Removal of Swirls in Wax
 

My fibreglass boat while it shines, if you look at it at a certain angle,
you can see swirls . and this bothers me. Has any one had an experience like
this and what product would you recommend to remove the swirls or the wax
from a fibreglass surface?

"K. R. Lauzon" wrote in message
...
My fibreglass boat while it shines, if you look at it at a certain angle,
you can see swirls . and this bothers me. Has any one had an experience
like
this and what product would you recommend to remove the swirls or the wax
from a fibreglass surface?



Polish it with 3m Finesse It II ( http://tinyurl.com/5s8mw ) using a
random orbit polisher such as the Porter Cable 7424 (
http://tinyurl.com/5okb3 ).

Follow that with a couple of coats of paste wax such as Collinite Fleet
Paste, again using a random orbit polisher.

Make sure you use to correct pads for the polish and wax applications.

In article ,
says...
My fibreglass boat while it shines, if you look at it at a certain angle,
you can see swirls . and this bothers me. Has any one had an experience like
this and what product would you recommend to remove the swirls or the wax
from a fibreglass surface?



Generally swirls in wax is caused by the application of too thick a
layer of wax. Once it dried it's a real bear to buff the swirls out.

What to do, Three options.

The most frustrating aggravation method it lots of elbow grease and
heavy rubbing. I don't recommend it.

The next , wax dissolves wax. A thin new coat may soften the top of the
heavy coat enough to allow you to rub out the swirls and even things
out.

The easiest way is probably just stripping the wax that is on there now
and redoing the job with several light applications buffed out to a no
swirl condition before the next coatis added.

One trick to getting a thin even coat of wax is to dampen the applicator
with fresh water. Think spit shined shoes.



Good luck
--
Mike G.
Heirloom Woods

www.heirloom-woods.net

"K. R. Lauzon" wrote in message
...
My fibreglass boat while it shines, if you look at it at a certain angle,
you can see swirls . and this bothers me. Has any one had an experience like
this and what product would you recommend to remove the swirls or the wax
from a fibreglass surface?

Sometimes the swirls aren't in the wax, but in the gel-coat.

Using diswasher detergent (Dawn brand works good), remove the wax from a portion
of the finish and observe whether the swirl marks remain. If they do, you'll
probably need to claybar (hard work) the finish to remove the swirls. Check
with an autobody shop.

"KØHB" wrote in message
nk.net...

"K. R. Lauzon" wrote in message
...
My fibreglass boat while it shines, if you look at it at a certain angle,
you can see swirls . and this bothers me. Has any one had an experience
like
this and what product would you recommend to remove the swirls or the wax
from a fibreglass surface?

Sometimes the swirls aren't in the wax, but in the gel-coat.

Using diswasher detergent (Dawn brand works good), remove the wax from a
portion of the finish and observe whether the swirl marks remain. If they
do, you'll probably need to claybar (hard work) the finish to remove the
swirls. Check with an autobody shop.




The swirls are indeed in the gelcoat itself and need to be polished out. No
need for a claybar. Follow the steps I previously posted and it will come
out looking like new. An investment in a random orbit polisher is needed,
as well as the use of the proper products and polishing pads.

A claybar will remove the dirt left behind after washing the boat, this will
eliminate future swirl marks by removing the grit that will cause swirl
marks on the fiberglass.

The only way to remove the swirl marks in gel coat is to polish them out.

JimH did provide excellent guidelines, but I would be very careful when
using the random orbit polisher. If you keep the OP in the same place too
long or you push too hard when using it. can burn the gellcoat.






"JimH" wrote in message
...

"KØHB" wrote in message
nk.net...

"K. R. Lauzon" wrote in message
...
My fibreglass boat while it shines, if you look at it at a certain
angle,
you can see swirls . and this bothers me. Has any one had an experience
like
this and what product would you recommend to remove the swirls or the
wax
from a fibreglass surface?

Sometimes the swirls aren't in the wax, but in the gel-coat.

Using diswasher detergent (Dawn brand works good), remove the wax from a
portion of the finish and observe whether the swirl marks remain. If
they do, you'll probably need to claybar (hard work) the finish to remove
the swirls. Check with an autobody shop.




The swirls are indeed in the gelcoat itself and need to be polished out.
No need for a claybar. Follow the steps I previously posted and it will
come out looking like new. An investment in a random orbit polisher is
needed, as well as the use of the proper products and polishing pads.

"Me Again" wrote in message
...
A claybar will remove the dirt left behind after washing the boat, this
will eliminate future swirl marks by removing the grit that will cause
swirl marks on the fiberglass.

The only way to remove the swirl marks in gel coat is to polish them out.

JimH did provide excellent guidelines, but I would be very careful when
using the random orbit polisher. If you keep the OP in the same place too
long or you push too hard when using it. can burn the gellcoat.




" There's a common misconception about random orbital buffers, especially
with folks who aren't real familiar with the finer nuances of detailing.
Most confuse the random orbital buffer with a rotary (or direct-drive)
buffer. Rotary buffers are more apt to cause damage, as they have more
powerful motors, generate more heat, pressure and speed, and are usually
used with more aggressive pads (including wool). "

http://www.roadfly.org/magazine/7/po..._buffer.1.html




If you let the weight of the tool do the work, and you don't push the pad
into the finish, you won't have a problem with burning the gelcoat. I
never did.



Here is a nice site giving step by step instructions on how to use the
Porter Cable random orbit polisher I use.

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-pc7424.html

JimH,

Thanks for the article. I had always stayed away from using a orbital
buffer due to the horror stories, if I had known about this, I might never
had tried Zaino Bros.
As I said in a different post, I could not tell any difference in the gloss
of wax vs. Zaino polish, the fiberglass seemed to be just as protected with
Maquires wax or Zaino polish, but I found after I waxed my boat, my arms
were sore for weeks. ; )

One product I found that was a real piece of **** was the Teflon wax, I
think it was starbrite. A marina neighbor was watching me struggle to
remove the Carnauba wax, and showed me how easy his Teflon wax. I tried it
on a small section of the boat to see how it held up. For some reason the
air pollution in the rain would leave black crap on the Teflon area and not
the wax part of the boat.



"JimH" wrote in message
...

"Me Again" wrote in message
...
A claybar will remove the dirt left behind after washing the boat, this
will eliminate future swirl marks by removing the grit that will cause
swirl marks on the fiberglass.

The only way to remove the swirl marks in gel coat is to polish them
out.

JimH did provide excellent guidelines, but I would be very careful when
using the random orbit polisher. If you keep the OP in the same place
too long or you push too hard when using it. can burn the gellcoat.




" There's a common misconception about random orbital buffers, especially
with folks who aren't real familiar with the finer nuances of detailing.
Most confuse the random orbital buffer with a rotary (or direct-drive)
buffer. Rotary buffers are more apt to cause damage, as they have more
powerful motors, generate more heat, pressure and speed, and are usually
used with more aggressive pads (including wool). "

http://www.roadfly.org/magazine/7/po..._buffer.1.html




If you let the weight of the tool do the work, and you don't push the pad
into the finish, you won't have a problem with burning the gelcoat. I
never did.



Here is a nice site giving step by step instructions on how to use the
Porter Cable random orbit polisher I use.

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-pc7424.html

JimH,
I wrote an email to DeWalt suggesting they come out with a battery (18
vdc) powered random orbital polisher. This IMHO would be a great
application and a lot safer then a corded one. They didn't reply. :-(
Paul


JimH wrote:
"Me Again" wrote in message
...

A claybar will remove the dirt left behind after washing the boat, this
will eliminate future swirl marks by removing the grit that will cause
swirl marks on the fiberglass.

The only way to remove the swirl marks in gel coat is to polish them out.

JimH did provide excellent guidelines, but I would be very careful when
using the random orbit polisher. If you keep the OP in the same place too
long or you push too hard when using it. can burn the gellcoat.





" There's a common misconception about random orbital buffers, especially
with folks who aren't real familiar with the finer nuances of detailing.
Most confuse the random orbital buffer with a rotary (or direct-drive)
buffer. Rotary buffers are more apt to cause damage, as they have more
powerful motors, generate more heat, pressure and speed, and are usually
used with more aggressive pads (including wool). "

http://www.roadfly.org/magazine/7/po..._buffer.1.html




If you let the weight of the tool do the work, and you don't push the pad
into the finish, you won't have a problem with burning the gelcoat. I
never did.



Here is a nice site giving step by step instructions on how to use the
Porter Cable random orbit polisher I use.

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-pc7424.html

On Sat, 09 Apr 2005 14:20:23 -0400, Paul Schilter ""paulschilter\"@comcast dot
net" wrote:

JimH,
I wrote an email to DeWalt suggesting they come out with a battery (18
vdc) powered random orbital polisher. This IMHO would be a great
application and a lot safer then a corded one. They didn't reply. :-(
Paul


JimH wrote:
"Me Again" wrote in message
...

A claybar will remove the dirt left behind after washing the boat, this
will eliminate future swirl marks by removing the grit that will cause
swirl marks on the fiberglass.

The only way to remove the swirl marks in gel coat is to polish them out.

JimH did provide excellent guidelines, but I would be very careful when
using the random orbit polisher. If you keep the OP in the same place too
long or you push too hard when using it. can burn the gellcoat.





" There's a common misconception about random orbital buffers, especially
with folks who aren't real familiar with the finer nuances of detailing.
Most confuse the random orbital buffer with a rotary (or direct-drive)
buffer. Rotary buffers are more apt to cause damage, as they have more
powerful motors, generate more heat, pressure and speed, and are usually
used with more aggressive pads (including wool). "

http://www.roadfly.org/magazine/7/po..._buffer.1.html




If you let the weight of the tool do the work, and you don't push the pad
into the finish, you won't have a problem with burning the gelcoat. I
never did.



Here is a nice site giving step by step instructions on how to use the
Porter Cable random orbit polisher I use.

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-pc7424.html


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