Looking for cleaning advice from blue/dark hull experts

[ZZ13]

I went through my first winter with an outdoor boat. It has a blue hull. I followed some locals advice and used some stuff (used both Roll Off and Ztuffstuff) to get the black spots and streaks off the topside white gelcoat. Worked great there. But all the runoff streaked up the blue hull gelcoat pretty noticeably with lighter colored lines (I sprayed and wiped with Roll Off so it didn't have a chance to run down, but "washed" some of the topside with diluted Ztuffstuff - it made all the streaks). My plan for hull treatment was random orbital with Meguiars Flagship Cleaner Wax and hand apply Flagship Wax. I did that and it turned out great when viewing it from 3 feet out or further. Right up close you can still see light remnants of the streaking, but not enough to drive me to try to compound it out or to do it over again with a rotary.

Is this standard operating procedure for dark hulls? Meaning, stuff just is more prominent and hard to get to disappear completely. Or did I make an unnecessary mess using those topside products as a "wash", forcing a compound to be used if I really wanted them to fully disappear. Thanks.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Is this standard operating procedure for dark hulls? Meaning, stuff just is more prominent and hard to get to disappear completely. Or did I make an unnecessary mess using those topside products as a "wash", forcing a compound to be used if I really wanted them to fully disappear. Thanks.

Yes. And Yes.
Solution:
1) Rotary buffer (makita is great)
2) Buff Magic
3) Pro polish

That's all I do, and my 2006 38DA with a blue hull looks showroom.
I switched from random orbital to rotary polisher with noticable better results.

 

[ZZ13]

Yes. And Yes.
Solution:
1) Rotary buffer (makita is great)
2) Buff Magic
3) Pro polish

That's all I do, and my 2006 38DA with a blue hull looks showroom.
I switched from random orbital to rotary polisher with noticable better results.

Many thanks. I have a rotary and a bottle of Meguiarr's #44. I'll give that a try first and if that doesn't cut it I'll try the Buff Magic - many seem to really like it.

 

[jason78]

You can also try the Flagship Cleaner/Wax. The bottle is almost identical to the Standard "Premium Wax" but the "Cleaner/Wax" has more cleaner in it than the regular Flagship however it is not as agressive as a compound would be. I do most of my boat with the Regular Flagship and the hard spots with Flagship Cleaner/Wax.

 

[fwebster]

Just a word of warning here............those white stains are oxidation and even though you can stand it now, they get worse with time. You cannot wax over oxidation or it will look cloudy, sooner rather than later. It does the same thing on white hulls as colored hulls; you just see it much sooner.

Be very careful with aggressive compounds on blue hulls. More than one owner now has a purple hull with visible white clouds on it where he compounded too long or with too heavy a compound.

The secret, if there is one, is to never let the hull oxidize, keep it waxed all the time. Cleansers to remove black streaks and rain drips nearly always clean the boat, but strip the surface protection, which, I believe, is what you are dealing with. I use a clear coat safe automotive leveling compound to clean my hull before wax is applied. I do not allow wax on my boat if there is any visible oxidation at all. If you see cloudy spots; they will only get worse after you put wax over them.

 

[dcharna]

I have been told that if I ever want to really keep up with my blue hull, I should paint it :smt038

Dan

 

[ZZ13]

You can also try the Flagship Cleaner/Wax. The bottle is almost identical to the Standard "Premium Wax" but the "Cleaner/Wax" has more cleaner in it than the regular Flagship however it is not as agressive as a compound would be. I do most of my boat with the Regular Flagship and the hard spots with Flagship Cleaner/Wax.

That's exactly what I did. After I saw the hazing from the runoff, I did the whole boat with Flagship Cleaner/Wax with a random orbital. Then I put one coat of regular Flagship wax on top of that by hand. The haze streaks faded to "barely noticeable up close". But not 100% gone. My thought when it occurred was as Frank stated just after you, that the chemical running down cleaned off the legacy wax from last year's application and caused immediate oxidation. The Flagship cleaner wax applied with a random orbital almost completely cured it, but not quite. Do you apply your Flagship cleaner/wax with a orbital or a rotary? I may try it again with a rotary. I am trying to avoid any compounding. Actually, I'll live with it as is before I'll compound. Most likely no one else will notice it.

The bottom line lesson I learned is not to let any harsh chemicals touch the blue gelcoat.

 

[hack4alivin]

That's exactly what I did. After I saw the hazing from the runoff, I did the whole boat with Flagship Cleaner/Wax with a random orbital. Then I put one coat of regular Flagship wax on top of that by hand. The haze streaks faded to "barely noticeable up close". But not 100% gone. My thought when it occurred was as Frank stated just after you, that the chemical running down cleaned off the legacy wax from last year's application and caused immediate oxidation. The Flagship cleaner wax applied with a random orbital almost completely cured it, but not quite. Do you apply your Flagship cleaner/wax with a orbital or a rotary? I may try it again with a rotary. I am trying to avoid any compounding. Actually, I'll live with it as is before I'll compound. Most likely no one else will notice it.

The bottom line lesson I learned is not to let any harsh chemicals touch the blue gelcoat.

BINGO! Mine will never see chemicals or compound, but then again as Frank said the trick is to take care of it in the first place so you don’t need it.

 

[jason78]

That's exactly what I did. After I saw the hazing from the runoff, I did the whole boat with Flagship Cleaner/Wax with a random orbital. Then I put one coat of regular Flagship wax on top of that by hand. The haze streaks faded to "barely noticeable up close". But not 100% gone. My thought when it occurred was as Frank stated just after you, that the chemical running down cleaned off the legacy wax from last year's application and caused immediate oxidation. The Flagship cleaner wax applied with a random orbital almost completely cured it, but not quite. Do you apply your Flagship cleaner/wax with a orbital or a rotary? I may try it again with a rotary. I am trying to avoid any compounding. Actually, I'll live with it as is before I'll compound. Most likely no one else will notice it.

The bottom line lesson I learned is not to let any harsh chemicals touch the blue gelcoat.

I use a rotary with wool pad and that combined with the Flagship Wax and FS Cleaner Wax seem to do the trick for me. Even the regular Flagship has some cleaner in it. As others have said, use the least agressive combination of products to get the desired result and try to avoid compound if possible. I also keep the boat to where I am just maintaining a good finish. Just make sure you do not run a dry wool pad or it could leave swirl marks and do not do this in direct sunlight. I keep a spray bottle of water with me. I work in 2' wide sections at a time. I apply the wax with a hand applicator then give it a mist of water and go over it quick with the rotary on Med-Low speed then wipe with MF towel. After I am done I put another coat of wax on by hand let it sit for 30 minutes and remove with large orbital buffer. Dave S (CSR) showed me this technique and it has worked well so far. I use a similiar technique above the rub rail as well. I use Woody Wax on the non-skid.

 

[ZZ13]

I use a rotary with wool pad and that combined with the Flagship Wax and FS Cleaner Wax seem to do the trick for me. Even the regular Flagship has some cleaner in it. As others have said, use the least agressive combination of products to get the desired result and try to avoid compound if possible. I also keep the boat to where I am just maintaining a good finish. Just make sure you do not run a dry wool pad or it could leave swirl marks and do not do this in direct sunlight. I keep a spray bottle of water with me. I work in 2' wide sections at a time. I apply the wax with a hand applicator then give it a mist of water and go over it quick with the rotary on Med-Low speed then wipe with MF towel. After I am done I put another coat of wax on by hand let it sit for 30 minutes and remove with large orbital buffer. Dave S (CSR) showed me this technique and it has worked well so far. I use a similiar technique above the rub rail as well. I use Woody Wax on the non-skid.

That's good instruction. Very helpful. I am going to try again in the noticeable areas with a rotary and the Flagship cleaner/wax. If that doesn't clear it up 100% then I will step up to the rotary and Meguiars #44 followed by #45. Do I need to chemically remove the wax I just put on before I go over it again? Or will the cleaner/wax automatically remove it anyway?