What is the verdict Wax Or Polish/Sealant?

  • Thread starter Thread starter RM
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Well that makes at least two of us who have taken the Yachtbrite plunge off advise from this thread. My 21 year old gelcoat doesn't hold a shine for more than a week above the gunwal. We'll see if Buff Magic and Pro Polish hold up to the Florida Sun.

I couldn't find it on Boatfix, Worsed Marine couldn't deliver, I found it on a competing online distributer, but got a better deal on Ebay.
 
And of course, 1 of each probably not enough for my boat so had to buy 2 of each! I think I paid $26 for each can of Buff magic and about $20 for each bottle of Pro polish.
 
TennaSea,

Your gelcote might be too far gone at this point, light wet sanding might be the answer your you. Try the Buff Magic first but they stuff isn't a miracle cure for chalky gelcote.
 
Greg, you should be able to do your boat with about a half can of the Buff Magic. I can get 3 to 4 27'-30' hulls from a 22 oz. can. Get yourself a couple of 3/4" foam brushes and use them to apply the product sparingly. As you use it you will find how much is necessary, but you will soon find less is better! Are you using a buffing machine? And what kind of pad(s)? If you apply the polish with a pad applicator, store it in a zip lock bag so you don't have to load the pad when you re-use it later. Look for a large (20 X 40) waffle weave microfiber towel to remove the polish and buff to shine. Take some before an after pictures so you can marvel at your work!
 
Greg,

Another trick I have to making the job go faster is to take duct tape and tape the buff magic can to the side of the ladder near the top. This way you don't ever touch the can, you can just leave the paint brush in the can and move the ladder without worrying or handling the can, makes the job go much much faster.

Jonathan
 
I'm confused now guys.. I haven't opened the can of buff Magic yet to see the consistency. Are you saying I can apply this with a brush and not to work it in to the surface like I would with Finesseit etc? Or do you just get it on to the surface with a brush and then work it in by machine or by hand?
 
Buff Magic isn't liquid, it's much thicker than mayo for example.b You can turn the can upside down and the contects will not fall out.

It's to be applied with a brush, I use the cheapo $1.99 chip brushes, buy one that just fits inside the can opening. The foam brushes in my experience fall apart too easily.

You lightly paint it on in a 2-3 foot square and go to town with the rotary buffer. Work it into the surface and as you work it, it gets thinner and thinner buffing up to an awesome clean shine.
 
The sh!t is unbelievable Greg. I was amazed at the shine brought out on Mrs. Robinson. She always looked real damn good but this brought it to the great level.
 
Thanks Guys. I'm abandoning all of my old tried and true 3M and Maguires products for this.
 
Jonathan, thanks for the link, good information there. Are you using wool pads on your machine or foam?

Boatfix is certainly missing the boat on this product and also on microfiber towels. Rather than using a bunch of 16 X 16 it is so much easier to have a 20 X 24 or a 20 X 40 an not run through so many needlessly doing your final buff.
 
George,

I use wool pads on my Makita Rotary for buff magic.

Foam for most everything else with my Porter Cable orbital.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Tenna-Sea-N

Well that makes at least two of us who have taken the Yachtbrite plunge off advise from this thread. My 21 year old gelcoat doesn't hold a shine for more than a week above the gunwal. We'll see if Buff Magic and Pro Polish hold up to the Florida Sun.

I couldn't find it on Boatfix, Worsed Marine couldn't deliver, I found it on a competing online distributer, but got a better deal on Ebay.

Click to expand...
 
Well I would like to put in my two cents on the pro-polish.I bought a new Searay 320 in 2004,The Searay site promoted Yacht brite products.I used the Boat wash, serious shine and pro polish.
I am located on the upper Mississippi,so short summers.Boat stored indoors in the winter,so I did as much as I could to prevent UV damage.My regement was a good wash every week,twice a year using pro polish,and touch up with serious shine on isenglass ,dash and anything else I wanted to shine up.Boat usually was one of the cleanest ,but i noted this last year the hull and deck appeared chalky.My expectation were that using the Yacht products would have delayed this a few more years.I may have expected to much.
I recently went to the Searay dealer show in Florida and brought this up with their staff.They replied that they no longer use the product,but have switched over to 3m products.
My plans this year or suggestion would be to use Yacht brite pro polish ,and place a wax cover over it.I plan to use Collinite 885.It was ranked number one in durability by Power boat.My reasoning is Polish molecules are smaller and will fill the pores better,then seal it with the more durable wax.
I do not know this to be the best but I may try it soon .If others have a better suggestion I am all ears.
P.S.I did like the Yacht brite products,ease of use and shine,I just dont think it protected the fiberglass.My 2 cents.
Commonmedic
 
I think you expected too much of the polish. You needed something to give you protection and the pro polish will give you shine but not protection in the long run. With the continued washing you had no protection against UV damage. A good waxing with the polish on top would have given you the shine you wanted plus protection against sun rays. At this point you should use Buff Magic first, then the polish. Or use a mild cleaner wax, like Maxi-Clean, then the pro polish or you might want to use Leverage over the Maxi-Clean.
 
I didn't have any chalking issues using just pro polish.

Strange that such a new boat would get chalky that fast way up north.

The problem I have is that wax seems to grab the pollution in the air and hold onto it worse that with the pro polish alone.
 
I dont know why,but it was fading.I am somewhat of a fanatic about polishing my boats ,and was fearing that I would have to buff it this coming year.I do here great things of the buff magic,and as I said earlier the product was easy to use .The serious shine was great on the eisenglass and anything else you wanted to put a quick shine to.
 
I have a new boat that has sat in the sun a bit. Will I be able to tell right away if Pro Polish is enough?
 
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