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.

 

[Vandalizer]

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.

 

[Vandalizer]

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?

 

[Vandalizer]

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]

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]

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!

 

[Diplomat82]

Yes, Aqua Buff is a gritty cream....so wheeling it out at 2500rpm cuts thru some of the old gel coat. Then Flitz, which is actually a metal polish/ fiberglass restorer. Then Mcguire's #3 Professional Machine Glaze. Then wax of your choice.

I hate sanding.....so this was a great solution for me.

 

[checkmate243]

Diplomat82,Thanks for the info. Check out the Aqua Buff web site and looks like his going to give it a shot. Can't hurt a 34 year old finish?

 

[85Predictor]

Looks nice!!
Many members have used AquaBuff and have had excellent results.
I bought some also. I picked up the 2000(grit) but should have bought 1000 first.
You need a buffer in order to have AquaBuff work its's magic.

I recently found a new Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound (Liquid not Paste) which seems to work quite well. I had good luck with an atachment on a drill. Not too expensive either. Bought it at Advance Auto.

For the holes, Marine-Tex would be a good choice.

http://www.marinetex.com/PRODUCT PAGE_files/All MarineTex Putty/marinetex prod info.htm

One draw back is the lack of colors. I used it on the hull to fill in gouges and worked great. Can be painted after. I think that you can drill and tap after it hardens. In my opinion it would be a better choice than silicon. There is also another product that you could use for the screw threads. It is made by 3M and is a white marine putty.

Hope this helps!
It is alot of work but being able to see that great Checkmate quality shine makes it all worthwhile!

Good Luck!

 

[Mark]

Aqua-Buff is a pretty simple concept. It is just a silica sand suspended in a water based paste. It in some ways works better than wetsanding because it polishes not dulls. The high speed rotary buffer is not optional. The 1000 is far more aggressive than the 2000. I would not use 1000 on an already shiny boat. The stuff just works better than everything else, period.

 

[Enticer1]

Amazing Results

I used the Aqua-Buff 1000 on my 1980 Enticer and could not believe the results. Per their directions I went to Harbour Freight and bought a $ 30.00 buffer. Then a painter friend showed me what rpm to use with the buffer did the work. I never even used any sand-paper. If you follow the directions from Aqua-Buff I'm sure you will be satisfied with the results. Your Mate can't be any worse than mine was, I bought it as a complete beater and now I even get compliments on it.

Doug in Tampa

 

[wca_tim]

Here's a couple of pics... the half and half one was just a first experiment to see what would work best, the other is after wetsanding and aquabuff. I should take newer pics. It looks quite a bit better than even that now after s little more buffing, polish and wax... Don't be afraid to sand. the coarser aquabuff just wasn't taking off the oxidation fast enough. I wound up starting weta=sanding with 320 through 1200/1500, then aqua-buff. no complaints here...

 

[Turbot-bird]

what if I can feel a slitely rough surface?

 

[Boston Predictor]

what if I can feel a slitely rough surface?

If its metalflake dont bother with the AB youll need to spray clear coat. Ive used aquabuff on two boats and sanding first has worked the best.

*The diffrence between automotive compound and Aqua buff is when the AB dries on the hull you are supposed to mist it with water instead of re applying more compound.

 

[Chris E]

i've always been told that the automotive compounds are more gentle than marine, and therefore don't work as well as the marine counterparts.

 

[Turbot-bird]

well I looked at it again today and its not as bad as I thought. it feels like fine sand on it