. Polish and compound are not waxes they create the shine in stages. Once shiny you will only need a polish step every now and then not the compound. The final coat of wax should not affect the gloss of the hull. If it does then you did not properly perp the hull..

See the link above in the thread to the sailnet post..... The right products, correct use / application of those products, right tools and pads make all the difference in the world.. 95% of the people out there I see using a high quality paste wax have not a clue how to properly apply it or remove it.... It is the easiest and fastest product to use when you use it the right way...
You're right. There's WAY TOO much incorrect information on the web about most things and way too many products that promise too much and provide even less.

Gel-coat care is one of them. Some hill-billy's comment about using WD-40 to "polish" his "craw-dad cruiser" spreads like the plague and everyone tries it. The dumber they are the bigger their comments the more those comments are accepted as useful. The supposedly more intelligent people will read stuff by some "authority on the subject" and promptly spend hundreds on a great new fancy sounding product such as "Nano-tech" junk.

Quality, like truth and fact, is a rare commodity on the internet.
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Old 07-06-2014, 05:11   #13
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Re: Shine Gel Coat?

Gel coat's attraction is that in twenty years you can still make it look like new, clear coat, maybe five years?
You can clear coat gel coat if you want, it's just a paint, but I wouldn't
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Old 07-06-2014, 06:04   #14
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Re: Shine Gel Coat?

It seems the hull isn't the part of the boat that dulls the most. In our case the deck gets faded the quickest and needs the most care. The best part is there isn't that much area which is non-skid.

Oh well.
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Old 07-06-2014, 10:52   #15
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Re: Shine Gel Coat?

I have a 1982 Morgan 384 that was not taken care or for the last 5 years.. while in the yard i had them buff out the gel coat than i applied Island girl wax from Hawaii. clear stuff wipe on no wipe off and it just looks wet all the time after one year i could could see some not so shiny spots so i re applied a 38 boat ya get 3 coats out of a 80 buck bottle.. water needs shines ya can see the minnows in the hull..
I love this guy i talked to him on the phone first he is the real deal .
I will never use any other stuff.. wipe on and done.. Look at the web site
gets my vote.. Lee Nicholas/ Tarpon springs fl
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