hard wax application

Sharpen up your german and follow this link. You'll learn more about
maintaining your glider's finish than you're getting here.

http://www.rall-guitars.de/andreashp...chine_eng.html

Look around the website for anything on polishing. Though the menus are in
english (and some of the pages), patience and Babelfish will get you the
info lacking in this thread.

Think of your hard bar "wax" as finishing off the swirls left by 1200 wet
sanding. Yes, it reduces and fills in the "gaps" while polishing, but it
doesn't seal, so be sure to apply wax afterwards if you want to preserve the
finish. I suspect the reason so many have objections to the hard wax and
buffing wheel is based on lack of knowledge, trying to use it where cleaning
and sanding would be natural precursors to polishing and sealing.

Again, the results are exceptional. If you use the right tools for the
appropriate steps in the process, you'll wind up with a brilliant finish
that outshines anything from a bottle... and find that each step is really
pretty simple and largely foolproof. There's no mystery in this stuff, save
that it's tough to find valid information from a single, reliable source.

"Tuno" wrote in message
...
I've never used hard wax before, but since the factory recommends it
on the gelcoat, I'm going to give it a try. I just have no clue how to
go about it. (My Google search results are great -- for hair removal!)

I have a Makita 0-3000rpm variable speed polisher, a brick of hard
wax, and a mandrel and other accessories I got from the dealer. Is
there a technique writeup on the web somewhere?

~ted/2NO

I've never used hard wax but it sure sounds like a pain in the rear.
3M products are all I have used and if all your after is a final gloss
"Finesse It" works great and is easy to use. As previously warned a
buffer can do a lot of damage but I think if the person is smart
enough to learn how to fly and understands power hand tools they could
easily master it.

Hard wax application is a lot easier than some make it out to be. John
Murray gave me a little demonstration, but it's pretty much a common
sense thing anyway. Just keep moving and make sure the rotation is
correct when you get near trailing edges and control surfaces. It
works beautifully for me. I'm not scared of it, but I do have some
respect for the danger it presents near trailing edges. Just take your
time and think before applying.

Tuno, you are getting good advice.

Machine "hardwaxing" is a skill and teaching yourself to do this as
PIC the first time would be unwise for most mortals. If you are going
the self-taught method, maybeyou could sell tickets to watch.

The thin fiberglass/carbon skins of modern ships are especially
sensitive to excess heat and pressure and a control surface can be
ripped in half instantly if you get the wrong edge of the buffer in
the wrong place. A friend working in a glider factory observed his 55
kg girlfriend get yanked completely over a wing when she caught the
buffer on the leading edge. If you want to do this, the Makita
variable spped buffer is the "gold standard" tool.

As was mentioned previously, hardwaxing accomplishes a couple of
things. First, it is mildly abrasive and thus removes fine scratches
from the surface. Secondly, the heat of the buffer opens the porous
structure of the gelcoat and the gets the wax down into the coating,
"moisturizing" it. I know of a glider that was almost impossible to
repair as the gelcoat was saturated with wax from repeated hardwaxing
and nothing would stick to it. It is noteworthy that this ship's
finish was nearly perfect even though this make and model is notorious
for finish crazing.

Negative issues associated with hardwaxing: 1) It will NOT protect
the ship from UV. The ship mentioned above was very yellow despite
the hardwaxing 2) It does remove material. 3) If done excessively
and you soak the finish with wax, the gelcoat can be very difficult to
repair.

What protective wax to use is problematic. To my knowledge no
independent research has been conducted and we thus rely on anectotal
evidence and the manufactuer's claims. I currently favor and use the
WX Block / Seal as the "topcoat" after final buffing of the surface.
New Finish apparently does a good job as well. A Grob that was semi-
annually coated (by hand) with this product sat out in the Tehachapi
sun and weather 24/7 for a decade and looked great. [Rat On] Of
course, it started with good gelcoat as opposed to the swill that some
manufacturers pass off as a surface coating on $100K toys [Rant Off].
100% carnuba seals the surface and does not interfere with repairs but
I do not beleive it offers UV protection.

Finally, I believe an optimal system would be: Buffing with
Finessette to get a good surface, hardwax to get wax into the gelcoat,
and WX Block for UV protection.

As a side note, several studies, notably Dick Johnson, show that,
while they are more difficult to keep clean, a 600 or 800 grit finish
yields performance benefits and the mirror-like 1000+ grit finishes
currently in vogue measurably degrade performance. I finish sand my
own gliders to 800 grit and everyone else's to 1200.

Gary,

You are right, "Finesse It II" is great stuff (as are most 3M
products) and I use it too, but my inquiry is about *hard wax*
application, not polishing. Those are two different things. My finish
is already smooth and shiny -- but now I want to protect it from
moisture, using the factory's recommendations (ergo, hard wax).

I had a reply by e-mail saying that my glider received a hard wax
application at the factory. I'm trying to verify this. If so, I'm not
going to worry about it this year. I'll hard wax the trailer instead!

2NO