BOAT WAX

[fastskipper]

What is the best wax or polish to use on my boat??? What do you guys like and why

[Bill]

From someone who owns a restoration and detail shop, I live and die by a product called Race Glaze. Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!

2003 ZT 240 6.2litre/Bravo 320 H.P. 25P Mirage Plus

[vinny p.]

I wont argue with Bill on this one. But, I have always used " Garys' Satin Finish wax ". I have great results with it.

[Bill]

In conjuction with Vinny, there are various brands out there that are good, Obviously, I have not tried them all, and everyone's opinion differs for different reasons, just make sure you use something that is made for fiberglass (gel coat) and not a car wax. Do not assume that because it has a picture of a Corvette on it, that is is for fiberglass. Corvettes are painted, unlike boats. Fiberglass will fade very quickly and yellow if car wax or polish is used. Vinny really seems to know his stuff, so what ever is in your budget, or availibility, try. Remember, NO car products. Good luck!

2003 ZT 240 6.2litre/Bravo 320 H.P. 25P Mirage Plus

[vinny p.]

Thanks for the compliment Bill. I am more of a motor guy but I only post from fact or my experiences whenever possible.

[fastskipper]

Going to pick up a bottle of Race Glaze today and give it a try. Thanks!!!!

[Craig]

Race Glaze is a really good product for fiberglass. Also 3M Marine Fiberglass Polish. I agree, do not use car wax on a boat. A chemical reaction between the wax, fiberglass, and sun will cause it to yellow (or something like that). Anyway, I know a guy who waxed his white boat with car wax religously. When next to another white boat, his looked piss yellow.

Also another thing to remember (many of you may already know) is never use abrasive compounds on a boat. They leave scratches that will cause your fiberglass to oxidize alot faster. If you absolutly have to use compounds to remove bad oxidation, then keep applying finer and finer compounds and then buff and polish it. If you use compound to get oxidation out and then apply a polish over that, the fibergalss will reoxidize as soon as the polish wears off and it will be worse than it was before.

-Craig

[fastskipper]

Used the Race Glaze on the "new" boat yesterday. I love this stuff. Real easy to use.

[MrWick]

Can anyone tell me where to find Race Glaze,I have never heard of it before and would like to give it a try.I have some faded/oxidized spots on my 85 Predictor and hopefully this stuff will help.I have always used car products on my previous boats but never kept them long enough to see any problems.

[Bill]

MrWick,
You can go to www.raceglaze.com (http://www.raceglaze.com) and contact them. They can tell you where to get it in your area.

2003 ZT 240 6.2litre/Bravo 320 H.P. 24p Bravo 1

[85Predictor]

MrWick,
I will be picking my 85 Predictor up next week.
Red/Gold with a 115 Merc.
Do you have any pictures of your predictor posted yet??

I have one posted in "Picture This"

Thanks!

Another link to Race Glaze. You can order it from these people.
http://www.mr-shine.com/

[Chris]

Yo Bill,

I just visited the Mr. Shine website. Race Glaze has a whole slew of products. Do you think you could give me/us a run down of which products you recommend, and in what order you would use them. Assume we are working with a boat in fairly tough shape, which products would you start with and the proceed to. Actually, if you wanted to start an entire thread on detailing a boat that might be a cool idea too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Webmaster
Checkmate-Boats.com-The Fanatics Home!

[Bill]

Absolutely Chris, give me a little time to go through it and I will do my best for ya'! The key is to try and keep it simple because it can get kind of confusing what to use when ect... If nobody minds, it can get kind of wordy... http://www.checkmate-boats.com/6/ws/,s,8626072361/Graemlins/thumb.gif

2003 ZT 240 6.2litre/Bravo 320 H.P. 24p Bravo 1

[CHECKMATE ZEUS]

HERE BE THE MAIN FACTORY SITE:

http://www.raceglaze.com/welcome2.html

I am the one who knows all!

[CHECKMATE ZEUS]

LOCATOR:

http://www.raceglaze.com/locator.html

I am the one who knows all!

[Bill]

Well... Let me try and get this started without getting to wordy, one I get the basics here, please feel free to ask any questions. Also, I am bringing my equipment to Green Bay, so anyone who is there, please feel free to ask questions and I can show you first hand some techniques! Race Glaze seels just about anything you need to restore the finish on your boat or keep it looking showroom new. The downside to what I am telling you is there are some pricy tolls required to get the job done right, but if you want to just keep her looking good, the required tools are not too bad. In the next day or so, I will get pics up of the tools needed. For now I will go over Race Glaze's products. I will go through these in the order that they would be used if you have severe oxidation or scratches. First there is the Fast Action compound. This is used for heavy oxidation and moderate scratches. This product is used in conjunction with a rotary buffer set between 1000-1200 RPM's with a wool buffing pad. I do not recommend someone try this without the experience of useing a buffer, you can destroy your finish quickly without proper training. Once you have done that step, then one would move on the the Leveling compound. This is designed to remove the scratches and swirls left from the Fast Action Compound and start bringing back the luster. You can start with this product if you have light oxidation or fine scratches. This is used with a rotary buffer set at 1400-1600 RPM's. Also use a wool pad with this step. Next, you move on to the polish. Apply this with a 5 or 6 inch orbital sander with a foam pad attached. This will remove any imperfections left in the gel from the two previous steps. Once you get to this point, this should be all you have left to do to maintain the shine. Polish it once a month to keep it looking new. While I am out on the water, I always carry a bottle of the Gloss Highlighter with me to remove water spots or finger prints. This is also a great product for when you pull the boat out and got to wipe it down. How many times do you have the stubborn water line that dried before you for the towel to it, spray a little Gloss Highlighter in it and it comes right off. A big reason I use polish instead of wax if because if you try to build up a couple of coats of wax, it will yellow, if you do that with polish, the finish only gets better.

2003 ZT 240 6.2litre/Bravo 320 H.P. 24p Bravo 1

[Bill]

If your boat already looks good and you wnat to maintain it, once a month, polish it with the Polish. I can do my 24 ft. boat in 15 minutes with my Dewalt orbital sander and pad, so no excuses! http://www.checkmate-boats.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif Do the trailer when you do the boat, that adds about 10 minute to my time. Some tips to make clean up easier... use the gloss highlighter on the wheels. That help keep brake dust from sticking and keeps water crap from sticking also. Do this everytime you was the boat and trailer, which should be once a week. The more you do it, the better you will get. For me, I can wash the boat, trailer, vacuum the interior, and polish everything in about 2 hours. Well worth the time.

Much more to come...
Send questions please to give me direction where to go here! http://www.checkmate-boats.com/6/ws/,s,8626072361/Graemlins/thumb.gif

2003 ZT 240 6.2litre/Bravo 320 H.P. 24p Bravo 1

[Bill]

I see I screwed up and did not start a new thread like Chris suggested. Sorry Chris. Anyway, if knowone is interested here, I won't bore you guys, if interested, give me some direction on what you want to know, this can be a very comprehensive subject to just wing it... http://www.checkmate-boats.com/6/ws/,s,8626072361/Graemlins/thumb.gif

2003 ZT 240 6.2litre/Bravo 320 H.P. 24p Bravo 1

[Chris]

You can always cut and paste your posts into a new thread if you want Bill. http://www.checkmate-boats.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Webmaster
Checkmate-Boats.com-The Fanatics Home!

[Bill]

I am pretty illiterate when it comes to that stuff Chris, I gues I better figure out how to do it! http://www.checkmate-boats.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif

2003 ZT 240 6.2litre/Bravo 320 H.P. 24p Bravo 1

[Chris]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bill:
I am pretty illiterate when it comes to that stuff Chris, I gues I better figure out how to do it! http://www.checkmate-boats.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif

2003 ZT 240 6.2litre/Bravo 320 H.P. 24p Bravo 1<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>While holding down your left mouse button.....drag your cursor across the text you want to cut....and then right click your mouse......choose cut....and then right click again to paste it into a new thread. You'll have to have two browser windows open at the same time. http://www.checkmate-boats.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Webmaster
Checkmate-Boats.com-The Fanatics Home!

[Z06]

Hey Chris, isn't it you highlight the text, and then click copy not cut? Cut just gets rid of it all. Or you could highlight the text, then press ctrl + c and then ctrl + v to paste it....

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Chevy Corvette Z06
Chris.Ellard9@sympatico.ca
http://pub37.ezboard.com/bchevycorvettez06personalforum
http://www3.sympatico.ca/kellard/racing.jpg