Best Cleaner/Wax For Imron

[chris piazza]

Randy try 3M Imperial Compound and Finishing Material. This is a polishing compound that will take a little bit of paint off and bring the shine right back. Its not a very harsh compound so don't worry to much about burning through to the fiberglass.
3M Finesse-It II is simply a glaze only. Three easy steps, wash it, wheel it and than put the glaze on. You can follow up with sealer but like stated before they don't help the appearance only make the dirt come off a little easier.

Chris
Superior Nights 53C

[Maynard Rupp]

3M has another product that is almost the same as Finesseit II. It is called "foam pad polishing glaze", I believe. I used it and switched back to Finesseit II. The problem with a wax is the black streaks. I used turtle wax when we first bought or Hat and wow, did we get streaks. I called a tech rep at Hatteras and he said that my question was simple to answer. Finesseit II was his recomendation and that was a great choice. Some questions about our Hats have many good or controversial answers, this one is simple. Use Finesseit II and be done with that work for a long time. Now I have to win Sky over.

[Sparky1]

Randy try 3M Imperial Compound and Finishing Material. This is a polishing compound that will take a little bit of paint off and bring the shine right back. Its not a very harsh compound so don't worry to much about burning through to the fiberglass.
3M Finesse-It II is simply a glaze only. Three easy steps, wash it, wheel it and than put the glaze on. You can follow up with sealer but like stated before they don't help the appearance only make the dirt come off a little easier.

Chris
Superior Nights 53C

Thanks Chris. I used a 3M Cleaner/wax on gelcoat a few years back and was not impressed. It set up like concrete if you let it haze, and if you didn't let it haze, it smeared, left smudge marks all over the place, then set up like concrete. Maybe that specific variation is different, otherwise you'd be cussing it too.

Sounds like most are happy with Finesse-It (as was I with the way my transom looked), but what's the difference in it and Finesse-It II? Did one simply replace the other or is one more abrasive than the other?

I have a buddy in the auto parts business who supplies the local body shops, so I'm sure he could come up with this stuff. I'll save my West bucks for things I can't get someplace else as those smaller bottles are bound to be expensive compared to bulk sizes. I've got two of these damn things to clean up.

[chris piazza]

Talk with your buddy at the auto parts store and I am sure he will tell you to use a LIGHT compound on it first. I can't remember the name of it but it was a 3m product, brown in color and it worked great, did my whole boat this winter. I used a water spray bottle to slightly wet the surface first, wheel it and than wipe with a towel, worked great. Follow up with the glaze and the sealer if you wish.

Chris
Superior Nights 53C

[stormchaser]

Anything with PTFE (teflon) in it is snake oil. PTFE must be applied at over 500*F for it do do anything.

[GJH]

Did the Finesse-It II and Rejex thing a year ago (4000 nautical miles) and have been very happy.
Less and easier-to-remove ICW "Mustache", quicker wash downs, etc. Still lookin' pretty good if you ask me..

[(Nobody You Know)]

Anything with PTFE (teflon) in it is snake oil. PTFE must be applied at over 50*F for it do do anything.

It seems someone on this forum said that "teflon" is a must on any boat painted with Imron! (But OK, also seems a lot of endorsements for Finnesse-II.) Personally I wouldn't mind the extra effort of a sealer especially at critical areas famous for the build up of black streaks caused by accumulated dust and moisture. Tough to remove.

Good luck Randy on waxing your floating motor home!

[Sparky1]

Anything with PTFE (teflon) in it is snake oil. PTFE must be applied at over 50*F for it do do anything.

Got a question for you stormy, when was the last time you saw somebody waxing their boat in temps lower than 50 degrees?

Thanks for the input guys, did I mention I'm having a boat polishing party on June 27?

[Paul45c]

Yeah, do the Finesse-It. Stuff ain't cheap, but it's the best polish around marine apps I've ever seen. It's very gentle on the paint, and just don't heat it up too much with a really fast wheel. Unless you've got some really bad stains, I think applying with an orbital is the way to go. You'll also see that this product doesn't get all dried and caked up like the cleaner/wax you were talking about. There's a light haze, but not like a wax haze. You can wipe it off immediately, too, if you want.

As to whether you seal it with Awlcare or equivalent, let how often you wash down be the judge. If you can't commit to weekly or bi-weekly, at least, then I'd say seal it; you'll remove dirt that much easier with a sealant. I'd also recommend the sealant if you're hoping for just a tiny bit more gloss, since those polymer sealants definitely give you a little more showroom gloss.

[jim rosenthal]

I'd like more info about Rejex; anyone else have any experience with it?

Finesse-It works VERY well. I've used it on quite a few things and it gets the job done and comes off easily. Great stuff.

Best-lasting wax I've seen is Collinite paste wax. PBR gave it a very good review years ago before they got toe-tagged.