Boat Candy?-gctid364721

[Guest]

Hi Guys,

I am looking to polish up my 305 prior to launch this season. With all of the $$$ I have spent on mods, I really want the boat to shine. I feel that it looks dull now, if not necessarily chalky. What is the best stuff out there to use? I am not too concerned about the price of the stuff since it will be small relative to the overall boat, and I really want it to look great. What to use? Performance Boat Candy looks interesting. Any thoughts about that? I have a girl who details our cars who will be doing the boat, and she has the buffer and pads needed, but not sure what product to use.

I appreciate your input!

[Guest]

Read this entire thread. There is lots of good info. Keep in mind there are three steps, compound, polish and wax. In my process that's been successful for me it's compound, a diminishing lighter compound and Starbrite polish w/ PTEF. It will protect like a wax.

Polishing before and after

[Guest]

If you can post a picture and tell us the honest condition of the gelcoat maybe we can help you with your mission. There is about 25 million products out there to make your boat look great, but if you don't use the right combination of compounds, polishes and waxs, applied correctly, your boat will look like everyone elses. Honestly, If the person doing the buffing can't help you with the right product to use maybe you need to find someone else local that can help you with this that has experience with boats. Gelcoat needs to be flat, smooth, and clean if you want it to shine like a new car... This takes experience and a knowledge of how agressive a compound to use to clean the hull, flatten and smooth the gelcoat, before you polish and wax... It's a big job if your boat is not done twice a year now. so expect to pay a big price for this service....

I'm doing a 35' boat right now that needs to be wet sanded first due to neglect and it has been in salt water for 3 years... I can make it clean and shiny but the finish is pitted and cloudy looking looking down the side.. Like I said you need someone with experience to get this done right for you.....

[Guest]

Thanks for the input. Todd your boat looks amazing - definitely what I am looking for. I will try to get some picks of the gelcoat to post.

Any other input?.... anyone?

[Guest]

Abigayle III wrote:
If you can post a picture and tell us the honest condition of the gelcoat maybe we can help you with your mission. There is about 25 million products out there to make your boat look great, but if you don't use the right combination of compounds, polishes and waxs, applied correctly, your boat will look like everyone elses. Honestly, If the person doing the buffing can't help you with the right product to use maybe you need to find someone else local that can help you with this that has experience with boats. Gelcoat needs to be flat, smooth, and clean if you want it to shine like a new car... This takes experience and a knowledge of how agressive a compound to use to clean the hull, flatten and smooth the gelcoat, before you polish and wax... It's a big job if your boat is not done twice a year now. so expect to pay a big price for this service....

I'm doing a 35' boat right now that needs to be wet sanded first due to neglect and it has been in salt water for 3 years... I can make it clean and shiny but the finish is pitted and cloudy looking looking down the side.. Like I said you need someone with experience to get this done right for you.....

Do you know of any qualified people in my area (Thousand Islands)?

[Guest]

So I opened this thread half-expecting to see models with their boobs hanging out adorning your boat!

Nice to see that it is a legitimate thread!

Sarah

[dmcb]

Sarah, I hope you are not suggesting there is something wrong with your first thought.

[Guest]

Not at all,, I'm pretty sure everyone likes looking at boobs. They're such friendly lookin' things!

[Guest]

Sarah - the pictures that you put up some time ago covered the topic of "boat candy" so now we'll just stick to polish and wax

[Guest]

I would ask around the local marinas, someone must detail boats locally that can help you with picking the right stuff for the job just by looking at your boat...

[Guest]

I'm also in need of doing a polish/wax job. I have a faily simple question to add about the process. What pads do you use with which products? I have wool pads, microfiber pads, and terry cloth pads. I believe some are for applying the product, some are for removing the product...

[Guest]

I know from my experience with owning a car dealership that most so-called professional detailers stink. I have found this to be the case with boats too. I have a woman who does all of our cars to a very high standard, and she knows my expectations. I want to have her do the boat and I just need to know the best products to use.

[Guest]

I hate doing this without knowing what condition your gel coat is in because it can be a huge job if you don't start with the right first step but here is what I do when I look at a new boat to detail for someone.

If you can wet your finger and rub the gel coat and it shines after it has dried, chances are compound is the first step. If is is still dull you will need to wet sand the entire hull to get it ready for compound....

I like to use the presta like of compounds as they clean chemically with heat and speed of the pad also with this product you keep buffing until the surface is clean of ALL compound residue. White ribbon is for gel coat, use a white wool pad, yellow ribbon is less agressive, if your finish is in good condition use a yellow wool pad with this.

Next you will need to use a good polish, I like the Maguires polish it's easy to apply with a buffer and buff it until it shines brightly.... I like to use a green or blue foam pad. The polish will give the surface depth thru the shine so it's a big step to not skip....

Now it's time to wax, I have used Maguires Flagship wax with great sucess and always wax by hand. This year I used Collinite boat wax and it really is a killer shine over the Maguires, if it last as long I'm sold on it......

So there you go, some products "I" like to use to get a quality detail job on a boat... Talk with your detailer and see what she thinks about this....