Washing boat

[firecadet613]

What do you use to wash your boat? A brush on a pole, a wash mit, or a microfiber towel?

 

[Sundancer]

Just an old towel. I know it's NOT a high tech solution but the amazing part is that it works and it's cheap!

 

[At Ease]

Shurhold (soft) brush and pole.

 

[sbw1]

Ivory Soap in a bucket of water using a soft brush on a pole. Use the same soapy water with a stiff brush for the aggressive nonskid Tiara uses. Chamois with the wide mop thingies on a pole to dry things off. My experience with towels and micro fiber products is they strip wax.

 

[caruso1006]

Same thing here...shurhold brush and an old cotton t-shirt. I have not waxed mine since I just got it...but I am looking for Todd's help in doing that!

 

[sbw1]

No. Ivory does not strip wax as it is a soap and not a detergent. It's also mild and easy on your hands. Just don't overdo the concentration and scrubbing with a pad or microfiber product. The idea is to use a soft brush for the dirt which is also wax sparing.

 

[firecadet613]

Same thing here...shurhold brush and an old cotton t-shirt. I have not waxed mine since I just got it...but I am looking for Todd's help in doing that!

I've waxed mine once since I got it.....you'll have to help me out with your new knowledge from Todd!

 

[caruso1006]

I've waxed mine once since I got it.....you'll have to help me out with your new knowledge from Todd!

I am planning on doing mine next week. I will give you the details once I get everything squared away!

Corey

 

[Alex D]

I use a yellow soft bristle brush on a painter's pole for reach. I also havea Shurlock brush and pole but I don't like them.

 

[surfinjoe]

I use a cotton hand towel with any sewing cut out of it and boat soap. Meijer had their boating stuff 75% off so I picked-up 10 bottles of their boat soap. It works very well to remove the black streaks and does not strip the wax. I don't like brushes as they tend to hold the dirt. I experienced this once on my beautiful black car and will never use one again. I talked to a professional detailer who maintaines those fancy sports cars and he told me that I should never use anything that is not 100% cotton and never use a brush. They WILL scratch the surface. Think about how a brush is designed. Thousands of 'fibers' pointed directly at the surface and pleanty of opportunities for the fibers to trap dirt.

 

[mrsrobinson]

I use the same pole/brush we use to wash our cars, pick them up at Wal-Hell, I mean Wal-Mart or Target, and then use a firmer brush to clean the non-skid.

We have been happy with the YachtBrite line of cleaners:

http://www.shurhold.com/chemicals.asp

 

[firecadet613]

Ivory Soap in a bucket of water using a soft brush on a pole. Use the same soapy water with a stiff brush for the aggressive nonskid Tiara uses. Chamois with the wide mop thingies on a pole to dry things off. My experience with towels and micro fiber products is they strip wax.

What do you use to remove/buff off wax? I've been using microfiber towels.

I am planning on doing mine next week. I will give you the details once I get everything squared away!

Corey

Have you picked up a PC7424? What products do you plan on using? Send me a PM....

I use the same pole/brush we use to wash our cars, pick them up at Wal-Hell, I mean Wal-Mart or Target, and then use a firmer brush to clean the non-skid.

We have been happy with the YachtBrite line of cleaners:

http://www.shurhold.com/chemicals.asp

Right now I'm using the same brush as mrsrobinson, the ones you buy from walmart. I put it on a sturdier pole though. I haven't had an issue with them scratching up my dark blue truck. I do a pretty good job of rinsing it constantly though.

 

[sbw1]

What do you use to remove/buff off wax? I've been using microfiber towels..

When you apply the Flagship, put it on with a clean white towel over a large area of about 3' x 6'. I put on a liberal amount. Then, use the rotary polisher to spread it out over a much larger area. Just keep repeating and overlapping your work areas taking care to not burn the decals. After you have done the above, the remaining Flagship product is a very thin haze. This wipes off easily with a fresh white towel. That's the beauty of the product--easy on and off. My experience is the polishing takes the most time-perhaps 7 hours of non stop work. The Flagship goes on and off in an hour and a half of non stop work on our hull which is about 38' overall with the swimplatform. I have a helper who spells me when my arms get tired and he hands me product so I'm not constantly going up and down the ladder. He manages the power cord as well. I do the same for him when I tire and we work straight through the project stopping only for a twenty minute lunch break. It's 8 1/2 hours of nonstop work for two, so you might say it's really a 17 hour job. Still, this product is the best I've tried and I've tried many over 40+ years of boating.

 

[firecadet613]

So that big stack of 100% cotton white detailing towels I used before the microfiber towels are better than the microfiber?

Glad I didn't toss them...

 

[Bottom Line]

I use a cotton hand towel with any sewing cut out of it and boat soap. Meijer had their boating stuff 75% off so I picked-up 10 bottles of their boat soap. It works very well to remove the black streaks and does not strip the wax. I don't like brushes as they tend to hold the dirt. I experienced this once on my beautiful black car and will never use one again. I talked to a professional detailer who maintaines those fancy sports cars and he told me that I should never use anything that is not 100% cotton and never use a brush. They WILL scratch the surface. Think about how a brush is designed. Thousands of 'fibers' pointed directly at the surface and pleanty of opportunities for the fibers to trap dirt.

I agree with the cotton towels. On another forum I read, a guy who owns Leverage Marine Products....says to only use 100% cotton towels, and not microfiber towels. He said microfiber is fine when it is new, but as they are used they become more abrasive.

I think there is a difference between using a brush on the clear coat finish on a car and the gelcoat on a boat. The clear coat in more sensitive to scratching. At times we use compounding agents, that contains abrasives, to bring back the shine on our gelcoats.

Until this year I used a cotton carwash mitt to wash my boat. This year I bought a Shurhold 10" yellow, soft brush and an extendable handle. It is much easier and faster to wash the boat with the brush....

just my opinion....

 

[Skuza]

Super soft Shurhold and cotton towels. The cotton towels are car wash editions that are doubled over and sewed. Work good for me.
I would NEVER touch the isenglas with the Shurhold. I personally don't think the soft brush is harsh enough to do any damage to WHITE gelcoat. If I owned a a black or blue I might think twice.
As far as the ivory soap goes I wouldn't feel comfortable using it. For the minor price difference it would make me feel better knowing I'm using something formulated for car/marine use. (I don't use the stuff to wash my hands!)
This comes from a guy in the autobody repair business so I like to think I know what I'm talking about!

 

[Nehalennia]

I use a big nice mild brush with extending pole and simple green. Once I get this thing waxed up the way I'd like I'll use a car or boat soap to not remove the wax. I have a feeling simple green will strip the wax off but it sure does clean well.