Wolf`s Chemicals vs the 47 foot sea monster in Croatia!

[Apollo_Auto]

Hello all!



So the year before last a very good customer of mine asked me if I would go to Croatia to handle his boat, but due to time constraints on both our parts it didn`t come together like we`d planned. Still wanting his boat looking nice for the summer, he chose to have it "polished" by the locals that year. He called me after that summer and told me that the next year he insists that I go and do his boat, so we made sure that this time things worked out right.



I wouldn`t say that December to March for me is a "scratching my bum" time, but I don`t do a whole lot of detailing during this time, so this was basically my "first" detail of the season. Now when someone tells you they want you to polish their 47 foot boat, the first thing you try to imagine is, "How big is that really?" Truth be known, is that I really couldn`t imagine how big of a polishing job it would be... Therefore I brought along my faithful sidekick Atilla, aka "Mr AutoGlym Hungary" (AG distributor here), to join in the festivities.



When we arrived to the hotel, we threw our bags down, got changed and went to the marina. After a few swear words about the size of the boat and the condition it was in, we decided to get cracking on it even though the sun was almost going down... It was BIG and BAD. Severely oxidized everywhere, especially the white parts (meaning most of the boat) and had a myriad of holograms from top to bottom.



So on with the detail! This was the condition of the boat on arrival... a bit lifeless >>



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_1.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_2.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_3.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_4.jpg



Cleaning up some mucky areas with Wolf`s WT-2N APC.



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_5.jpg



A very dull hull...



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_6.jpg



The temperature wasn`t so bad the first day/night... perfect for a little night polishing. We wanted to get rid of as many of the uglies as possible on the dark parts of the paint while we could still take advantage of the halogens. Fighting the daylight was a bit of a challenge.



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_7.jpg



The uglies :doublesho



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_8.jpg



As with most of my polishing jobs, I (we) switched polish and pad combos several times during this detail. Reason being is that not all damage is the same, therefore different combos are required to get the desired correction. This is of course based on the "take only what you need" theory when it comes to removing paint. Most of the heavy scratches were removed with Wolf`s WP-6H and a wool pad, some polishing was done with WP-3N and a finishing pad or polishing pad via DA, Wolf`s WP-1N and WP-5N were also used in many places. Oh and this isn`t really a "paint" so to speak... it`s a gel coat and it`s extremely hard... I`d even dare to say it`s harder than Euro BMW paint! And for those of you who have never polished a boat before, you don`t need a special "boat" polish to get the job done, regular polishes work just the same (I can suggest some good polishes if you`re interested :D)! Here`s a 50/50 video... the biggest 50/50 I`ve ever done :) >>



YouTube - 47 foot Atlantis 50/50 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUjpKlhDGvE&feature=player_detailpage)



And some stills under the halogens and natural light



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_9.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_10.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_11.jpg



Some oxidation on the side of the boat that had to be removed 50/50



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_12.jpg



Tired and hungry, we ended the first of 4 days at about 21.30 and went back to the hotel for some rest. "Can`t wait to relax," I thought, but unfortunately there was someone next door that didn`t share my sentiment for "quiet time". Donkey Boy...



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_13.jpg



I really value my sleep, and the whole time I was thinking that the ******* next door was going to wake me up in the wee hours of the morning, but it was actually the one next to me... This guy woke up at about 05.30 in the morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed just like in the next picture. Early to bed, early to rise for this one and I am sooo envious of his ability to fall asleep so quickly! This guy fell asleep on the second night while saying, "Good night!" to me!! Literally! OMG!! That`s like narcosleepy or something! Lucky guy...



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_14.jpg



Port side had some nasty damage on it from diesel fuel runs coupled with salt water and the blazing sun... very unforgiving elements.



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_15.jpg



Zero shine on the stern...



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_16.jpg



Another crew showed up to do some mechanical and other work including recoating the underside with an anti-algae paint, painting and coating the props, etc.



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_17.jpg



Me polishing out the back of the boat. Looking at the teak wood on the deck brought back not-so-fond memories of my childhood... We had a 42 foot Bayliner and my father made us oil the teak wood on it every second week whether we used the boat or not. I really hated that boat after a short time :). Oh and yes that is an AutoGlym hat I`m wearing :). I think my friend Attilla is trying his hardest to convert me to "Glymism" :D!



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_18.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_19.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_20.jpg



A 50/50 near the back deck. The white parts of the boat that had a lot of "human contact" looked like dog poopy. These parts were so oxidized that the soaked up everything they came into contact with and the only thing that would remove it was heavy compounding... APC didn`t do a thing but dry it out more.



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_21.jpg



Atilla removed all of the boat fenders and polished them up too. Here`s a fiddy/fiddy.



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_22.jpg



Gloss restored to the oxidized white parts



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_23.jpg



a 50/50 of the severely damaged port side



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_24.jpg

[Apollo_Auto]

A final sun shot of port side...



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_25.jpg



The second day we were there was quite nice, but the last 2 days were very cold and windy! Here`s Attila waxing starboard side with Collinite 885. Being that I will be going back every Spring to do this boat, I decided to do a test with Colly 885 (starboard side) and Wolf`s Body Wrap (port side). This is the first gel coat I`ve applied Wolf`s Body Wrap to, but in theory it should more than outperform 885, but I think the more-porous surface (due to oxidation) may affect it, but we`ll see :).



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_26.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_27.jpg



Just before finishing, the brushes in my Maki went out :(. Thankfully there was no more heavy compounding to do! I still tried to do some surgery and change out the brushes with the one`s in Attila`s polisher, but it seems that Japanese and Chinese organs aren`t compatible :).



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_28.jpg



The stainless steel, or "inox" as many refer to it as, was very stained and dull so we polished all of it by hand!



Before



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_29.jpg



After



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_30.jpg



Window trim before



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_31.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_32.jpg



After... yes there`s still some residue in there, but I couldn`t be bothered with climbing down from the ladder and hunting down the camera after cleaning it fully :).



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_33.jpg



Anchor before



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_38.jpg



And after



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_39.jpg



All done!



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_34.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_35.jpg



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http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_42.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_43.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_44.jpg



Shiny stern!



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_45.jpg



http://www.apolloauto.hu/images/atlantis_50.jpg



Thanks for looking!



- Jesse O`Connor

[RaskyR1]

Damn Jesse! That thing is massive!!! I`ve worked on some large boats before....but nothing that large! Awesome work bro!





So how many weeks did that thing take you guys? :D

[AeroCleanse]

Don`t get into airplanes, you have to do the underside as well.

[Thomas Dekany]

Hey Jesse - do you ever answer your e mails?????????????????????????????????????????? :D:D:D:D:D:D



Reply if you can will you?



What city was this in?



Great job! Did you get paid in Euros or what?

[autoconcierge]

What a job Jesse(Better you than me....lol) great save on the "Seagoing hammeredness".

[MarcHarris]

Not for the faint of heart. HUGE job but oh-so-worth it! She looks outstanding and I hope you guys had a good time. It can be nice to have such a change of scenery, though that`s A LOT of work to be done!

[DaGonz]

Damn... that was a lot of real estate to cover! Awesome work! :bigups

[Pats300zx]

Incredible work Jessie..That thing was a monster. At least you had nice scenery and weren`t cooped up in a garage :)

[gt08vapor]

Wow, great turn around. That was in tough shape.

[imported_dfazekas]

Dude, thats seriously sick



I hope you had the Wolf`s Chemicals

masseuse lined up after that one.

[Jpostal]

I bet you wore sore after that job...holding a Makita over your head (balancing on a ladder) has got to hurt after day 1! Great work.

[Envious Eric]

Jesse, when you told me about it, I was thinking it was a big boat, but damn, that thing...well, damn!



looks great man, would you want to get into boat detailing again after that one? I mean, the owner HAS to be thrilled after seeing what a true detail on the thing results in....

[Apollo_Auto]

Damn Jesse! That thing is massive!!! I`ve worked on some large boats before....but nothing that large! Awesome work bro!





So how many weeks did that thing take you guys? :D



Thanks Chad! We went to kick a$$ and chew gum... we ran out of gum on the way there :). Yep I thought it was going to take a bit longer than 4 days, but I had a few cars waiting for me when I returned and Ati had to get back also, so we managed to bust it out in 4 days!




Don`t get into airplanes, you have to do the underside as well.



After doing this... I think I`d turn it down with the quickness :).




Hey Jesse - do you ever answer your e mails?????????????????????????????????????????? :D:D:D:D:D:D



Reply if you can will you?



What city was this in?



Great job! Did you get paid in Euros or what?



Hi Tomás! Thanks man! I haven`t received any emails from you buddy?? What address are you sending them to?? I forget the name of the city already :(! I was going to ask for EUR on this one, but since the EUR is so sh1t now I didn`t dare. Sucks for me right now because if I start digging into my EUR account, I`m gonna lose big time!




What a job Jesse(Better you than me....lol) great save on the "Seagoing hammeredness".



Thanks Bob! Yep 47` of "HPS" (Hard Paint Suckness) :D (well actually gelcoat, but suckness nonetheless!)




Not for the faint of heart. HUGE job but oh-so-worth it! She looks outstanding and I hope you guys had a good time. It can be nice to have such a change of scenery, though that`s A LOT of work to be done!



Thanks Marc! Yeah it was definitely a detail to remember!




Damn... that was a lot of real estate to cover! Awesome work! :bigups



Yaaaaarp! Thanks buddy! 500,000 EUR that thing is! And it`s only 4 years old!!




Incredible work Jessie..That thing was a monster. At least you had nice scenery and weren`t cooped up in a garage :)



Thanks Pat! Actually after the 2nd day we wished we were in a garage because it was fu^&%ng cold!! :D




Wow, great turn around. That was in tough shape.



Thanks mate!




Dude, thats seriously sick



I hope you had the Wolf`s Chemicals

masseuse lined up after that one.



Thanks Donald! Yeah the Wolf Girl hooked a brother up when he got home :)




I bet you wore sore after that job...holding a Makita over your head (balancing on a ladder) has got to hurt after day 1! Great work.



Thanks buddy! Yep, that was a crap position to polish in...




Jesse, when you told me about it, I was thinking it was a big boat, but damn, that thing...well, damn!



looks great man, would you want to get into boat detailing again after that one? I mean, the owner HAS to be thrilled after seeing what a true detail on the thing results in....



Thanks buddy! Yeah we said the same thing when we saw it... Actually Atilla said some bad things about my mommy, but :). We actually thought about it... I mean going there for the beginning of the season, doing a few boats and not working again for the entire summer and probably the winter, as well. Screw that! :D I`d rather do cars mate :).

[Thomas Dekany]

I sent the e mail to wolfs chemicals. wolfman@wolfschemicals.com



Anyway, I`ll pm you instead.