so whats this aqua buff stuff everyone talks about?

[stlcheckmate]

I am the proud owner of a 1988 enchanter, 20 foot with a xr4 150. Its the black red and white color scheme. It shines like you wouldnt believe for a 19 year old boat, but its black so it has little scratches here and there. So whats this aquabuff stuff and whats it do?

[wca_tim]

http://www.aqua-buff.com/site/478459

I had good luck with the 2000. I wet sanded with 1200 or 1500 first then aqua buff followed by machine glaze and wax. could probably have gotten away courser paper (or just using the aqua buff if was only taking out small scratches. This was on 1988 black / metalflake and it came out looking great.

[ToP_Enticer]

To my knowledge there is nothing different about aqua buff than your typical automotive rubbing/polishing compound. Hell, you could probably use toothpaste if you wanted a nice minty smell!
I'm in the process of re-shining my '81 Enticer, which has some pretty serious oxidation. My biggest question is whether I should wet sand before polishing. So far I've had success just using polishing compound, but it's a real bear. The fear with sanding is that I'd rather not go through the top clear gel layer.

[Diplomat82]

I swear by Aqua Buff now! I've rubbed out my boat with auto compound only to have it fad within a month. With Aqua Buff I still have a great shine after a full season.

It was a 4 step process for me.

-Aqua Buff 1000 and 2000
- Flitz Metal polish
-McGuires Machine Glaze

I was blown away by the results.

Proof is in the pic.

[ToP_Enticer]

So what's different about the stuff? I haven't done much with the 'auto' compound yet, and if it'll really fade within a month, I don't want to keep going down that path. Rubbing the whole thing out is quite an ordeal!
Did you order this from them online, or pick up in a local store?

[ToP_Enticer]

Actually, here's the best question: For the sake of comparison, did you follow exactly the same procedures for polishing with both the 'auto' and 'aqua' compounds???

[Turbot-bird]

Originally Posted by Diplomat82

I swear by Aqua Buff now! I've rubbed out my boat with auto compound only to have it fad within a month. With Aqua Buff I still have a great shine after a full season.

It was a 4 step process for me.

-Aqua Buff 1000 and 2000
- Flitz Metal polish
-McGuires Machine Glaze

I was blown away by the results.

Proof is in the pic.

Your boat looks exactly like mine color and all, was the finish rough to the touch? did you sand it? can you pm me with how you did it step by step please?

[fiftyp]

Originally Posted by Diplomat82

I swear by Aqua Buff now! I've rubbed out my boat with auto compound only to have it fad within a month. With Aqua Buff I still have a great shine after a full season.

It was a 4 step process for me.

-Aqua Buff 1000 and 2000
- Flitz Metal polish
-McGuires Machine Glaze

I was blown away by the results.

Proof is in the pic.

Looks Great!!!

[Diplomat82]

With using the rubbing compound I couldn't even get that good of a shine to begin with.
I actually called the Checkmate factory and talked to Mike. He told me to wetsand the hull then apply the Fritz and follow that up with the McGuires. That is what they do when restoring hulls if the gellcoat is still good.

Someone on this site recommended the Aqua Buff because they said it did the same thing as wetsanding. I would rather buff then wetsand the boat.......also my gellcoat was still in good shape (you couldn't feel any of the metalflake when running your hand accross the boat).

I bought the Aqua Buff direct from their website, they shipped it pretty fast. I bought the bigger size bucket and didn't even go thru 1/4 of it.

The only other thing I can recommend is to use an industrial buffer......something that will get up to at least 2500 rpm. Don't use the oribital polishers.......those won't work.

[checkmate243]

Im little lost here? You used Aqua Buff instead of wet sanding? Followed by a polishing compound and wax. I have a guy at work looking to do the same thing on his 1973 Marlin. He wondering if he can do the same thing? You did a great job!