Wax on, Wax off
 

Help please!

I have a 5 year old boat that has never been waxed, yes I know bad bad.
Well I tried to put a coat on this weekend and now the white finish
looks cloudy like some of the wax never dried. The finish is smooth it
just looks really bad. Does anybody have any suggestions on how get
the good finish back?

Thanks

On Sun, 03 Jul 2005 18:16:09 GMT, Gene Kearns
wrote:

On 3 Jul 2005 10:06:57 -0700, "Rss" wrote:

Help please!

I have a 5 year old boat that has never been waxed, yes I know bad bad.
Well I tried to put a coat on this weekend and now the white finish
looks cloudy like some of the wax never dried. The finish is smooth it
just looks really bad. Does anybody have any suggestions on how get
the good finish back?

I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but....

.... you are going to have to compound all of the oxidized finish off
before re-waxing the boat. Wax doesn't "fix" an oxidized gelcoat,
although it might make it feel slicker...

Go to your local boat store and check out some of the products like 3M
Fiberglass Cleaner and Wax or Fiberglass Restorer and Wax... get a
good polisher, follow the directions, and have at it.....

What he said.

I figured I was going to end up doing that but it never hurts to see if
there is another way.

Well off to get arms like Arnold!

Thanks!!!

"Gene Kearns" wrote in message
.............................
Go to your local boat store and check out some of the products like 3M
Fiberglass Cleaner and Wax or Fiberglass Restorer and Wax... get a
good polisher, follow the directions, and have at it.....

I'll second that. I just did an old fiberglass runabout with 3M FG
Restorer/Wax. I'm amazed.

A year ago, I picked up this '64 Fabuglas 14' hull, original and outfitted,
less engine. The hull was oxidized, but otherwise very good. Every
horizontal surface was buried under years of needles and pitch, a dab of
fungus, seriously oxidized, with embedded mildew.

First, I pressure-washed it. Hot damn, not bad! Then, I washed it with
Ajax, which got the rest of the black out. Put a 50 Merc on her and went
boating......

Last week, I finally broke out the buffer. Just a little angular pressure to
get through the crust, then lay the pad flat and buff it to a shine. The
results were well beyond my expectations. It looks like a three year old
boat.

The funny part is that this bottle of 3M was sitting with a few cans of
spray paint and misc. crap, under a "Free" sign at an RV park. I grabbed
it, thinking it would work for my motorhome. I'm convinced that it would,
but the price on the bottle was $17. Let's see, 12 oz. to do a little
boat - how many little boats in a 36' motorhome? Uh, never mind, it's way
too big. A job for someone younger than I.

Unc

Great story glad it worked out! What type of pad did you use on your
buffer? I don't have pitch to dig through thank God!

Another thing I noticed is that the hull below the rub rail, which is
partially colored, does not seem to have much of a problem at all.
Perhaps it's because the rail is the widest part of the beam and the
hull slopes inward from that point giving it a overhang of sorts?

17 clams a bottle is a good price to get back a nice finish and if it
works on a 40+ yr old hull then I'm sold and I agree doing an entire
motorhome would be an all summer project!

Randy

"Rss" wrote in message
oups.com...
Great story glad it worked out! What type of pad did you use on your
buffer? I don't have pitch to dig through thank God!

I think it's called a compounding pad... It resembles thick, fluffy shag
carpeting. I spread the product around by hand, to keep from "slinging" it
with the wheel, then dug it in with the buffer. I thought for sure I'd have
to come back with a clean, polishing pad... not so. Even with the sticky
residue from the compound/wax on the pad, it buffed out beautifully, with
light pressure, at a higher speed.

Another thing I noticed is that the hull below the rub rail, which is
partially colored, does not seem to have much of a problem at all.
Perhaps it's because the rail is the widest part of the beam and the
hull slopes inward from that point giving it a overhang of sorts?

Exactly. It's not directly facing the elements.

17 clams a bottle is a good price to get back a nice finish and if it
works on a 40+ yr old hull then I'm sold and I agree doing an entire
motorhome would be an all summer project!

Actually, I've hired two different guys to cut/wax the glass siding on my
RV, for $350 and $400. Neither one showed up to do the job. They either
found an easier job, or they already had enough drinking money. I guess
I'll have to take it to a "real" shop and pay $500.

I'm old school.... used to do rub out and wax by hand, in two separate
processes. I never thought a one-step product would do a good job. I stand
corrected.

Good luck,

Unc

Thanks for all the information I'll have her looking new in no time.

Randy