New boat polish

G

greggara

Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
RO Number
27504
Messages
5
I bought a brand 07 Cobalt last week. It is blue on the hull and the gel coat looked good until I was kneeling down and noticed swirls, holograms and cloudiness.
I applied some flagship wax with a pc and white foam pad but that made the blue even more cloudy or hazy. I then tried 3M Finesse It II for boats and a white foam pad but that made it even worse and blue gel coat rubbed off onto the pad.
My question is if this is the normal appearance of gel coat or can I do something about it? Is it the foam pads? Is it normal for the color to show on the pad? Thanks and sorry for the long post.
 
I've had poor results with foam as well. Just be sure to be gentle and keep that pad moving to avoid damage.
 
I have great results w/ buffer using the 3M super duty rubbing compound w/100% 3M white wool compound pad. Follow this step w/ 3M Finesse-it II with a 3M yellow wool polishing pad. Finish looks show room! The last step is apply a good wax to keep it that way for the boating season.

Good luck.
 
Ok thanks for the help. Is it normal to see the color come off on the pad? Is Megs Flagship wax any good or should I go with something like Collonite? I heard some people use Zaino which I have. Thanks again
 
A few thoughts.

First, since this is brand new I would suspect that some of the cloudiness, haziness and swirl marks you experienced are due to heavy mold release wax remaining on the hull. If that is the case a good cleaner (not polish) first should help. As a first attempt you might try washing with a fairly strong solution of liquid Dawn detergent then rinse like crazy. Since it's new you shouldn't need to compound/polish - save this for later, that includes Finesse-It at this point. At most something like Collinite Fiberglass Boat Cleaner (920) should be all that is necessary. Then a good wax.

It's not unusual to see color whenever a polishing agent is used. So far everything you have mentioned, including the wax, contains some polishing agents, Finesse-It is a polishing agent. Some of the color may be color in the mold wax as well.

Meguiar's Flagship Premium is an excellent product. So are the Collinite products. A white foam pad on an orbital polisher is pretty mild - so long as it was clean that shouldn't be doing anything. A wool pad on a rotary will be more aggressive.
 
I will definitely try the dawn wash and see if that helps. My initial assumption was the dealer detailer made the holograms when waxing. I will also buy some 920 but should I apply that with an orbital or rotary and with foam or wool or even by hand? Thanks again.
 
You shouldn't need the rotary. A good orbital (PC 7424) with white or orange foam should be all that is needed - nothing more aggressive. If you are experienced and good with a rotary, then go ahead with yellow wool. Hand should work fine also. The action is principally chemical, not abrasive. The important part will be to follow the directions exactly (I believe its remove before it dries, but read the label) and use very clean soft rags/towels to do the removal.

The key is to get a clean, virgin surface before any wax goes on.
 
I am ordering some Collinite now. I hope this removes the holograms and haze. I will post again with results. Thanks for all the help
 
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