Best boat wax

[Ken B]

Yes, I know...somewhat subjective but I still like to hear what people use.

Thanks,

Ken

[Resident 2B]

3M - Scotchgard
Marine Liquid Wax

Black bottle with a purple and white label.

By far the best I have ever used. Quick, easy and long lasting!

www.3M.com/marine

They sell it at Wal*Mart.


R2B

[BroadHopper]

I have great luck with this product.

[Paugus Bay Resident]

Collinite Fiberglass Boat Wax (No. 925) http://www.collinitemarine.com/products.htm#925

or Meguiar's Flagship

[Dave R]

I've become a big fan of the spray-on-while-still-wet stuff such as RainX wax. It does not last as long as a paste or liquid wax, but it goes on really fast and if you are gonna be wirping off the water spots after washing, might as well be wiping wax on at the same time... 'Course, my boat's trailered so it's easy to keep clean and waxed. If I was to only wax once a season, I think paste wax with lots of carnuba would be the way to go.

[DoTheMath]

Nothing beats Leverage: http://www.marinecleanusa.com/

http://www.trickmarine.net/productdetail.cfm?productid=1381&incat=68

A great alternative to Leverage is Race Glaze:
http://www.speedwakestore.com/product.php?productid=16174&cat=258&page=1 The guy /company that painted my boat (Mitcher T) told me this is his favorite. Very easy to use polish, and leaves a great shine and UV skin to protect the finish as well.

Just be sure NOT to use anything with Carnauba in it - as it will yellow over time and actually accelerates oxidation of gel coat. Gel coat needs to "breathe", so-to-speak - and a polish made specifically for gel will allow it to do so - keeping the finish looking new.

[bigdog]

Question to "DoTheMath" about "Race Glaze" product....

I've heard a lot about this product, and "all positive" !
Product is made from Acrylic Resin & Polyethelene Copolymers, and is bascially a sealant. Company claims the product will not cause "yellowing".
It does not contain any wax or silicones.

Isn't Gelcoat basically a pourous surface and needs to breathe ? That's what I've been told. Just concerned, that if this product is used, it and may create other issues with the surface ?

Comments ?

[Tank151]

West Marine Carnuba Boat Wax or McGuires Carnuba (hope I spelled it correctly) Boat Wax.

West Marine goes on easy and comes off easy...

Tank151

[Paugus Bay Resident]

Just be sure NOT to use anything with Carnauba in it - as it will yellow over time and actually accelerates oxidation of gel coat.

I've been using carnauba based wax for a lot of years and have never experienced any yellowing. My .02 ;) The most important thing is to use something with UV inhibitors and keep up with it on a regular basis.

Here's a counter point to the carnauba "debate" http://www.boatdocs1.com/Articles_A-Few-Words-About-Boat-Wax.html

[gtxrider]

Wax on wax off.:rolleye2:

I like Classic Boat Wax but I cannot find it anymore. It was hard to apply but it looked good when done. Still prefer a good paste wax over the creams but that's me.

[offmycloud]

Is there anything out there that will actually restore the finish? My boat is 24 years old and I have never waxed it!

[Paugus Bay Resident]

Is there anything out there that will actually restore the finish? My boat is 24 years old and I have never waxed it!

Wet sanding :D (or Imron)

[Janie]

My husband uses something called Woody Wax. http://www.woody-wax.com/

[carguy]

I have had great results with TREWAX which you can buy at your local Boater's World Store.

[Mee-n-Mac]

Is there anything out there that will actually restore the finish? My boat is 24 years old and I have never waxed it!

You might try one of the products mentioned in this thread (http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=461&highlight=vertglas). Short of this type of treatment, it's paint time.


FYI : http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16853#poststop

[Senter Cove Guy]

When I bought my first boat from Silver Sands Marina in 1981, Sonny sold me a quart of Shultzies Paste Wax and Cleaner. It's the best wax I've ever used. I used my very last quart last spring. The guy who sold it died over 10 years ago and the guy who took over the business has stopped selling it. It's a wax/cleaner that they bought in bulk, put their own label on it and sold it. I've been told that it's still available today under another name, but I don't know what that name is.

Has anyone else ever used Shultzies? Do you know the other name and where it might be sold today?

[DoTheMath]

Question to "DoTheMath" about "Race Glaze" product....

I've heard a lot about this product, and "all positive" !
Product is made from Acrylic Resin & Polyethelene Copolymers, and is bascially a sealant. Company claims the product will not cause "yellowing".
It does not contain any wax or silicones.

Isn't Gelcoat basically a pourous surface and needs to breathe ? That's what I've been told. Just concerned, that if this product is used, it and may create other issues with the surface ?

Comments ?

Well - as I am not a chemist by trade, but have talked with a lot of people in the (high-performance) marine industry about this, so... My boat is painted over the gel coat then clear-coated over the paint (was done by Mitch Tolan at Mitcher-T in Michgan). He recommended the Race Glaze to me, and after using it - I am happy thus far. I was also told by the creator of Leverage that carnuba is not a good thing to put on Gel, then he went into some technical reasoning and, well - it made sense to me. As I asked around, the replies that I got reinforced what I was told by both of them - polish (wax / carnuba free) is the way to go. So, to clarify and use the proper verbiage - it does seal the finish, but doesn't "close" the pores of the gel preventing it from breathing... yeah, sounds funny, but it is what it is. If you apply a wax with carnuba in it, you need to really stay on top of it (when dealing with pure gel coat), and technically you should strip off any old wax before applying a new coat. The pores in the gel get clogged and thus do not breathe as they should, it also effects the resins and chemicals found in the lay up of a typical fiberglass hull and you get the resulting oxidation.

Again - not sure how all this "works" per se', but I know guys with $30k, $50k, even $80k-plus paint jobs on their boats and none of them use carnuba-based products to wax-them-up.

[ThePlut]

I use stuff I purchased from here:

http://properboatcare.com/gelco.html

I've used the color restorer and the micropolish/sealant with very good results (the color restorer was to bring back my upper deck stripe after baking in the sun for 2 years, it fairly white).

They have some new stuff on the website "bow to stern ..", that I haven't used before.

[bigdog]

I have just finished a laborious task of cleaning and compounded my boat's gelcoat. Now I'm planning to put a Polish/Sealer on as the last step.
I am going to apply a Sealer versus a Wax, for the reason of durability, shine, and the fact that it will not "yellow" after time.

Would like feedback from folks, if they have used any of the following
Polish and/or Sealers. Either good or bad opinions will be appreciated.

- Autoglym Super Resin Polish (Acrylic)
- Liquid Glass (Key ingredient is CRYSTAL CLEAR CARBON)
- Klasse ALL-IN-ONE Polish (Arcylic Base Mfg in Germany)
- Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze (Arcylic Base)
- 3M Performance Finish (Silicone-based sealant)
- Scotchgard™ Marine Liquid (Beieve this is a Silicone-based sealant)

Thanks!