SHould we buff and wax the top part of the boat?

[hillsideshortleg]

Sorry to ask what may be a silly question BUT, here we go. We were told before not to wax the top part of the boat as it will make it slick for walking on. I think they said just clean it. Your opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Rick

 

[Creekwood]

Don't wax the non-skid. It WILL make it too slick, especially with wet feet. Some use Woodys wax for non-skid. I have used it. Its less slick than regular wax but its still slippery. I use Starbrite Non-skid deck cleaner. It has a protectant in it.

 

[Ricochet]

Sorry to ask what may be a silly question BUT, here we go. We were told before not to wax the top part of the boat as it will make it slick for walking on. I think they said just clean it. Your opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Rick

I have buffed and polished the deck every year...that being said it depends on what type of non-skid you have, I have a early 90’s which has a very non agressive non skid, it might be a little slippery for a couple weeks but if you wear boat shoes you are fine, I cannot imagine what the deck would look like after 16 years without polish.

 

[LG111]

I dewalt waxed my diamond non skid last summer. Then buffed the wax off. I had no black spots over the winter and bird poop did not stain the deck. It was not slippery.

 

[boatman37]

Will the Starbrite (or anything else mentioned here) clean up the chalkiness? My normal procedure is to buff the deck with Presta Super Cut. Then go over again with Presta Gel Coat then wax with Meguiars Flagship. It gets a little slick but I just try to be careful. This is a real pain to do and I'm looking for something better. It doesn't really get dirty, just chalky by the end of the season. If it weren't for the chalkiness I would just wax it every year.

If there is something I can spray on and brush to get rid of the chalkiness I would definitely try it.

 

[JVM225]

I’ve used the Woody Wax on my non skid for several years. While I like it, the deck does stay a bit slippery. This season I’m trying out the Star Brite cleaner to see how that holds up.
So far it feels less slippery than Woody Wax.
What you could do for the chalkiness is polish it with a wool pad and the Gel Coat Labs polish(or compound and then polish if needed) to get rid of the oxidation and then wash it down with Star Brite deck cleaner (or other product of your choice) to protect it.
The Gel Coat polish or compound doesn’t have any protection in them so while they will leave the surface smooth it shouldn’t be slippery.

 

[Todd320]

My question is similar, but I need to “fix” the smooth portion of the deck. My boat is in dry covered storage year round, and the fork lifts leave ash and residue, it washes off easily, but I can see faint gray circles in the smooth parts of the deck. How should I clean that part? I tried a polish and wax (by hand), did not help. I think I need to use a rubbing compound applied with a small pad on a rotary or orbital, most of these areas are only 2-4” wide, so that might be hard to do, followed by a polish then wax.

 

[JVM225]

My question is similar, but I need to “fix” the smooth portion of the deck. My boat is in dry covered storage year round, and the fork lifts leave ash and residue, it washes off easily, but I can see faint gray circles in the smooth parts of the deck. How should I clean that part? I tried a polish and wax (by hand), did not help. I think I need to use a rubbing compound applied with a small pad on a rotary or orbital, most of these areas are only 2-4” wide, so that might be hard to do, followed by a polish then wax.

You’ll never be able to get much more than minor staining out by hand.
IMHO: Don’t waste your time with an orbital either. I’ve got a great one (Flex 3401) that I use on cars all the time with great results but it has never done well on any boat I’ve tried it on.
I do like using my PC 7424 with a medium carpet brush to deep clean non skid though.
Yours sounds like a job for a rotary and wool pad with a good compound to remove the stains followed with a polish and then a wax to protect it.
The narrow spots are tough to get to with my Makita full size rotary and pad. I generally finesse it, keeping the pad on an angle. It’s tough, but doable if you practice. Just watch out for the cord when you contortion in to the tight spots.
Harbor Freight sells a cheap rotary that I’ve read good enough reviews from boaters on different sites. I’ve never used one of them myself, but you probably can’t go wrong for under $50.00.
As a hobbyist, I recently (this past week) invested in a smaller Flex rotary, 3” backing plate and 3” wool pads for just this reason.
As soon as my sciatica feels better (think I aggravated it doing the top sides on my 410 with the Makita) I’ll use it on my arch, some tight topside areas, the topside of my Uncle’s 22 footer, topside of my kids 18 footer, and probably a friends boat too once I get going.
It makes very little sense for most boaters to make that kind of investment though.
A much cheaper alternative would be to get an adapter for your electric drill (check autogeek), 3” backing plate, and 3” wool pads. You can probably put all of that together for under $20.00 if you get on their email list and take advantage of a coupon code. They also sell the wool pads you’ll need for the full size rotary.
Between autogeek and Harbor Freight you can probably get everything (rotary, pads, adapter, backing plates) you’ll need to get you started for a hundred bucks or less.
I kind of like Gel Coat Labs compound and polish for the boats these days. Autogeek sells that too.
Be careful though. Detailing can be addictive and before you know it you’ll wind up with a garage full of machines, all kinds of pads, compounds and polishes if you don’t control yourself.

 

[sbw1]

We wax the top decks and use Woody Wax on the non-skid. Also wear Top Siders always when on the boat. Good footwear helps with the slip and slide issue. Have seen and experienced a few mishaps going barefoot over the years and never venture outside cabin without good boat shoes any more.

 

[bbwhitejr]

A wool pad and compound on a rotary work well on the non skid with the smooth strips mixed in. As JVM225 stated, I too have never had any luck with compound by hand or with an orbital. Check out the Shurhold website. The sell what they call a medium yellow brush that fits an orbital or rotary. Combine it with their Pro Polish and it works very well after you get it clean/compounded. I have always walked on it barefoot and never noticed it being very slippery at all. I am getting ready to do mine soon. Then I will use the Starbrite Non Skid Cleaner the rest of the year.

Bennett

 

[juggernaut1]

JVM, did you use the foamed wool pad on the Flex 3401 when you used it the boat or just the usual foam pads.

 

[Jaybeaux]

I used this on the non-skid https://shurhold.com/dap-scrub-brush

 

[JVM225]

JVM, did you use the foamed wool pad on the Flex 3401 when you used it the boat or just the usual foam pads.

Tried both with my Flex 3401 and neither did the trick for me on Gel Coat.
I absolutely love my Flex 3401 for use on clear coat. Got it years ago as a step up from my PC7424 (which I still keep in my bag of tricks). It’s an amazing machine for cars but it falls short for boats.
I’ve got a Makita Rotary that I use on the boats that makes short work of it. Most professionals that do boats either use the Makita or Dewalt.
There is really no need for a Flex 3401 owner to go out and spend the money on a Makita or Dewalt if they don’t want to though.
Harbor Freight sells a rotary for under 50 dollars that looks to be more than adequate for use a couple of times a year on a boat.
If I were a boat owner who had no machine at all and was just looking for one machine to do my boat with a couple of times a year I’d give the Harbor Freight machine a shot. Couple the rotary machine with some good quality wool pads and they’re all set.

 

[JVM225]

I used this on the non-skid https://shurhold.com/dap-scrub-brush

That’s the way to go! I got that great tip from another poster on here a while back.
You can order brushes from multiple sources. Mine came from Amazon. I used them with my PC 7424 but if you don’t have a random orbital you can use them with an electric drill too.
As a bonus, if you have any stains on your cabin carpet you can give the brushes a try with some carpet stain cleaner.
I used it with Folex because I always have a big bottle of it in the garage for use in the cars, but any brand should work.
I’ve got canvas runners. While the carpet was like new under them when I got the boat last year, there was some staining along the edges that became noticeable when I removed the runners for washing.
I hit the stains with the PC 7424 with a medium brush, then shampooed whole carpet with my Bissell Little Green Machine and it came out great.
I was going to have a carpet cleaning pro do it but he wanted $400.00.
I did the same cleaning routine last week to keep it looking good. It went much faster this year.
Wash the runners in the machine at home, air dry on a nice day, re-waterproof them, and the cabin looks great for the start of another season.

 

[domer94]

im at this stage myself, but was wondering if compounding the foredeck nonskid would leave the product in the crevices and only bring out the top of the texture. I would probably have to scrub it out after with a medium brush , but was wondering if it would look strange with only the top texture shiny?

 

[Creekwood]

im at this stage myself, but was wondering if compounding the foredeck nonskid would leave the product in the crevices and only bring out the top of the texture. I would probably have to scrub it out after with a medium brush , but was wondering if it would look strange with only the top texture shiny?

If you are talking about the 95 330, the non-skid is a "grit" style, not diamond grid. So I think the compounding would get at the low spots. The grit is not that aggressive or high.

 

[bbwhitejr]

I used this on the non-skid https://shurhold.com/dap-scrub-brush

Exactly what I have used for the past 5 years. Also am the owner of the Harbor Freight rotary for $50. I am sure there are other machines that are lighter and more user friendly, but with a wool pad, it has always done everything I have ever asked it to. It lived through my 260DA and now is getting a taste of the 44DB.

Bennett

 

[domer94]

If you are talking about the 95 330, the non-skid is a "grit" style, not diamond grid. So I think the compounding would get at the low spots. The grit is not that aggressive or high.

the cabin top is the diamond cut , the side decks are the grit style (which I would just use the deck cleaner)

 

[Blueone]

I just compound and wax the whole thing, non-skid and all... I don't find it slippery enough not to do it. I used woody wax last year and didnt think it was worth the Hyp or cost and I don't think it lasted more than a couple of weeks.

 

[juggernaut1]

Tried both with my Flex 3401 and neither did the trick for me on Gel Coat.
I absolutely love my Flex 3401 for use on clear coat. Got it years ago as a step up from my PC7424 (which I still keep in my bag of tricks). It’s an amazing machine for cars but it falls short for boats.
I’ve got a Makita Rotary that I use on the boats that makes short work of it. Most professionals that do boats either use the Makita or Dewalt.
There is really no need for a Flex 3401 owner to go out and spend the money on a Makita or Dewalt if they don’t want to though.
Harbor Freight sells a rotary for under 50 dollars that looks to be more than adequate for use a couple of times a year on a boat.
If I were a boat owner who had no machine at all and was just looking for one machine to do my boat with a couple of times a year I’d give the Harbor Freight machine a shot. Couple the rotary machine with some good quality wool pads and they’re all set.

I have both the Flex 3401 and Makita rotary with an assortment of different pads for both machines. I tried the Flex on the car and loved the finish even though I am a relative novice. Yet to try either on the boat though as have previously had it polished professionally as I am generally time poor. Just curious how the Flex fared - thanks for sharing your experience.