Jump to content

Its nearly that time of year again!!!


Sinbad
 Share

Recommended Posts

Getting slightly ahead of myself, due to an overdue haul out and pressure wash of the hull... I gave the hull a much needed clean and polish.

 

Last two seasons I have used International products (teflon wax, PTFE UV protector, Liquid rubbing compound) - and generally been less than satisfied. mad.gif

 

The products and maybe the application methods (me) didnt remove scratches, or discolouration or dirt well. I also borrowed a rotary buffer from a boatbuilder friend, which halved the time taken to do the job, but was very messy on cutting.

 

This time, I visited www.boatsheen.com, and bought

Brazilian Carnuba boat wax

Pre-wax colour restorer

CleanCut Compound

Plus some applicator pads

plus a box of microfibre cloths

 

The Cleancut compound really does blend in the scratches - if like me with a blue hull, one little scratch shows the white of the underlying un-oxidised gel coat.

Then the pre-wax lifts out the grime

The wax is very easy to apply / buff off, even on a hot surface.

 

The pre-wax does dry on quite hard, so needed a cool day not in the sun otherwise it was difficult to remove.

 

I think where I had been going wrong mainly was the applicator and then the polish - the standard woven cloths or rags from the car shop are far too agressive and open structure and leave fine scratches as well as missing patches. The applicator pads - I used mainly for the polish stage which really speed up the process.

 

Anyway, I think the products are similar price to international.

I used less than half of the pre-wax colour restorer, and a quarter of the wax (250ml) so it goes a long long way.

 

If I get a chance I'll post a couple of photos...

 

But with a pair of sore arms, I'm happy biggrin.gifbiggrin.gif

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, and nearly forgot...

 

early in the season, I cut a shackle off the anchor whilst on the mooring - success for the shackle, but the legacy in terms of the iron filings have been living with me for the last 6 months -all down both sides of the non slip decking. scrubbing with brushes - soap powder, liquid rubbing, polish etc - all managed to remove some rust, but it just came back.

 

Visit to Owens in Christchurch boat shop - he told me he did the exact same thing.

The answer was to use a product called "grime remover" - crystals of oxalic acid. Mixed up in hot water into a solution. It was as easy as making a cup of tea.

 

I just rubbed it on with a small brush and left it to stew. Also put a bit arround the stainless fittings where some rust marks had formed.

 

Then washed it away... and clean and sparky decks again. biggrin.gifbiggrin.gif

 

Paul

Edited by Sinbad
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Paul

 

I had better put my sunglasses on cool.gif and pop over and have a look wink.gif

 

Be careful with the oxalic acid, If you mix it too strong the solution itself stains.

 

Mike I thought Y10 had oXalic acid in it, but I may well be wrong.

 

For years I used teak cleaning powder, which also contains the acid.

 

Thanks for the advice Paul, now get the boat afloat and dirty again laugh.gif

 

 

Charlie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, and nearly forgot...

 

early in the season, I cut a shackle off the anchor whilst on the mooring - success for the shackle, but the legacy in terms of the iron filings have been living with me for the last 6 months -all down both sides of the non slip decking. scrubbing with brushes - soap powder, liquid rubbing, polish etc - all managed to remove some rust, but it just came back.

 

Visit to Owens in Christchurch boat shop - he told me he did the exact same thing.

The answer was to use a product called "grime remover" - crystals of oxalic acid. Mixed up in hot water into a solution. It was as easy as making a cup of tea.

 

I just rubbed it on with a small brush and left it to stew. Also put a bit arround the stainless fittings where some rust marks had formed.

 

Then washed it away... and clean and sparky decks again. biggrin.gifbiggrin.gif

 

Paul

Small Fry has a few Rust stains. The first owners used a few cheap bolts.

I'll give this stuff a try.

 

Thanks Paul.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Take a sharp intake of breath, as its expensive stuff - and I only used a couple of teaspoon fulls for a litre of solution.

 

I suppose it depends how badly you want to tart up your pride and joy.

 

Gordon - I suppose it'll do a good job of this

 

Your welcome to borrow some to try a patch if you want.

 

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mike,

Thanks for the warnings.... I was careful to put the cap back on before adding a spoonful of sugar to the tea.

 

Certainly smarts a bit if you get it splashed onto skin or cuts, so I knew it was strong stuff....

 

Charlie - I was hoping to get back in asap to avoid the rash of cruisers, so possibly this weekend biggrin.gif

 

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Boat polishing is hard work, so I like to keep it simple.

 

An electric mop does help. I use Farecla http://www.farecla.com/ as a cutting compound if I need to shift any scratches.

 

As for polish - the Carnuba wax is pretty good - but after trying many things the longest lasting I've found is Auto Glym - Super Resin Polish. Mainly sold for polishing cars - it is so, so easy to use - doesnt take much elbow grease to polish it off and leaves a really nice coating on the gelcoat.

 

For those who dont know, regular applications of a wax/polish stops the gel going chalky, makes the water run off the surface easier and makes the boat easier to clean.

 

Bob and I polished JV the other week - took about 10 mins biggrin.gif

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Boat polishing is hard work, so I like to keep it simple.

 

An electric mop does help. I use Farecla http://www.farecla.com/ as a cutting compound if I need to shift any scratches.

 

As for polish - the Carnuba wax is pretty good - but after trying many things the longest lasting I've found is Auto Glym - Super Resin Polish. Mainly sold for polishing cars - it is so, so easy to use - doesnt take much elbow grease to polish it off and leaves a really nice coating on the gelcoat.

 

For those who dont know, regular applications of a wax/polish stops the gel going chalky, makes the water run off the surface easier and makes the boat easier to clean.

 

Bob and I polished JV the other week - took about 10 mins biggrin.gif

10 minutes ?

 

I'm impressed Adam.

 

I don't suppose you fancy coming and doing a demo on Small Fry do ya ?

I'll provide the tea & sandwiches.

It'd probably be finished by the time I'd boiled the kettle. biggrin.gifbiggrin.gifbiggrin.gifbiggrin.gifbiggrin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

You can't beat AutoGlym SRP - many of the car detailers use it as a base before applying a wax. I do once a year on the cars - JoJo has naver seen polish, but then again she is ABS plastic and not fibre and gelcoat. biggrin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi John,

the polish is applied to a dry hull - and I prefer to stand on the land or use a step ladder ? but you probably didnt mean this laugh.gif

 

As for the rust remover gel its used in tiny quantities, generally for any boat cleaning liquids its not really practical or acceptable in my book to wash off in the confines of a marina. just like you wouldnt pour paint solvent or white spirit down the drain?

 

However the tins of paint dont have the specific labelling to say what their aquatic toxicity is, as they probably havent been tested, although the bulk chemical almost certainly would have had all the environmental/ toxicity testing as part of the COSSH regulations. So its really down to the byelaws of the harbour and a bit of common sense approach. biggrin.gif

Regards

 

Paul

Edited by Sinbad
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...