Using vinegar to wash the hull pre-wax - any tips or advice?

Stee6043

Stee6043

Well-Known Member
Jun 1, 2015
6,726
West Michigan
Boat Info
1997 Sundancer 400
Engines
7.4L Gassers
I'm hoping to learn from the CSR masses today!

Last year a guy parked next to me in winter storage showed me the results he got from simply using vinegar and water as a pre-wax cleaning for his hull. Zero water spots, looked amazing.

Based on my interweb search it looks like 1:4 vinegar to water is an appropriate mix. Have any of you guys done differently? I found 30% vinegar on Amazon...too strong? Not strong enough? I have no experience with this stuff.

And how critical is the clean up after? I've read varying accounts from "just wipe on, wipe off" to "make sure you rinse it immediately with water and don't let it dry". How have you guys managed to on/off?

Thanks in advance for any tips!
 
Owners manual for mine suggested Tide laundry detergent to wash and then just wax and polish. I think that was with the older dry tide mixed in a bucket. I am going to use a car wash (non-toxic) detergent this season to see if it is any better. I used liquid tide last time, it worked well. I pressure washed canvas and re-treated it and it came out looking new. About 20 year old canvas.
 
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I've used vinegar before detailing boats. I always wipe my boats down with a damp towel as they go into storage. This after washing them first, so a clean boat to start with. A bucket full of water and a generous pour of vinegar into the bucket is all I do. So maybe 4-5 oz. I wipe the surfaces down with a clean towel dipped into the bucket and wrung out. That's it. In the spring time I polish with Finesse it and wax with a good quality wax. No spots, just shine. I've posted pix of the boat after 6 months of use before, but I'll do another to show what proper care of wax jobs looks like after a season of use.
 
You can buy vinegar by the gallon at your local supermarket.
 
For water spots I use white vinegar straight out the bottle, and apply with a spray bottle and simply wipe it off with a clean towel. I buy it by the gallon at a big box store. Polish with Collinite 920, and wax with Collinite 845.

-Tom
 
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I use straight vinegar from the grocery store in a hand pump spray bottle. Spray on, quick wipe, and rinse with fresh water. Strips old wax and water spots instantly. Polish with Finesse-It and wax.
 
Vinegar is great for removing water spots from lots of things including a hull, windows, etc.
I also use it in place of fabric softener and along with a detergent free of perfume or dye in the washing machine when I wash my microfiber rags and towels. The process makes them last for years.
It’s a mild acid.
If water spots remain after washing a boat or you want to strip old wax before applying a fresh coat then vinegar is a cheap and easy solution.
If you intend to machine polish the surface after washing the boat and before applying wax then there really shouldn’t be any need to remove water spots or old wax with vinegar since the machine polish should remove that stuff anyway.
 
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JVM225 said:
Vinegar is great for removing water spots from lots of things including a hull, windows, etc.
I also use it in place of fabric softener and along with a detergent free of perfume or dye in the washing machine when I wash my microfiber rags and towels. The process makes them last for years.
It’s a mild acid.
If water spots remain after washing a boat or you want to strip old wax before applying a fresh coat then vinegar is a cheap and easy solution.
If you intend to machine polish the surface after washing the boat and before applying wax then there really shouldn’t be any need to remove water spots or old wax with vinegar since the machine polish should remove that stuff anyway.
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We use Finesse it for polish and have found that even with a wool pad water spots can persist. A little vinegar or lime away can go a long ways towards making the detailing project easier.
 
sbw1 said:
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We use Finesse it for polish and have found that even with a wool pad water spots can persist. A little vinegar or lime away can go a long ways towards making the detailing project easier.
Click to expand...

I agree. I have never been able to “wheel out” water spots. Maybe even more difficult because of my blue hull, but they’re still there on a white hull, just not as easy to see. A quick vinegar spray, wipe, and rinse is a sure way to get rid of them prior to the detail process.
 
Thanks for the great feedback so far! Looks like this will be a big improvement in my winter cleaning ritual.

I'll grab myself a gallon this week. I may give this a shot this coming weekend. Good times.
 
Any thoughts on keeping windshield streak free? Ive even used new rags or washcloths and I still get streaking. Im wondering if my wash/detail service is leaving something on the glass that simply won't absorb into the cloth/chamois. Ive tried all the usual cleaners. I just can't seem to eliminate streaks?
 
Here’s the secret trick. Don’t tell anyone shhhhh...

Use glass cleaner and newspaper to wipe.
 
BOB TYSON said:
Any thoughts on keeping windshield streak free? Ive even used new rags or washcloths and I still get streaking. Im wondering if my wash/detail service is leaving something on the glass that simply won't absorb into the cloth/chamois. Ive tried all the usual cleaners. I just can't seem to eliminate streaks?
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Newspaper. Sounds strange, but it works!
 
I use the same method for the boat windshield as I use for my car and household windows.
Skip the Windex and opt for Sprayway Glass Cleaner instead. It’s available at Home Depot. I’ve been using it for years. Automotive glass and household glass places around here seem to use it exclusively.
I get great results using it with inexpensive microfibers that are also available at Home Depot. The white and orange ones. While I wouldn’t use them on my car finish, they are very soft and great for doing windows.
They go in the wash with the rest of my microfibers and come out like new using detergent free of perfumes or dyes and vinegar in place of fabric softener.
I switched to them several years ago when I started getting my newspaper subscription digitally.
Avoid using paper towels on glass. They can cause micro scratching.
Clean one side of the glass with an up and down motion and the other with back and forth motion so that if you happen to get a persistent streak you’ll know which side to work a bit more on.
 
As usual with CSR....I came here looking for tips on hull cleaning and now I know how to properly clean my glass. :)
 
BOB TYSON said:
Any thoughts on keeping windshield streak free? Ive even used new rags or washcloths and I still get streaking. Im wondering if my wash/detail service is leaving something on the glass that simply won't absorb into the cloth/chamois. Ive tried all the usual cleaners. I just can't seem to eliminate streaks?
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Soap, water and a squeegee. Once you get used to it, it is the quickest and easiest method for cleaning the glass and it is always streak free. Clean windows are a OCD item for me and it used to drive me nuts trying to use products like windex. I've been using this method at home for 20 yrs and on the boat since we've owned one. The trick is a dry edge - a little swipe across the top, dry squeegee on a rag, then use that clean spot to start the squeegee.
 
Yesterday I had my second day alone with the boat since going into storage. I left home with a gallon of vinegar, 2 spray bottles and one mission for the day - eliminate all water spots.

The vinegar process is awesome. I wish I had known about this a long time ago. It removes a lot more than just water spots. The boat looks flawless once complete (of course the wax is gone too but that's a given). The spray on, wipe off is very easy. Not a lot of effort required to get everything off.

I still need to use some Hull Kleen on the scum line but that's all that remains on the boat.

I simply sprayed the vinegar mix (I went 1/3 vinegar, 2/3 water), wiped off, sprayed with water, wiped off. Done.

These pictures don't do it justice but it was a success. Thanks guys!

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Stee6043 said:
I'm hoping to learn from the CSR masses today!

Last year a guy parked next to me in winter storage showed me the results he got from simply using vinegar and water as a pre-wax cleaning for his hull. Zero water spots, looked amazing.

Based on my interweb search it looks like 1:4 vinegar to water is an appropriate mix. Have any of you guys done differently? I found 30% vinegar on Amazon...too strong? Not strong enough? I have no experience with this stuff.

And how critical is the clean up after? I've read varying accounts from "just wipe on, wipe off" to "make sure you rinse it immediately with water and don't let it dry". How have you guys managed to on/off?

Thanks in advance for any tips!
Click to expand...

Greetings

In 1967 my father and I bought an old alum. travel trailer. After washing with dish soap and water we applied full strength vinegar with a sponge, rinsed off before it dried, washed again with soap and water. Primed and painted. Have painted many times since then, no substrate problems. If still worried rinse with a solution of water and baking soda, proportion don't matter.

hpcrank

PS. Trailer is now 79 years old.
 
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