Don't Shoot Me!!

[DougsMDX]

Ok, I have to confess.

I have had my Sea Ray 18 months and never done anything to the bottom/gelcoat. I looked at the boat for the first time this year (put it on the marina work rack) and the gelcoat is in need of some loving.

I've done some research on this website and I'm guessing after I get the bottom washed and cleaned, I need to polish it first to get it to its original showroom finish and then wax it.

I plan on using an orbital polisher for both the polishing and waxing.

This website recommends doing a small area first to get the hang of things (2 x 2 I think is what I read).

My question here is this ...................... can I mess things up really bad with polish and an orbital???

I've waxed cars most of my life so I know how to hand wax a car, but never done a boat with an orbital. Should I just pay the $350 to be safe, I like the idea of doing it myself but don't want to mess up my boat.

I also see that once I get this situation remedied, that a good waxing 3-4 times a year seems to be the recommended therapy for a Sea Ray in Charleston, SC.

Any input(s) here are welcomed.

I am leaving for New Orleans tomorrow but will be polishing/waxing this upcoming weekend if everything works out.

Doug

 

[Nehalennia]

Ok, I have to confess.

I have had my Sea Ray 18 months and never done anything to the bottom/gelcoat. I looked at the boat for the first time this year (put it on the marina work rack) and the gelcoat is in need of some loving.

I've done some research on this website and I'm guessing after I get the bottom washed and cleaned, I need to polish it first to get it to its original showroom finish and then wax it.

I plan on using an orbital polisher for both the polishing and waxing.

This website recommends doing a small area first to get the hang of things (2 x 2 I think is what I read).

My question here is this ...................... can I mess things up really bad with polish and an orbital???

I've waxed cars most of my life so I know how to hand wax a car, but never done a boat with an orbital. Should I just pay the $350 to be safe, I like the idea of doing it myself but don't want to mess up my boat.

I also see that once I get this situation remedied, that a good waxing 3-4 times a year seems to be the recommended therapy for a Sea Ray in Charleston, SC.

Any input(s) here are welcomed.

I am leaving for New Orleans tomorrow but will be polishing/waxing this upcoming weekend if everything works out.

Doug

You can do it.

 

[Presentation]

.......the bottom/gelcoat.....I plan on using an orbital polisher for both the polishing and waxing.....

Let me get this straight.

You are going to wax the part of the hull that is below the water line?

Is your goal to make the boat slower or use more gas?

You only need to wax from the water line and up.

 

[Dave S]

Don't wax the bottom of the boat. It will make it slower. :smt021

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22135

 

[DougsMDX]

Don't wax the bottom of the boat. It will make it slower. :smt021

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22135

Dave S,

Thanks for the link.

I'm getting a better understanding now. I knew some people would "flame me" for my post.

You recommend Meguiars products for both polishing and waxing?

I've read alot of your posts and you seem to be meticulous with your Sea Rays .......

Doug

 

[Woody]

Don't wax the bottom of the boat. It will make it slower. :smt021

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22135

How much slower will it be? Someone knows someone who knows someone who says that wax on a high performance race boat will slow it down, but Mike Pennington of Meguires in post 12 says if it's a regular gelcoat surface by all means wax it and keep it looking good. :huh:

 

[Tonka Boater]

<deleted>

 

[SeaRide]

Doug,

I seem to remember that you drystack your boat. If this is the case, a little TLC would be in order. I drystacked my boat for a couple of years while the lake was down due to the dam remediation project. The downside to stacking the boat included additional wear on the hull where the lifting arms of the marina bull came in contact with the hull. I also had a chip or two along the lifting strakes near the transom as a direct result from a careless lift operator. I had the chips repaired immediately. The hull still needed some TLC. So, I cleaned the hull. Then applied compound, polish followed by wax - the hull looked as nice as the rest of the boat. I, too, have read articles stating that waxing the hull will slow you down. Did I notice? Quite frankly no. I also suspect that a 30 mph cruise speed will strip the wax away in short order.

 

[fwebster]

Sorry, but I'm not buying the "Wax on the bottom makes the boat slower theory".

Perhaps on a high performance light weight hull with mega hp power you could theoretically argue the surface tension theory, but not on a big, heavy Sea Ray. Buffed and polished hulls repel water and reduce drag when the boat has a lot of wetted area like a cruiser does. I had a pervious existance in trailer boats before we moved to inboards and every single boat I owned ran faster with a clean polished bottom. Think 1 to 1.5 mph, not a drastic speed improvement.

The other thing is the maintenance issue. The hull is exposed to whatever the tow vehicle slings up on it from the road, as well as whatever is expelled from the tow vehicle's exhaust. All that stuff is much easier to clean off the boat if the bottom is kept polished. If you leave the boat in the water a few days, slime and algae are much easier to remove as well.

As far a buffing and polishing is concerned, I use a clear-coat safe leveler (very fine polishing compound with a slow speed rotary polisher w/ wool pad followed by a ploymer based polish that I burnish on by polishing with an orbital buffer. I use high quality commercial automotive products, not the marine wax de'jour.