Cleaning, Waxing, Polishing, and Maintaining

Forgive the question, but what is the difference between a polish and a wax? Also, do any of you have experience or familiarity with the Dewalt DW849 varible speed polisher?

Many thanks,
Chris

Polishing is generally reffered to as the first step to bring out the shine and remove any contaminents on the gelcoat. Waxing is the final step to protect the finish, You can do both steps at once with what is referred to as a "cleaner wax".
 
While Meguires makes a fine product may I recomend (as does Searay) that everyone use the Yacht Brite line of products. A product called Buff Magic is awsome. For 1 there is no wax, all polishing is done by copolimer s. Wax builds and turns yellow. This does not. As stated in the post clean the surface with "Serious Marine Cleaner"(spray on). Then use the Buff Magic(with machine) Then the Pro Polish. It's unbelievable and holds up all year. This is the product Searay sells in there showrooms.
 
As promised here is the posting that 280SeaRay made on SRO which I adopted and thought I would share.

Many people are not aware (and many others don't care) but I run by a 5 step cycle for surface care.

1) Wash
2) Clean
3) Polish
4) Wax
5) Maintain

Wash - Often and thourough. Keeping a boat clean helps to keep the boat looking great and reduces wear due to dirt on various boat surfaces. The west marine stuff is more aggressive which is great for getting dirt off...but also helps to strip the wax off faster. The mequiars soap is very nice...but much more gentle (exteded wax life). I perform surface care ritual every 50 hours so I can get away with the more aggressive soap.

Clean - This is cleaning the gel coat of surface imperfections, oxidation, basically getting rid of all the junk that has built up on the get coat. This is where some will notice my process has evolved. I clean all gel coat with the meguiars #44 Color Restorer. I used to use this product in spot use only but have since found that using it on the gel coat prior to polish will provide even better results than I have seen in the past. I keep my boat in better than new condition so the mild #44 is best for my application. I apply the #44 with a Meguiars 8006 polishing pad at 2 speed setting on my Porter Cable DA. Try to always use the least agressive product which will attain the results you are looking for. Each boat is very different I would suggest you perform a detailed evaluation of your boats surface condition prior to buying products.

Polish - This step is where you obtain the shine. I personally use Meguiars #45 Boat/RV polish for this step applied with the same 8006 polishing pad and porter cable DA at speed #3 for the first pass. I then perform a second pass with a 9006 finishing pad. At this point in the process the gel coat should (I am not kidding) feel as smooth as a babies behind or glass...so smooth it is hard to believe.

Wax - Finally the protection. I have used Meguars #56 Pure Wax exclusively up until this point. This wax is more of a natural wax. I used the Meguiars Flagship Premium wax (synthetic) when it first came out...and was not impressed...during a recent call to Meguiars I learned that this item has been re-formulated so I will be giving it another shot in 15 boating hours. The Pure Wax is a fabulous product. I ushually apply the wax by hand 3 thin coats. At least 2 thin coats are recommended for even application.

Maintain - I added this step recently to keep the boat looking 100% between washes...and between waxes. this summer I began using the Mequiars #52 Quick Clean marine...very much like the Meguiars Quick Detailer for you auto guys out there...does a great job of getting any dirt or minerals off after you run fro the day. As soon as I pull the boat out (I trailer) I do a spray and wipe with this stuff. For between waxing...after every wash I now utilize the Meguiars #59 Quik Wax Marine which seems to supplement the protection on the surface between the 50 hour waxes...the concept of the spray wax never did much for me (in my head)...but it truly works well.

Surface care certainly can be tough if neglected...but if properly maintained it is a very small bit of effort...better for you than sitting in front of the TV...and frankly makes the boat look alot nicer. Everyone experiences a couple of rainy days during the winter...a great time to care for the boats surface...I personally like meguiars products...there is no "best" product int he marina...my advise is to find something you like and use it often.
:thumbsup:

Wesley,

How does this method look on your black gelcoat? Any swirl marks? I have the galaxy blue and would like to adopt the same process.

Thanks
 
It has worked great and I appreciate Jeremy (bunny slippers) putting it together for us. One thing I will mention I do everything by hand as I have not gotten the guts to use a PC on the gelcoat. One day I hope to talk Dave S in to showing my how to really polish a boat. Jeremy is pretty picky and if it is good enough for him it is good enough for me.

Wesley
 
I do everything by hand as well, but would like to try the PC. I love the look of a colored hull, but my last sea ray 190 was white, talk about easy to maintain.

Thanks for the info.

Greg
 
You have motivated me. I have not had the chance to get the boat out this year, and all it has had was a light rinse. I got it out today, and gave her a good wash and wax. I can not believe I let her get so dirty. I will be glad to keep her in High and dry this year.

Here are some pics of her clean. I did not take any before pics because I was ashamed.
P6042238.jpg

P6042239.jpg

P6042240.jpg

P6042241.jpg

P6042242.jpg

P6042244.jpg
 
How do remove oxidation on the non slip deck?
 
You have motivated me. I have not had the chance to get the boat out this year, and all it has had was a light rinse. I got it out today, and gave her a good wash and wax. I can not believe I let her get so dirty. I will be glad to keep her in High and dry this year.

Here are some pics of her clean. I did not take any before pics because I was ashamed.

When will you be putting your boat in high and dry? That will be much more convenient than trailering....

Now you have the boat cleaned up...time to get it wet. I like a nice shine on the boat. Here is one from mine last fall.

CRW_0057.jpg
 
This is such a good thread, I thought I'd bump it to the top of the list. I hope the mods don't mind... I'll be waxing in November once the weather cools off a little bit more down here.
 
As promised here is the posting that 280SeaRay made on SRO which I adopted and thought I would share.

Many people are not aware (and many others don't care) but I run by a 5 step cycle for surface care.

1) Wash
2) Clean
3) Polish
4) Wax
5) Maintain

Wash - Often and thourough. Keeping a boat clean helps to keep the boat looking great and reduces wear due to dirt on various boat surfaces. The west marine stuff is more aggressive which is great for getting dirt off...but also helps to strip the wax off faster. The mequiars soap is very nice...but much more gentle (exteded wax life). I perform surface care ritual every 50 hours so I can get away with the more aggressive soap.

Clean - This is cleaning the gel coat of surface imperfections, oxidation, basically getting rid of all the junk that has built up on the get coat. This is where some will notice my process has evolved. I clean all gel coat with the meguiars #44 Color Restorer. I used to use this product in spot use only but have since found that using it on the gel coat prior to polish will provide even better results than I have seen in the past. I keep my boat in better than new condition so the mild #44 is best for my application. I apply the #44 with a Meguiars 8006 polishing pad at 2 speed setting on my Porter Cable DA. Try to always use the least agressive product which will attain the results you are looking for. Each boat is very different I would suggest you perform a detailed evaluation of your boats surface condition prior to buying products.

Polish - This step is where you obtain the shine. I personally use Meguiars #45 Boat/RV polish for this step applied with the same 8006 polishing pad and porter cable DA at speed #3 for the first pass. I then perform a second pass with a 9006 finishing pad. At this point in the process the gel coat should (I am not kidding) feel as smooth as a babies behind or glass...so smooth it is hard to believe.

Wax - Finally the protection. I have used Meguars #56 Pure Wax exclusively up until this point. This wax is more of a natural wax. I used the Meguiars Flagship Premium wax (synthetic) when it first came out...and was not impressed...during a recent call to Meguiars I learned that this item has been re-formulated so I will be giving it another shot in 15 boating hours. The Pure Wax is a fabulous product. I ushually apply the wax by hand 3 thin coats. At least 2 thin coats are recommended for even application.

Maintain - I added this step recently to keep the boat looking 100% between washes...and between waxes. this summer I began using the Mequiars #52 Quick Clean marine...very much like the Meguiars Quick Detailer for you auto guys out there...does a great job of getting any dirt or minerals off after you run fro the day. As soon as I pull the boat out (I trailer) I do a spray and wipe with this stuff. For between waxing...after every wash I now utilize the Meguiars #59 Quik Wax Marine which seems to supplement the protection on the surface between the 50 hour waxes...the concept of the spray wax never did much for me (in my head)...but it truly works well.

Surface care certainly can be tough if neglected...but if properly maintained it is a very small bit of effort...better for you than sitting in front of the TV...and frankly makes the boat look alot nicer. Everyone experiences a couple of rainy days during the winter...a great time to care for the boats surface...I personally like meguiars products...there is no "best" product int he marina...my advise is to find something you like and use it often.

Wesley thanks for posting this.

As time goes on and I have had more time to work with additional or different products and evolve "The Process"

Here are some updates.

Wash - West Marine Crystal Clear boat soap is still very aggressive and reduces the life of your wax. I switched to Meguiars Premium Flagship Marine Wash (#65), it has been reformulated this year and is fantastic soap making quick work of dirt on the gelcoat, plastic, glass, vinyl, etc. Causes water the sheet off the boat very quickly requiring minimal drying. I wash 52 times a year... or every week regardless if the boat has been used or not.

Clean - I have had some time to experiment with Meguiars #49 oxidation remover which is slightly more aggressive than the #44 but the diminishing abbrassives seem to break down quicker and more effectively than the #44. I have replaced #44 with #49 in my surface care arsenal. For additional cut you can also use a Meguiars 7006/7207 Cutting pad with either Orbital (i.e. Porter Cable 7424) or Rotary (i.e. Makita 9227) to remove oxidation, defects, or blurry gel coat from fender use. Remember the cleaning step is only required if your surface inspection has revealed some defects, issues that need removal.

Polishing remains the same #45 is hard to beat.

Wax - Meguiars Flagship Premium Wax (#63) which was also reformulated is superb. It last significantly longer than Meguiars Pure Wax (#56) and has some very mild polishing agents in it. I no longer use #56 and exclusively use #63 now. #56 is a very good product but #63 is just outstanding.

Maintain - Meguiars new Flagship Ultimate detailer taken the place of quick clean marine (#52). Amazing product for quick detailing in between washes. Repels water like crazy... and seems to remove any water spotting. Outstanding spray and wipe product that you find me using most every morning we are out on the boat... on the hook, dock, or at the marina.

I have also began to clay the boat after the wash and before the clean step. I experimented with clay to see if it would show bonded contaminents left over after the wash. Just like my vehicles.... there is bonded junk on the gel coat that is easily removed with the clay bar that is not removed while washing. I use Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay kit which includes white detailing clay (easy to see the junk you are picking up).

Keeping the surface of your boat in shape will make maintaining the outstanding look (washing) very easy. I have tried many different product types but I keep coming back to the meguiars line as they continuously evolve their products into more effective, longer lasting products that meet all my needs as a boater who is very fussy about how the boat looks. The brand is not important... the important thing is to find something that produces an appearance that you are happy with and use it often.
 
Our dealer quoted me $277 (includes a $40 lift fee)just to wash our boat. So, I bought some Zing and spent 2hrs washing it myself. saving $257. Yeh, I couldn't get under the bumpers but I still feel good about it.
 
We washed, cleaned, polished and waxed yesterday.

What was funny is that it was the marina's customer appreciation day. The marina had food, drinks, music, face painting, free boat rides, a few booths, the CG auxillary was there doing free boat checks. There were quite a few people hanging out - eating, drinking beer,etc., while we spent the entire day working on the boat. We had at least a half dozen groups come up to us and complimented us that the boat looked like it came right off the showroom floor. It does look pretty awesome right now. No pics to share - brought everything except for the camera. Darn.

Everyone wanted to know what we used - we use Meguiar's. We bought the M4965 3 pack on amazon.com. It worked great.
 
......... It does look pretty awesome right now. No pics to share - brought everything except for the camera. Darn..............

Uh huh. Heard that before. ...and the dog ate your homework.

We need pics
git_r_done.gif
 
I didn't know it, but my hubby took some pics with his cell phone...
 

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Jeremy, It sure does look great, only question, is how you manage to get help with all of that cleaning and waxing :)
 
I'm going to bring this thread to life again, and I think there is already a thread on this but I couldn't find it. On the bottom of my boat I have a couple black rubber marks ( what it looks like) I also noticed some black rubber mark embedded with some very very light scratches that are hard to get out. Is there any helpful hints on how to get this out?
 
This may be covered somewhere else, but I could not find it.

What do you wash your boat with? I know a goofy question, but I want only the best for her. Do you use rags, sponges, or a brush? I was wondering if a soft bristle brush would damage the finish? I would appreciate an advice.
 

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