Polishes and waxes

[DC18]

Have new boat and want to protect it and keep it looking like new. :bonk:(I'm anal about it) Have been using Meguires in the past with excellent results, but wondering if there might be anything better. For now I am going to use Meguires tech wax 2.0 on hull and deck. All other parts of the boat I will be using Meguires Flagship marine serirs products. BTW, my old boat was a 82. Used Meguires on it for years. Link to pisc http://flickr.com/photos/us60450
The gel coat and interior are ALL original.
Was at the Chicago Boat Show, Fri, Sat and Sun. Spent all three days in the DONZI booth. Show was a blast. Anyway, I talked to a lot of Classic owners as well as other boat owners about waxes and polishes. Most of them mentioned BIO-KLEEN. Stoped by their booth and got some info, and then went to the websight www.biokleen.com (http://www.biokleen.com)
Info looks impresive as well as the testimonials. Let me know what you think. I think I'm going to give it a try.

[VetteLT193]

I like the old/regular meguires more than the tech wax for gel coat. Plus, the regular stuff lasts longer than the tech wax which is good in a wet environment.

It's obvious that it has worked for you for years so I'd stick with whatever you are doing, which I have to assume was regular meguires since the tech didn't come out until a couple years ago?

[undertaker]

I would recommend Leverage polish.....I have use this on my 05 22 classic for over a year and love it......easy on easy off and lasts a long time....u can purchase it from Jaime @ Lakeside Restorations or top notch performance they both are members here good luck..:)


Undertaker:kingme:

[undertaker]

Also do a search here for leverage polish good info will be found....:yes:




Undertaker:cool!:

[Tony]

A very wise guy :pimp: from Chicago once told me;

"Use wax on paint...and polish on gel"


Another vote here for Leverage...

:beer:

[chappy]

I was very impressed with Leverage when I first tried it.

http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39079&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1222735789 (http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39079&d=1222735789)

[zelatore]

A very wise guy :pimp: from Chicago once told me;

"Use wax on paint...and polish on gel"


Another vote here for Leverage...

:beer:

Er, uh, wax and polish are two completely different things. Each has a different use, and both can and should be used on paint and gel.


(I have a heck of a time trying to explain that to my boat washers who barely read and speak english)

I've heard so much about Leverage here on the board I think I'm going to have to try it this year.

[BigGrizzly]

Me I have bough every wax and polish and time saver on the market. When the leverage thing came up in what wax to use post years ago. A local donzi ite ALdonzi, who runs a well known Atlanta body shop had other preferences, well out of a want to prove his way was better he tried Leverage. He later came on the board and is now a leverage user. He shows up at my dock with his 16 looking so good I decided to try it. I have now trashed almost all my other stuff. I have used stuff from the WAX SHOP to McGuire's to 3m stuff. Now all
I have left is Leverage- all their stuff, and a bottle of McGuire's flag ship. Look up the other forums including the " I need 6 volunteers.

[Ghost]

First I would expect that far more important than your choice of product brand is your use of product.

If you can keep it out of the sun and the water entirely except for actual use, two or three good washings and waxings a year with pure wax (no grit) would strike me as the way to go. I did this for years with my new boat in 1999 and the parts with little sun exposure on the rack stayed showroom and are that way to this day.

I used 3M pure fiberglass wax and loved it, but there may be better, I don't claim to know.

I would not put any grit in the mix until you need to, when the first hint of dull chalking is discernible. Then I would use as little as needed to make it like new again.

If anything is going to get sun exposure as it sits, say the transom, I would put three to four coats of wax on that when you do a single coat on the whole thing.

I would never let the waterline stay stained. Every fall cleanup I touched up any little brown spots I found with FSR, just after wash and before the end of season wax. There may be better products, but this worked for me.

Annually detailing your stainless with a metal polish (I like Flitz, but there may be better) and then waxing it will also keep you from getting any rust stain on the gelcoat.

[Tony]

Er, uh, wax and polish are two completely different things. Each has a different use, and both can and should be used on paint and gel.

Quite a while back, on OSO, the original Leverage thread went on and on for about 300 pages. Many contested the "new kid on the block", but Donnie patiently and politely stuck to his guns explaining his beliefs on the subject. His contention was that gel needs to breath, and polish allows that. Also, waxes completely seal the surface, use petroleum products, leave behind a yellow buildup embedded in the gel, and do not last very long. There was of course much more to it than that, but I tried to summarize the main points.

On paint these wax characteristics may be acceptable, maybe even desirable. I'm sure paint guys would probably know more. But the rationale behind "polish for gel" made by Leverage Donnie made sense to me, not to mention I have used it for several years and couldn't be happier.

:beer:

[widowmaker]

I'll second Griz and Tony's recommendation for Leverage products. I've used them for the last year on my 22 and have found them to produce a spectacular shine and be quite durable. The fiberglass treatment goes on quickly and comes off easily. The only down side is that it is so slick that you may find yourself in the drink when walking on the deck or gassing up if you are not careful.

[SilverBack]

Leverage........call Jim...Top Notch Performance Marine......try it........you WILL believe!!

[rtgogo]

Leverage is my vote. I was one of those "six volunteers" and liked the results of my sample so much that I'll be stocking up on the full line of products in a few months...it really leaves a nice deep shine with easy application.

[smokediver]

I use 3m wax ... I like it ... I had my 16 for 8 or nine years and i have to tell you , it never turned yellow ! Old clear coats used to turn yellow like the old DAR and DAU clears but ... things have changed and they changed about 10 plus years ago .. Stick to what you like using .. If it works , don't fix it ! I think that like everything else , there is a bit of trend and a few buzzwords that get popular for a while til some other guy comes along with a "cooler" name brand and a few more buzzwords .. Look at OSO boards sometimes and look at how some guys will jump on a wagon for a while and then turn around and trash it a year later ... If the latest and greatest is working , use it .. Hell , turtle wax is pretty damn good but there is no "cool" factor to it !!!

[BigGrizzly]

Trust me Smoke, you know me, do you really think I would jump on it to be one of the guys. I am an Engine not a Caboose. But I am lazy and it is better.

[Ghost]

Perhaps this thread is past this, but I have a couple of open questions about gel/paint/polish/wax.

I'm used to a spectrum that goes from pure wax at one end, adding grit and maybe chemical cleaners, to all grit/cleaner. "Polish" seems nebulously anywhere in there aside from the pure wax, but I'm curious what people mean when they say it, and where "Leverage" falls, as that sounds interesting to me.

I have awlgrip today and am leery of ANYTHING with any grit on it. Am I mistaken? Or are there other paints that respond well to grit?

With my former gelcoated Cobalt, it loved pure wax and chalked virtually zero unless the sun really got onto a surface for months/years, in which case a little grit was needed to bring it back.

I've heard different gelcoat products naturally chalk to radically different extents. Is this where a "polish on gel" rule of thumb would come from?

The last interesting item I heard mentioned was breathing--and some suggestion that wax does not but presumably something does.

Anyhow, if anyone wants to elaborate on any expertise in any of that, I'm curious on some stuff I heard brought up, but so far not in need of help.

Regards,

Mike

[zelatore]

Mike, when it comes to this stuff I'm pretty much a back to basics guy.

Wax is just that - wax. It has no cleaning properties. It's a surface protector.

Polish (or compound or whatever term they want to use) is an abrasive. It removes part of the surface to level out the microscopic dips and ridges and reveal a fresh, level surface of the original non-faded color.

At the extreme high-end, people don't use any form of wax. They paint, then work back from wet-sanding down to extremely fine polishes until they get the brightest, smoothest finish.

Of course, that only works for trailer queens that never actually get used or exposed to the elements.

Once the surface is at it's best, a good coat of caruba wax protects something that actually gets used.

In the real world, I'll admit to not sticking to the basic 'polish then wax' system. I've been known to wimp out and use one of the combo 'cleaner-wax' type products. They are basically a wax with a fine polish that breaks down as it's used. They work from OK to pretty good, but they're not something you'll see on the concour circuit.

I haven't tried Leverage although I've heard enough good things about it here I think I'll buy some for this season. I haven't checked them out to see what sort of product they offer; whether it's a polish then wax system or an all-in-one product.

So, for the purist who wants the absolute best and is willing to put the time and effort into it, the two step solution is the only one to use. For normal people who sometimes don't stay on top of their paint (gel), the combo products are OK.

And like you said before, it ain't so much the tool as how you use it.

[smokediver]

Trust me Smoke, you know me, do you really think I would jump on it to be one of the guys. I am an Engine not a Caboose. But I am lazy and it is better.
I do believe you Griz ... I really don't do an awful lot of work on fiberglas , mainly awlgrip .. Pain in the rear end ! The real pain in the butt is the new 3m compound that is replacing the 5933 that I think is great ! the new stuff is a mineral oil base and it sucks ! I do like the new finish i think it's called aquafina and with the new real closed cell foam, it's a light blue , it really works great . I have a pretty good system down for awlgrip but it is really time and labor intensive !

[DC18]

Hey guys,thank all of you for the information. I do wash, polish and then wax the boat, car... Yes it takes some time, but I feel that the final result is worth it. The leverage product deserves looking into. I'll call Jim and get more info. Thanks, Rod

[BigGrizzly]

Ghost, I also wondered about the abrasive in polishes. When I was a kid polishes were just light compounds similar to jewelry buffers. While i was a kid I used to travel around the car show thing with the Batmobile. we used Pledge on it, because the polishes hurt the paint eventually(Cleaning every day). Well let me say this. I actually tried leverage on a ring works well. The point being is if you expect to take out even a swirl mark with it you better pack a lunch because it will take you all day. Most waxes I have used are more detrimental. I was told what was in the leverage polish but I forgot. Ghost, your the kind of guy I would buy a boat or car from unseen. Care is ingrained in you, not like me. In closing I use his products on my 1971 MachI. The best thing my wife likes is the four empty shelves in the garage, Btw not empty anymore.