I have an '03 4.3L Merc engine. The dealer insisist that I should only
use Merc's motor oil, gear lube, etc. Of course the dealer price for
this stuff is pretty high. The gear lube itself is $15/qt. I noticed
that Walmart sells QuickSilver brand products now. I believe
QuickSilver is a respected brand in that I've seen it at WestMarine
and I've heard they are actually owned by Merc. So my question is...

1) Can I save money by buying Qucksilver lubes vs. the Merc lubes? Is
there really a difference?
2) I see a wide variety of prices for gear lube. It seems like there
must be two types out there but I don't see anything on the bottles to
indicate what the difference is. I've seen gear lubs for less than $5
and more than $10 per quart. Some say "High Performance" on it but I
don't know what the means. Are some synthetics and some not? Does my
outdrive require a synthetic?
3) Is it necessary to put expensive Marine wax on my gell coat? My
boat sits outside and the cover doesn't protect the gell coat. I was
going to use the same turtle wax I use on my car but the Bayliner
dealer says I should use a marine wax. Is there really a difference?

-Robert

On Sep 26, 12:34*pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:
I have an '03 4.3L Merc engine. The dealer insisist that I should only
use Merc's motor oil, gear lube, etc. Of course the dealer price for
this stuff is pretty high. The gear lube itself is $15/qt. I noticed
that Walmart sells QuickSilver brand products now. I believe
QuickSilver is a respected brand in that I've seen it at WestMarine
and I've heard they are actually owned by Merc. So my question is...

1) Can I save money by buying Qucksilver lubes vs. the Merc lubes? Is
there really a difference?

Generally, no difference. As long as the lube in question meets or
exceeds manufacturer's recommendations. With my outboard, I buy
whatever oil is on sale at Bass Pro Shops or WalMart. The same with
lower unit gear oil.

2) I see a wide variety of prices for gear lube. It seems like there
must be two types out there but I don't see anything on the bottles to
indicate what the difference is. I've seen gear lubs for less than $5
and more than $10 per quart. Some say "High Performance" on it but I
don't know what the means. Are some synthetics and some not? Does my
outdrive require a synthetic?

There are price differences but the big difference will be between
synthetic and non-synthetic. Not for sure, but I'd bet your outdrive
doesn't require synthetic, but it might, best to consult your manual.

3) Is it necessary to put expensive Marine wax on my gell coat? My
boat sits outside and the cover doesn't protect the gell coat. I was
going to use the same turtle wax I use on my car but the Bayliner
dealer says I should use a marine wax. Is there really a difference?

I have opinions about wax and the shine and durability quality, and so
does most other people. But any quality wax should serve you well.

Robert M. Gary wrote:
On Sep 26, 10:17 am, wrote:
On Sep 26, 12:34 pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:

I have an '03 4.3L Merc engine. The dealer insisist that I should only
use Merc's motor oil, gear lube, etc. Of course the dealer price for
this stuff is pretty high. The gear lube itself is $15/qt. I noticed
that Walmart sells QuickSilver brand products now. I believe
QuickSilver is a respected brand in that I've seen it at WestMarine
and I've heard they are actually owned by Merc. So my question is...
1) Can I save money by buying Qucksilver lubes vs. the Merc lubes? Is
there really a difference?
Generally, no difference. As long as the lube in question meets or
exceeds manufacturer's recommendations. With my outboard, I buy
whatever oil is on sale at Bass Pro Shops or WalMart. The same with
lower unit gear oil.

Interestingly I just went to Merc's website and they have brochures
for Quicksilver lubricants as well as their Merc brand lubes. So I"m
really confused now. How are they positioning these two brands? The
Merc lubes are more expensive (maybe just because they are sold at
dealers while Quicksilver is sold at Walmart). Does Merc's
advertisement of Quicksilver lubes imply and endorsement. I'm not so
concerned about motor oil because its probably all the same but I'm
still buying the Merc brand outdrive lube at a premium price.

-robert

Gear lube is gear lube. Synthetic is better than dyno by far. Lubrimatic
will serve you just as well as Quicksilver and you can keep a couple of
bucks in your pocket.

On Sep 26, 1:50*pm, jim wrote:

Gear lube is gear lube. Synthetic is better than dyno by far. Lubrimatic
will serve you just as well as Quicksilver and you can keep a couple of
bucks in your pocket.

Hey, check this out. Here is the advertisement for Merc's expensive
dealer sold lubricants...
http://northamerica.mercurymarine.co...bricants-1.pdf

Now check out the advertisement for the Quicksilver lubes sold at Wal-
Mart.
http://northamerica.mercurymarine.co...bricants-1.pdf

Its word for word the same brochure!!! Now I'm confused as to how they
are marketing the brands. If the Merc is more expensive you'd think
they would *try* to convince people it was better but it doesn't
appear that way at all. The only thing I can tell is that they might
require you to use the Merc lubes while you are still under warranty.

-Robert

On Sep 26, 12:34*pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:
I have an '03 4.3L Merc engine. The dealer insisist that I should only
use Merc's motor oil, gear lube, etc. Of course the dealer price for
this stuff is pretty high. The gear lube itself is $15/qt. I noticed
that Walmart sells QuickSilver brand products now. I believe
QuickSilver is a respected brand in that I've seen it at WestMarine
and I've heard they are actually owned by Merc. So my question is...

3) Is it necessary to put expensive Marine wax on my gell coat? My
boat sits outside and the cover doesn't protect the gell coat. I was
going to use the same turtle wax I use on my car but the Bayliner
dealer says I should use a marine wax. Is there really a difference?

-Robert


Yes. Car wax is not intended to protect gelcoat.

2 of the best for marine gelcoat:

http://www.autogeek.net/collinite-fleetwax-.html

or

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+FLAG+16

You can shop around on the net for better prices but those 2 are the
best.

On Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:56:08 -0700 (PDT), "Robert M. Gary"
wrote:

The only thing I can tell is that they might
require you to use the Merc lubes while you are still under warranty.

-Robert

I believe that is illegal. I know that car manufacturers cannot
dismiss warantee claims if you didn't have them do all the recommended
service that is in the owners manual. All you have to do is regular
oil changes - and you can have them done anywhere you want (including
do it yourself) using any brand of oil you want. That's the law.

JimH wrote:
On Sep 26, 12:34 pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:
I have an '03 4.3L Merc engine. The dealer insisist that I should only
use Merc's motor oil, gear lube, etc. Of course the dealer price for
this stuff is pretty high. The gear lube itself is $15/qt. I noticed
that Walmart sells QuickSilver brand products now. I believe
QuickSilver is a respected brand in that I've seen it at WestMarine
and I've heard they are actually owned by Merc. So my question is...

3) Is it necessary to put expensive Marine wax on my gell coat? My
boat sits outside and the cover doesn't protect the gell coat. I was
going to use the same turtle wax I use on my car but the Bayliner
dealer says I should use a marine wax. Is there really a difference?

-Robert


Yes. Car wax is not intended to protect gelcoat.

2 of the best for marine gelcoat:

http://www.autogeek.net/collinite-fleetwax-.html

or

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+FLAG+16

You can shop around on the net for better prices but those 2 are the
best.


Ever tried the liquid Collinite fleetwax? I've been tempted to give it a
try.

--
http://tinyurl.com/4q88t6

On Sep 26, 1:59*pm, JimH wrote:


http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+FLAG+16

You can shop around on the net for better prices but those 2 are the
best.

I'll have to check out the Meguiars. That's what I use on my airplane
and it seems to do well. Some idiot sprayed clear coat on my airplane
at one point and now its starting to peel off. The Meguiars is helping
reduce the peeling.

-robert

JimH wrote:
On Sep 26, 12:34 pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:

I have an '03 4.3L Merc engine. The dealer insisist that I should only
use Merc's motor oil, gear lube, etc. Of course the dealer price for
this stuff is pretty high. The gear lube itself is $15/qt. I noticed
that Walmart sells QuickSilver brand products now. I believe
QuickSilver is a respected brand in that I've seen it at WestMarine
and I've heard they are actually owned by Merc. So my question is...


3) Is it necessary to put expensive Marine wax on my gell coat? My
boat sits outside and the cover doesn't protect the gell coat. I was
going to use the same turtle wax I use on my car but the Bayliner
dealer says I should use a marine wax. Is there really a difference?

-Robert



Yes. Car wax is not intended to protect gelcoat.

2 of the best for marine gelcoat:

http://www.autogeek.net/collinite-fleetwax-.html

or

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+FLAG+16

You can shop around on the net for better prices but those 2 are the
best.


Been using plain old carnauba based car wax on my boat for years. Why
is it not intended to protect gel coat?

On Sep 26, 5:02*pm, A Real Boater wrote:
JimH wrote:
On Sep 26, 12:34 pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:
I have an '03 4.3L Merc engine. The dealer insisist that I should only
use Merc's motor oil, gear lube, etc. Of course the dealer price for
this stuff is pretty high. The gear lube itself is $15/qt. I noticed
that Walmart sells QuickSilver brand products now. I believe
QuickSilver is a respected brand in that I've seen it at WestMarine
and I've heard they are actually owned by Merc. So my question is...

3) Is it necessary to put expensive Marine wax on my gell coat? My
boat sits outside and the cover doesn't protect the gell coat. I was
going to use the same turtle wax I use on my car but the Bayliner
dealer says I should use a marine wax. Is there really a difference?

-Robert

Yes. *Car wax is not intended to protect gelcoat.

2 of the best for marine gelcoat:

http://www.autogeek.net/collinite-fleetwax-.html

or

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+FLAG+16

You can shop around on the net for better prices but those 2 are the
best.

Ever tried the liquid Collinite fleetwax? I've been tempted to give it a
try.

--http://tinyurl.com/4q88t6

Nope. I use the paste wax before I launch for the season. Prior to
using it I polish the boat with 3M Finesse-It II and use a random
orbital buffer (Mine is the Porter Cable 7424).

Once in the water I use the Mequiar's Flagship liquid wax while
anchored off the beach. Easy to apply and provides good protection.

If you want a liquid wax try the Meguiar's Flagship................it
has consistently rated as one of the best for boats.