Teach me your methods and tell me what products you prefer to wax your cats.

[Nahbrown]

Cats have a lot of real estate to clean and protect and I would love to know your process and products that you use to get the job done.

Ive got some extra time on my hands as we sit tight on our cat because of the virus so I want clean and wax the decks and sides of our L440.


Thanks

[dougweibel]

I am a big fan of StarBright Non Skid Deck Cleaner for all the non-skid. It has PTFE so I usually use a wax product that includes PTFE to do the gelcoat between non skid sections. Last time I used 3M Marine Cleaner and Wax. We usually apply by hand, remove and polish by hand, and then follow up with a light pass with a buffing wheel.

[fivecapes]

The gold standard

[smj]

Used most of the marine compounds, waxes etc. but started using meguires cleaner wax. Works great and only $7 a bottle from Home Depot.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Meguiar-...1216/204848403

[Nahbrown]

Originally Posted by fivecapes

The gold standard

Holy smokes! What a very extensive process!

[tomfl]

Not as easy to answer your questions as you might think. The first consideration is just how much cleaning is needed. If you are at a dock with water soap and water is how I start. I use car cleaning soap in an attachment to the hose and get a good coating of foamy soap on the boat and scrub it down with a soft brush and then rinse well with fresh water; plenty of fresh water. There is often a lot of dirt in the air in a marina and often dried salt spray from the last passage.

After the initial wash I assess the condition of the gelcoat. If it is shiny and smooth I would use some type of wax (as SMJ suggested a quality car wax is OK) but it should have some type of UV protection. I also really like to use 303 in places where there is no non skid. If the gelcoat is dull you may want to use some type of abrasive compound to remove the dull (but try using 303 first as it often makes things shine). If the gelcoat is in really bad shape you may need to use all or part of the suggestions in the gold standard link.

[MIRELOS]

what ever you use it's a lot of work, but gelcoat needs protection

[19thol]

wax my cat, can't even manage to give the damn thing a bath. +1 for starbright

[Sail2there]

Originally Posted by fivecapes

The gold standard

Thanks - This is one of the best/detailed gelcoat buffing tips I've seen.

[Pete7]

I have always used Traffic Film Remover including on the inflatable dinghy and previous rib.

https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/tips-and-...is-it-worth-it

Normally needs diluting, but tough stains a dab of neat works well, but use gloves doing this as it removes oils from skin.

At £12 for 5 litres its cheap and effective.

Pete

[Ken Pole]

Apologies up front for this: Sheba, my 16yo Siamese, wouldn't like that at all!

[zeehag]

my bubba would not take well to waxing and chico--gotta catch him first... shredding is result for both... i think i would not want to wax em. too much blood loss

[Shrew]

Gelcoat doesn't care what shape the hull is, how many hulls, or how it's propelled. Waxing and detailing is the same for monohulls, multi-hulls, sailboats and powerboats.

I use the 3M products. What matters is how oxidized the gelcoat. that will dictate which product you start with. machine buff the product on, and hand remove it. I use a buffing wheel at the end to polish and remove any residue I missed.

[billdre]

Originally Posted by fivecapes

The gold standard

+1 Believe this. It doesn't mean you do every step thing he suggests. First, decide what shape your gelcoat is in and start there. If waxing your hull is something you haven't done then this is the best description of how and why to spend the time and have awesome results.

[slug]

Originally Posted by Nahbrown

Cats have a lot of real estate to clean and protect and I would love to know your process and products that you use to get the job done.

Ive got some extra time on my hands as we sit tight on our cat because of the virus so I want clean and wax the decks and sides of our L440.


Thanks

First you must use rubbing compound and a random orbital polisher with a foam pad to clean and remove the oxidation from the gel coat

Once the gel coat is cleaned and polished then you put on a topcoat wax or sealer

Many around

Your choice

The high quality auto surface finishes are easiest to use

Two coats top coat finish is the standard routine



3m rubbing compound comes on various grades

Medium is s good choice

Rubbing compound is water soluble

After polishing , wash down with soap water and a yacht brush to remove rubbing comp residue