there has got to be an easier way.

[Taxus812]

I have three days now into waxing my boat and im not done. I have been seriously busting my butt detailing this boat. (The plus side is people keep asking if my 11 year old boat is a 2013) After spending a day getting all the mud and dirt out of the interior, I spent all yesterday rubbing out the water stains and paste waxing my hull top to bottom. (I used an electric hand buffer) I still have to get the underside of the hull from the trailer bunks back.

The manual says I should wax a couple time a year. I cant see me doing this but once or so. Its a tone of work. Is there an easier way ?


(I seriously thinking of paying the marina to clean and wax my boat. )

 

[flip&dip]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

I use an adjustable speed polisher with buffing and then finish foam wheels

 

[JimS123]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

If I get some mud in the boat (like from the anchor) I clean it up right away. At the end of the day the boat is always covered and I wipe down the hull. That takes about 2 minutes. In other words, after a day of boating my boat is always clean.

In the fall I treat the upholstery - that takes about 20 minutes. Another 15 minutes to oil all the teak. Finally, another 30 minutes to completely wax the hull, by hand.

I gave up on paste wax many years ago. All Mequires products now and they last at least double as long as paste wax did. The besdt part is that they go on Sooooo easy. For me I consider it hardly any work at all.

My boat looks like a 2013 as well. This year is her 30th season!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

it's like cars (one of the few times). Some are waxed frequently, some seldom, some never. Some garaged, some covered, some left on the curb. How long the wax-look lasts and how dirty it gets is so specific to you that no one here can make suggestions.

Some people like to spend their time cleaning their boats; others like to spend their time using them. Your choice. Can't have both--except if you own a boat that doesn't need a lot of cosmetic care, you get to boat more.

Which is better: cleaning or boating? It's not that complicated.

And don't polish anything below the waterline; the fish don't care and you shouldn't either. Plus wax on the bottom, until it wears off, impedes performance.

Paying someone to do what you can do is often a wise use of your most precious resource: your free time.

 

[Taxus812]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

Do you wax the bottom ? (I cant figure out how to get under the bunkboards). The water stains take a bit of elbow grease to remove. Do you have that issue ?

I clean the boat each run but when I pulled up the carpet it was really dirty (we have to enter and exit off the shore so we get a lot of dirt in the boat). The funny part is I thought it was fairly clean until then

 

[frantically relaxing]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

I rememeber trying to polish up our oxidized 21' Searay when we bought it- I started at the port bow, worked my way back, around, then finished up at the starboard bow. I probably made 3' per day, used a power buffer, several polishing compounds, every day I was more tired but more happy with the results-- right up until I got to the starboard tip of the bow, only to find the port side was already dulling up again, after only a couple of weeks.

Gelcoat sucks.

So, the "easier way" to keep a boat looking like new?
(a) never let it see daylight, or
(b) buy a new boat every 3 years.

 

[roscoe]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

I love reading threads like this one.

Makes me feel better about having 4 tin boats, and no carpet. They just get the garden hose treatment if they get real bad.

 

[AChotrod]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

My boat is a 80 16.5 Sea Nymph and when I got it it prob hadnt been cleaned in in 20yrs. I picked up a bottle of hull cleaner from Walmart thinking it would never get the nasty water stains off, but it was worth a try. After 2 good scrubbings it was clean. Just used a sponge and directly applied it to the boat non diluted and let it sit a few minutes, hosed it then repeated a second time.

 

[Southtowns27]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

It seems to me you guys are doing something wrong somewhere.. When I bought my boat it hadn't been waxed in probably 15 years. It was VERY oxidized and hazy looking. I ran my buffer over it with a wool pad and some liquid automotive rubbing compound. It's now nice and shiny and only took me maybe 3 hours to do the whole boat (Wellcraft 260 Aft Cabin). I wax it the same way as I buffed it. Wool pad on the buffer with liquid wax. I can do it in about an hour.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

I love reading threads like this one.

Makes me feel better about having 4 tin boats, and no carpet. They just get the garden hose treatment if they get real bad.

me too. rain water does just fine. pressure washer annually. And avoid wet carpet by avoiding carpet.

Wax the bottom? you've got to be kidding. To me, "clean the bottom" involves marine growth, nothing less. But some even wax their trailer and polish the inside of the hinges.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

Yes there is an easier way. I have the marina do it once a year.

I have three days now into waxing my boat and im not done. I have been seriously busting my butt detailing this boat. (The plus side is people keep asking if my 11 year old boat is a 2013) After spending a day getting all the mud and dirt out of the interior, I spent all yesterday rubbing out the water stains and paste waxing my hull top to bottom. (I used an electric hand buffer) I still have to get the underside of the hull from the trailer bunks back.

The manual says I should wax a couple time a year. I cant see me doing this but once or so. Its a tone of work. Is there an easier way ?


(I seriously thinking of paying the marina to clean and wax my boat. )

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

All I can say is I love my pontoon.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

I find that a pressure washer makes my glass boat look great... wax? nobody looks that close..... I can take it out looking (to me) like absolute crap and get complements all day..... I can't remember ever getting told how nice my tinny's looked

 

[Taxus812]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

Clean the hull, once or twice a year using a hull cleaner and use the buffer to wax\polish above the water line.

That sounds a lot easier than what I was doing. I was using buff magic to clean the staining and buffing the whole hull by hand. I thought you had too to protect the gel coat. (Hey im a noob)

A variable speed buffer is in my future (i'll use it on the truck as well)


I believe in keeping equipment in a clean serviceable condition. Its like getting a new equipment every year. (I guess that is leftover from being an A10 Crewchief.) I also tend repair\replace things that are not in a fully serviceable state as they are discovered and not let them collect. I know if I do that the boat will continue to function\look like a new boat for years to come. If I let them go I also know it will just snowball and the boat will look old fast. So I guess it will be a balance of boating and maintaining. (I do like to work on the boat just not much more than 1 day jobs)

 

[airshot]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

I use the turtle wax spray, wipe off formula, leaves a nice wax coating, can do my 22' in less than an hour. No real buffing, easy on and off so I do it about once a month. Keeps it looking like new and many of those spray waxes are also a light cleaning product which removes the water scum left from good old lake erie.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

Once you have it clean and shiny, it's much easier to keep it that way, especially if you can keep the boat covered. I like the spray-on wax for touch-ups on the areas that get more exposure than others.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

for the buffer, get the kind you can operate with one hand; makes it much easier and faster even though it's a little smaller than the two hand type.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

Once you get your boat cleaned polished and waxed, keeping it that way in todays world isn't really that hard. Problem is many people never treat the boat well, and let it get way out of hand, making the job so much bigger. All my stuff gets a coat of wax every year, truck get's "clay bar" cleaned twice a year, looks as good as the day I purchased it. I would bet a very high % of boats never see the level of maintenance (cleaning), folks just buy use and sell when done.

 

[ricohman]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

Once you get your boat cleaned polished and waxed, keeping it that way in todays world isn't really that hard. Problem is many people never treat the boat well, and let it get way out of hand, making the job so much bigger. All my stuff gets a coat of wax every year, truck get's "clay bar" cleaned twice a year, looks as good as the day I purchased it. I would bet a very high % of boats never see the level of maintenance (cleaning), folks just buy use and sell when done.

Sounds like what I am doing.
Takes about 1/2 hour to give the hull a light wash after a weekend in the water. I find that a brief wash here and there prevents a massive chore.
And I clay bar my F350 also. Now that is a chore.....

 

[shrew]

Re: there has got to be an easier way.

What are you using for wax? I have a 28 ft. express cruiser that takes the wife and I one day to completely wax. I use 3m Cleaner and Wax. Are you using Automotive Wax?