Your Boat Cleaning Products Analysts Know We All Like The Shiny, Wet Paint Look to Last and Last
Raritan Engineering Company would love to share with you the following information regarding boat cleaning products and how to make your new paint job last for a long time.
The results derived from a professionally applied LPU topside refinish are as dramatic as the invoice that accompanies the makeover. The shiny, wet look and the protection it affords can last for years—whether it’s three years, five years, or nearly a decade depends upon how kindly the rejuvenated surface is treated.
Giving your topsides proper maintenance attention, like waxing regularly, will keep them looking healthy.
- During application: Most well-executed LPU paint jobs begin with epoxy primers and fairing compounds as the underpinnings of a glistening LPU topcoat.
- Cleaning: Regularly sponge washing the hull is the first step in preserving the topcoat’s shine. Avoid cleaning with scrub pads and gritty cleaners; this should be a completely non-abrasive effort.
- Sailing is not a full-contact sport: More often than not, the decision to have the topsides re-painted has to do with localized damage that resulted from docking maneuvers gone awry, tussles at the starting line, or storm damage when a line gives way.
- Wax On-Wax Off: After the first two or three seasons of washing and protecting the surface from winter-cover abrasion and line chafe, there’s often a need to tune up the gloss a bit.
The best bet is to follow up another good washing with a conventional carnauba-based wax like Mother’s California Gold or Collinite’s #885 (PS’s Best Choice for paste waxes, July 2009).
Your Boat Cleaning Products Experts Have All the Secrets to Waxing Your Boat Properly
Your boat cleaning products specialists know how important it is to breathe life into dull coats: Owners of boats with five- to seven-year-old intact LPU paint jobs that look dull but remain well adhered, can try rubbing out the surface with 3M Perfect-It rubbing compound and following up with a carnauba wax.
- Repair care: Repairs to two-part LPU coatings are a true test of product awareness and applicator talent. The interesting challenge here lies in blending the old and the new, and blending the circumference known as the “overspray region.” Matching color change and gloss variation is even tougher than automotive work.
One of the reasons why AwlCraft and other slightly softer and more user-friendly acrylic-based LPU paints are growing in popularity is that they are much easier to repair and buff than polyester-based two-part paints. Their longevity is good, but not quite that of old standby Awlgrip.
If you are planning a new paint job and looking for a durable, long-lasting finish, the December 2012 issue of Practical Sailor compared linear polyurethane paints after three years.
Visit us at http://raritaneng.com/category-pages/cleaners/ and see how Raritan Engineering always has the best information and assistance possible regarding boat cleaning products.