After use wipedown???

Weave

Weave

New Member
Jun 1, 2007
1,410
Western, MA
Boat Info
200 Sundeck 2005
Engines
4.3 MPI Alpha I Gen II
Just wondering what you guys do after you run the boat? Just wipe the fiberglass down with a microfiber? Use a solution? Spray detailer?:smt100

I just put 2 nice coats of wax on her and would like to keep her nice and shiny :smt001

Thanks!
 
Spray detailer with the micro... (hose the boat down first)
 
We leave her on the trailer at the marina....not always a hose available.
Which spray detailer..mequire's?
 
Trailer home, wash, put in garage, wait for next time to go out where she gets washed again prior to going to the lake.

edit: Just saw your posting about leaving at the marina on trailer, I have heard great things about Quick Detailer but have yet to try it. I have also bought but yet to try it Yacht brite Serious Shine Professional Grade one step cleaner, polish, & protectant in the can that I would probably use if I were in your situation.
 
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3M Clean & Shine "wax" is good for general cleaning/wipedown without removing wax. I would assume it is similar to Quick Detailer. All of this assumes freshwater use. If you're in salt, a fresh water wash is the only way.
 
I'm in salt water so mine gets a good rinse after every use.
Quick Detailer is good stuff, but not a substitute for a good wash. I only use it after a wash to give things a nice fresh look. Different brands have different levels of cleaning ability. The more cleaning ability it has, the more wax it removes.
My boat stays in the water from spring until fall, so waxing the hull during the season is not possible. I put two coats of wax on before it went in the water. Areas above the rub rails are a little easier, they get washed regularly, and a very light coat of wax every six weeks or so. I mostly do the waxing in little pieces when I'm hanging out and puttering around on the boat.
 
Weave said:
We leave her on the trailer at the marina....not always a hose available.
Which spray detailer..mequire's?
Click to expand...

Pirate said:
3M Clean & Shine "wax" is good for general cleaning/wipedown without removing wax. I would assume it is similar to Quick Detailer. All of this assumes freshwater use. If you're in salt, a fresh water wash is the only way.
Click to expand...

Yup, 3M Clean and Shine

Weave, is it possible to bring a 5 gal bucket of water from home and use that to rinse off?
 
Find water, you will need a lot of bottled product to detail and wipe down. Too bad, since it is so shiny and clean all you would need to do is hose off and towel or chamois dry.
 
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H2ONUT said:
Weave, is it possible to bring a 5 gal bucket of water from home and use that to rinse off?
Click to expand...
Forgot to specify on salt or fresh, but we are in fresh.
Yeah, I can bring some water. It's not out of the question to bring her home from time to time throughout the season. I am maily looking for the in between washings and such.
I guess will have to come up with something with fresh clean water.

So fromt he comments it appears that a washdown with clean water is the best scenario
 
A quick detailer can and should only be used when there is minimal dirt on the surface.... I have found that fiberglass tends to attract dirt when on the trailer going down the highway and the dirt from being out all day or all week is too much for me to use a QD... the dirt that you collect in the micro fiber can scratch your gel coat. A rinse is the bare minimum.... after a run for us.... a wash like Wesley said is indeed the best scenario. To make the most of your wax ensure you are using a good quality (and gentle) boat soap. The west marine stuff works well..... but it a little aggressive and seems to shorten the life of my wax job.
 
I have been using a light spray from Windex after each use. It is their non-ammonia spray called Auto Glass and interior cleaner. I use a Meguires marine blue absorbant cloth. It works very well to clean any surface on my boat without damaging it. I also wax once a year with Meguires cleaner wax.
 
Hmm! I would think the Windex product would remove a fair amount of wax.
The thing to remember is that any cleaner will remove a certain amount of wax. The heavier the cleaner (does the best job at removing dirt) the more wax it will remove.
Wax is important for protecting your finish and you want to make sure you always have a decent coat of it on your boat. The brand you prefer is less important than at least keeping it waxed with something.
Your best bet is to start with the mildest cleaner possible and move up from there. I have a classic muscle car and a new Corvette that is basically just my toy. They only come out of the garage in the best of weather for pleasure cruises and shows. I use the mildest soap that I can find to wash them with. Honestly, the cars don't actually get that dirty so the soap that I use is more for lubrication to avoid putting fine scratches in the finish when I wash them to remove dust and any specks of road grime and bugs that accumulate. Just to indicate how fussy I am with them: I use the two bucket method to wash them and actually do the bulk of the drying by sheeting a good amount of the water off with a garden hose, then use an electric leaf blower for the rest. I get the final few droplets by spritzing a little Quick Detailer on a small area and wiping it off with a good quality waffle weave cloth.
I certainly am not that crazy with my boat that sits in salt water, but I do try to avoid using products or methods that will further deteriorate the 21 year old finish on it. If I had a boat that I trailered I would probably use the same process on it as I use on these cars. It doesn't really take any longer to do it this way than it does to do it any other way.
My boat suffers from the dreaded terminal black streaks. No matter what I do, every time it rains I return to the boat to find the streaks running down from below the canvas and the rub rails. I usually have to wash them, then follow up by removing them with the cleaner wax that I use on the boat. It (Garry's) has a very heavy solvent (cleaner) content, but it does the job. Unfortunately, since my boat is docked all season long the streaks I can't get to on the hull have to stay there until the end of the season.
Rule of thunb: There is no way to avoid it. The better a product cleans, the more wax it removes.
I agree with the previous poster. Never, ever use Quick Detailer without washing the surface first. I spritz a little bit on to use as a lubricant when I dry the surface and give it a little extra pop but I never use it as a substitute for a wash even on my boat.
For that matter I wouldn't use any kind of spray cleaner either without first at least rinsing the surface with fresh water to get the loose dirt and grime off of the finish.
 
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I get lots of compliments on my boat due to the product I use. Your boat must be waxed first. Then, after using the boat and before it dries, wipe down with Griot's Speed Shine. Speed Shine takes care of the water spots and preserves the wax.

Dennis
 
JVM225 said:
Hmm! I would think the Windex product would remove a fair amount of wax.
The thing to remember is that any cleaner will remove a certain amount of wax. The heavier the cleaner (does the best job at removing dirt) the more wax it will remove.
Wax is important for protecting your finish and you want to make sure you always have a decent coat of it on your boat. The brand you prefer is less important than at least keeping it waxed with something.
Your best bet is to start with the mildest cleaner possible and move up from there. I have a classic muscle car and a new Corvette that is basically just my toy. They only come out of the garage in the best of weather for pleasure cruises and shows. I use the mildest soap that I can find to wash them with. Honestly, the cars don't actually get that dirty so the soap that I use is more for lubrication to avoid putting fine scratches in the finish when I wash them to remove dust and any specks of road grime and bugs that accumulate. Just to indicate how fussy I am with them: I use the two bucket method to wash them and actually do the bulk of the drying by sheeting a good amount of the water off with a garden hose, then use an electric leaf blower for the rest. I get the final few droplets by spritzing a little Quick Detailer on a small area and wiping it off with a good quality waffle weave cloth.
I certainly am not that crazy with my boat that sits in salt water, but I do try to avoid using products or methods that will further deteriorate the 21 year old finish on it. If I had a boat that I trailered I would probably use the same process on it as I use on these cars. It doesn't really take any longer to do it this way than it does to do it any other way.
My boat suffers from the dreaded terminal black streaks. No matter what I do, every time it rains I return to the boat to find the streaks running down from below the canvas and the rub rails. I usually have to wash them, then follow up by removing them with the cleaner wax that I use on the boat. It (Garry's) has a very heavy solvent (cleaner) content, but it does the job. Unfortunately, since my boat is docked all season long the streaks I can't get to on the hull have to stay there until the end of the season.
Rule of thunb: There is no way to avoid it. The better a product cleans, the more wax it removes.
I agree with the previous poster. Never, ever use Quick Detailer without washing the surface first. I spritz a little bit on to use as a lubricant when I dry the surface and give it a little extra pop but I never use it as a substitute for a wash even on my boat.
For that matter I wouldn't use any kind of spray cleaner either without first at least rinsing the surface with fresh water to get the loose dirt and grime off of the finish.
Click to expand...
I pulled the MSDS for the Windex product. It has three componets:
1: H20
2: Vinigar
3 Isopropanol 3-7ppm

So obviously the most harmful component would be the propylene alcohol. I do agree there is no substitute for wash. but I hardly believe 3-7ppm will reduce substantail wax. Of interesting note upon looking further I found that isopropanol is an element in carnuba and silicone wax's.

So I think I will continue to use it but I will dilute it to 1/2 strength based on your recommendation. I will now wax twice a year because I like a clean boat without black streaks, as well I am not in salt. Which is the worst environment possible in my opinion.
 
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Good choice.
You're right! Salt is a killer.
The Vinegar and Alcohol will both remove wax.
As far as the alcohol in the wax product itself goes; cleansers or solvents are common in products labeled as "Cleaner Wax". There are other products out there that contain very little solvents or cleaning ability but using them on a boat probably doesn't make any sense.
Sometimes you need to balance things out. If you need the cleaning power of a harsher cleaning product to remove stains then you have to use it. My personal favorite for tough jobs is Spray 9. I wouldn't use it on a car, but it is great stuff for tough dirt on boats. You don't need to buy the more expensive marine version, the regular one you buy in Home Depot is just as good. But, just know that the harsher or more effective the product the more wax it removes so it is probably a good idea to give it the extra coat after using the cleaners a couple of times.
Unfortunately, I can't get to most spots along the sides below the rub rails on my boat during the season so I put several coats of wax on the hull before it went in for the season.
The other side of that coin is that I really can't get to those areas with a cleaner either so the wax does a pretty good job of beading water through the season.
The areas that I can get to I usually add additional light coats of wax to small areas at a time throughout the season while I'm hanging around and puttering on the boat.
Fortunately the transom, which gets the largest concntration of black streaks, is easy to get to so I keep up with that area. It is still a PIA to deal with it after each and every rainfall.
I agree with the poster about Griot's products. They sell some great stuff and you can't go wrong with it.
I use another product by Chemical Guys. They actually make lots of the products for some of the smaller boutique companies and put those companies labels on them.
 
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I looked at the constiuents of Spray Nine. It's primary cleaner is 2-Butoxyethanol. This is an ether alcohol. So product to product may vary but the fact remains. If you buy commercial cleaner it will have some form of solvent in it.
 
Kurt said:
I looked at the constiuents of Spray Nine. It's primary cleaner is 2-Butoxyethanol. This is an ether alcohol. So product to product may vary but the fact remains. If you buy commercial cleaner it will have some form of solvent in it.
Click to expand...
Very true!
And, the harsher, or more effective a cleaner is, the more wax it will remove.
 
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