Daggummit! Rant on discontinued product!

[Brian S]

I have always liked 3M Marine Finesse-it II polishing goop. Used with a yellow wool 3M bonnet, I get nice, shiny results on the old old old gelcoat on the boat.

I tried a Total Boat product the last 2 years, and found that it seemed to gum up the wool bonnet, and didn't wash out, even using Woolite. I figured it's petrochemical base for the Total Boat whatever it is (too lazy to go down to the basement and look and see what it is actually.)

But the Finesse-it was a good product for annual touch ups, after what, 10 years ago when I did the whole wet-sand, compound, polish process to get rid of old oxidation and shine up the boat. (Based on MaineSail's tutorial.) I liked the Finesse-it even better than the Presta product MaineSail had recommended.

Well, this year I went to go a-buyin', having decided I didn't want to continue with the Total Boat TotalShine (yes, finally went to look at what it is) and I can't find Finesse-it from the usual suspects. Wound up buying a quart of non-marine Finesse-it from Amazon for $70. I hope it works ok, considering it says it's automotive.

Well, then I decided to look at 3M's website, and they listed it still. So I fired up the ol' chat window, and asked the guy about it. He confirmed that Finesse-it II is discontinued, and has been replaced by 3M™ Perfect-It™ Gelcoat Light Cutting Polish + Wax.

Now, MaineSail says to avoid silicone miracle shine stuff, because it's basically silicone oils. And I asked. And the chat rep says it is silicone based wax. Now I am really grumpy that they replaced the good product with one that is kinda 1 step snake oil for lazy people. 😤😑

Well, if the expensive left over stuff I did buy doesn't work well, I'll try their new snake oil. But I won't like trying it! No, I am not set in my ways (Announcer: Yes, he is set in his ways.)

It's that time of year. I ordered the mulch, and broke my back spreading it around, and the weather seems to be breaking and warming up, and I'm staring at that covered up boat while friends are launching their boats, and the bug is biting me telling me to GIT TO WORK and put that boat in.

Why does boat prep work in the spring get me grumpy anymore? Hah! So many grungy old boats at the marina, why do I feel compelled to make mine all pretty and such? Gotta deal with the varnish lifting off the bits of teak trim, polish, why can't I just throw her in like the others?

Haha, thanks for listening to my old fart ranting!

[Brian N.]

Good rant! I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to maintaining things and having them look good. Yea - takes a lot of time to maintain 3 cars, yard, boat and all the household things of owning a home, but I'm retired and supposedly have lots of time on my hands. As with many products, some of my favorites are gone, replaced by others, but they seem to work well too. I try to stick to major brands. One plus of owning a smaller boat is less to do and cover, and usually simpler. My Brother-in-law had a 48 foot (or was it 45?) yacht that took days of prep and lots of cash to maintain. I would not trade my tiny P165 for his luxury yacht (of course, I could not afford it). One time I was admonished for stepping on his white cushions to go up to the bow (I did not know there were steps). Oh, the horror of a dirty cushion on a newly polished yacht! Anyway, please excuse my addition to your rant. Each day I count my blessings that I enjoy a good life. 

[DBthal]

I retired from 3M and the place goes hell!      I 'll need to cherish my last 1/2 bottle of Finesse-It.

To Brian N's point:  I just crawled out from under my 22' downeast power boat after spending 5 hours sanding the old flaking bottom paint.  Tyvek suit & respirator.  Now I get the pleasure of repainting the bottom.

Fortunately, it's an off year for painting the P-165.

Dan

[Brian S]

DBthall - I just got the bottle of non-marine Finesse-it. I remember the Marine Finesse-it II had a little bit of a fine grit to it, but this stuff does not. Can you check yours and see? I'm probably going to return this to Amazon, and get the new stuff...

[Brian S]

Update on the new product, 3M™ Perfect-It™ Gelcoat Light Cutting Polish + Wax.

I used it for my annual glow-up (shine-up?) with a 3M yellow wool bonnet. And guess, what? It shined it up! I generally prefer to paint the stuff on the surface, then polish it off. It seemed to lubricate the bonnet well. About half-way through the boat, I decided to give the bonnet a clean, and ran it under clear water, and found that it washed out pretty easily, giving me a fresh bonnet. The Total Boat stuff I used before gummed up the bonnet and didn't wash out fully even using some soap, so score for the 3M.

I waxed with Star Brite wax with PTFE, which seems to get good reviews from Practical Sailor. Then I had a rainy Saturday, and decided to drive the 50 minutes to the local West Marine and get some of the 3M Perfect-It™ Boat Wax companion product, and I put that over the top of the Star Brite.

Everything looks pretty good, so no complaints in the end...

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[Brian N.]

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Peptide on her trailer looking good. The boat is covered by a tarp most of the year, so once a year it gets waxed.