X-Kote

B

Bright Ayes

Member
exMember
Joined
Feb 13, 2007
RO Number
25199
Messages
190
Has anyone heard of or had the X-Kote clearcoat system put on their boat? If so, is it any good?
 
IF the site Don posted is indeed the correct site, I am not all that impressed. Look at the light refraction. It almost looks like a polyglo shine. Bright, but no depth.
 
Yes Big 'D'. That is the site.

KiDa: I'm kinda new to boating etc. Is "polyglo" a bad thing. I would think that the shine and protective coating against the sea elements would be a lot better than "depth" but I'm not sure what you mean by "no depth"?
As far as I know, all types of waxex and coating are merely a topcoat. there is very little depth unless you put on many, many coats. I think the objective of X-Kote is to give you a bright, clean, restored glossy look with very good clearcoat wax protection against the elements.

Thanks for your input. I am always open to learning more about everything.

OJ
 
OJ........ If you can set up an appointment to see some completed boats he did............count me in for the ride !!!
Im interested..........
 
I wanna go too Don. This isn't Poli-glow for sure!
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gregory Saracco

I wanna go too Don. This isn't Poli-glow for sure!

Click to expand...


Sorry Greg. The fluorescent reflections are very wavy and one dimensional for my liking. The product is advertised as being too easy. You know all too well the only way to get a quality shine is proper surface prep.

Granted, newer products work at the nano level, however from what I saw in the adverts, there is no mention of the prep phase. Buff Magic/Pro Polish is an ideal example. Sure this system is easier than the old compounding, polishing and waxing of days past, but, it is still a lot of work to get the boat's surface prepped correctly to ensure a lasting shine.

I am skeptical, but that's me.

Break

Bright Ayes:

A shine is great. However, trying to shine over oxidation is like washing smelly sweat socks in cold water without soap. Your socks may look different, but it is only a matter of a short time before the true nature of the sock shows through.

Gelcoat is porous. One has to get the dirt out of the pores and fill those pores with something else besides dirt. That is the prep phase. One could liken the dirt eradication to a giant Stridex pad for your boat!

You are indeed correct that waxes (now more polishes than wax) are a topcoat. They are applied as a sacrificial lamb which protects the gelcoat from the elements. The concept is to continue to build up that protection as it wears off and to do so regularly prior to the protection layer reaching the gelcoat level. Prepping the gelcoat gives the depth to the shine. Depth to me is indicative of a careful surface prep.

My 2 cents.
 
yeah, but we can always have hope that someone will invent an easy way that works.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gregory Saracco

yeah, but we can always have hope that someone will invent an easy way that works.

Click to expand...


They have. It's called stroking a check to the detailer. I didn't say it wasn't painful. It's just easy.
 
Kida......being skeptical is good.........but be open minded.

This stuff is not a quick easy fix.....its a 3 day " process "....... OJ and myself may be going ...this Saturday ..... to see an X-Kote job on a boat that was completed last season and has not been waxed since.......I reserve my decision on the product till I see it in person.
 
I wonder what it looks like after 5 years.

If if turns to crap, you can bet you will be cursing like mad trying to get the stuff off.
 
David, I wouldn't mind writing the check but I haven't found anybody that does it as well as I do!
 
The detailer I used explained the process as such: Wash boat, compound boat, acetone boat then apply X-kote wait 3 hours apply another coat. Let stand overnight, apply a 3rd coat let stand all day then on the 3rd day apply nano-technology polish. Except for compounding all other work is hand applied. Seems like a pretty thorough process to me but I will see it on Saturday with Don and let you all know what we see. Also, according to everything written and told you shouldn't have to wax/polish boat for 2-3 years, just wash. That to me seems like a good thing.
OJ
 
If you don't need to re-wax for 2-3 years.......the $50.00 per foot...for X-Kote..... is well worth every cent..........IMHO

OJ..........Saturday.....meet me at my house.....we'll take my truck....Rob said he's buying breakfast.... :) :)
 
Reading the FAQ's I am still skeptical. Seems like a new clear coat that requires just as much maintenance as going the old way.

I look forward to seeing some pix.
 
KiDa: Your monica of "The glass is half empty" definitely suits you but you are right in always questioning. It's when you don't question that things go wrong. In our hearts we are that way but I am definitely willing to take a look see and if I have the work done I will absolutely post some pix. I will also take pix of the boat we see Saturday which was done last season so we should get a good idea of what it looks like after a year. If it turns out as great as we like, should I ask my detailer if he will go to Rhode Island or will you be bringing the boat down here to Long Island! [:-bonc01]

Big 'D': Tell Robski I like my eggs scrambled with bacon on a roll with butter and a large Orange Juice (O.J.) Can't get that cholesterol into my veins fast enough! [:-chef]

OJ
 
Here is my as objective as possible report on the boat I saw with the X-Kote on it. The shine is definitely there and it got rid of all the oxidation on the hull which happened to be a colored hull. I saw a before picture of the hull and it was very oxidized. It also covered most of the hull scratch imperfections due to wear and tear. However, KiDa is correct, there is no depth to the shine but it is a shine none the less and it does absolutely get rid of and keep off future oxidation. It did not have the last step on it which was a nano tech polish and my detailer said that it would definitely help with the depth of shine. I know that Don wasn't too impressed with the shine either. I believe it is one of the better products on the market but whether it is good for your particular boat or application is to be decided only by you. I intend to have the X-kote put on my transom because that area is extremely oxidized and dull and I will have the remainder of the boat in the nano tech polish because the rest of my boat shines pretty good at time and there isn't a heck of a lot of oxidation on it. When all is done, I will post pix.
 
OJ..........Nicely put. I agree about the lack of depth to the shine.....Too bad we didn't get to see the completed process. I wonder if the nano tech polish will help at all. I'll wait and see how it looks on your transom ...before I do boat..... :) :)

At least now .....that I met Matt..... I have a detailer for my boat.
 
Bright Ayes:

Good Luck to you which ever road you decide to take. You mention your transom is badly oxidized. Some here have used RejeX on their transoms with good results. Not recommending one over the other, just giving you another alternative.

Post some B&A pix of your boat as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top