Boat waxing
 

So I hate to admit it but my boat will soon see it’s 3rd season in the water and I have not waxed it yet, I’m usually good with the cars just don’t give the boat much thought even though I know it needs to be done. It still looks great with a few light scratches so my question is should I use an orbital buffer with a polish to remove them or wait and just wax the boat? I don’t want to prematurely damage the gel coat with buffing but I do have some experience and hours buffing the clear coats on cars. Any suggestions on how and what to use thanks


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Try a random orbital with a good pad and try 3m finesse first. If it needs more a little rubbing compound and the go back to finesse followed by polish

Sometimes scratches may require some wet sanding, then compound and follow it with the polishing.

As said 3M "finesse it" is good, I've also had luck with Surhold "buff magic".

You shouldn't cause any harm to the gelcoat with standard buffing/polishing, unless you have a very cheap boat with thinner-than-normal gelcoat.

A random orbital unit, an orange pad, and some Star brite PTEF would probably be my first approach in the scenario you described.

Detailing
 

Not exactly 'rocket science', common sense goes a long way!
Plenty of websites for tips and tricks, my fav is 'Detailed Image'.
3M has some excellent articles/videos on boat detailing. That would be my first go to.
If you have a brand new boat or if the finish is still glossy, the 3M finesse polish using a random orbiter will be the first step. The second step will be the sealer or wax. 3M make pretty good wax.
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-...94857497&rt=r3
Personally I use Duragloss products. Available at Robbins Auto Parts on Union Ave in Laconia. The sealant lasts a good year, easy on and off. I use the quick detailer between waxing after a wash or rinse. Keeps the boat looking like it was just wax!

Thanks for the advice now hopefully this weekends weather will cooperate.


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New boat
 

Evening All

Sam, dont mean to hijack your post but this seems like the right place to ask this question.

Getting a new boat in a couple of weeks and was considering waxing it before the first launch. Was going to wax the entire hull including below the waterline. I thought I had heard some pros and cons of waxing the hull. Also was going to use Meguiars Boat Wax

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Thanks
mike

As bark-int said the starbrite stuff with Teflon is top notch. My boat is a 1997 and I’ve never used anything but that polish. Boat is still in showroom condition. Nothing does more harm to glass than the sun. To keep it top notch shape you definitely have to work at it.

"New boat" Isn't this part of the dealer prep?