gelcoat not shinny

A

ABarnaby

New Member
Feb 13, 2010
27
Connecticut
Boat Info
200 CC-IO
Engines
4.3 Mercruiser w/alpha1 drive
Can anyone recomend a product to get the gelcoat to hold a shine? Wax and an orbital buffer does not seem to last long. I wax it in the spring and by mid summer it it looking dull again.
 
In spring do you de-ox the surface first?

What wax/polish brand are you using?

Is your boat in a covered storage location or exposed to the sun’s rays every day?

When you wash the boat what are you using in addition to water?

Once you have a compounded/polished and protected surface how long do you feel it should go before you need to recoat?
 
Newer Boats that do not hold a shine are usually washed with too much soap. So called boat soap and many other products including detergents such as Dawn strip wax off and the gel coat dulls quickly. I use a couple of tablespoons of Ivory Dish soap in a big bucket of water and scrub the boat with a soft brush on a pole. The boat was waxed in April and still beads water like it was just waxed. When we are cruising, I rinse the boat every morning with plain water and no soap and mop it dry. You do not need a lot of soap to keep a boat looking good.
 
I don’t see the year of the boat mentioned.

The reason I asked about spring use of oxidation remover pre-waxing or protecting is some wax like products have oils and other ingredients that will temporary hide oxidation making the surface look good with less effort but the oxidation is still there.

Once these oils are washed away the dull service is again noticeable.
 
Last edited:
Presentation said:
In spring do you de-ox the surface first?

What wax/polish brand are you using?

Is your boat in a covered storage location or exposed to the sun’s rays every day?

When you wash the boat what are you using in addition to water?

Once you have a compounded/polished and protected surface how long do you feel it should go before you need to recoat?
Click to expand...

No, I have not de-oxed first. I just wax it in the spring.

I used carnuba wax. I ran out, do not have the container, and do not recall the brand name.

During boating season it stays outside. Probably in the sun for 3/4 of the day. After it gets winterized it gets put in my barn.

When washing I use armor all wash and wax about four 4 or 5 times. Then other times I just use plan water and the brush to just rinse it off.

I would think I could get through the summer as it is not in the water daily.

I am thinking about using a cleaner/wax and see how that works.

It is a 1989
 
ABarnaby said:
No, I have not de-oxed first. I just wax it in the spring.

I used carnuba wax. I ran out, do not have the container, and do not recall the brand name.

During boating season it stays outside. Probably in the sun for 3/4 of the day. After it gets winterized it gets put in my barn.

When washing I use armor all wash and wax about four 4 or 5 times. Then other times I just use plan water and the brush to just rinse it off.

I would think I could get through the summer as it is not in the water daily.

I am thinking about using a cleaner/wax and see how that works.

It is a 1989
Click to expand...


Meguiar's FLAGSHIP Cleaner/wax:thumbsup:
 
ABarnaby said:
No, I have not de-oxed first. I just wax it in the spring.

....When washing I use armor all wash and wax about four 4 or 5 times.......

.......I would think I could get through the summer as it is not in the water daily.....

........I am thinking about using a cleaner/wax and see how that works.

It is a 1989
Click to expand...

In our climates a reasonable maximum expectation of wax/polish surface protection for a boat uncovered and outside is 2 months if you do it properly with quality products and wash the boat the proper way with products that minimize stripping the wax.

If a boat is sitting outside, exposed to the sun’s rays daily, in my opinion, no brand of wax / polish will be good for one year. This expectation is not within the range of protection you will get given the best surface preparation / oxidation removal then polish / wax.

I am not familiar with armor all wash. Does this say it’s for fiberglass and will not strip wax?

A spring time wash, oxidation removal with rotary tool followed by straight McGuire’s flagship or the marine protect polish/wax of your choice should get you 2 months of protection in our climate. In harsher more southerly climates they need to reduce the time window

After this maximum 2 months of time you can use a wax or polish with cleaning or ‘cleaner wax' then go less than 2 months. Cleaner waxes do not protect the fiberglass from the suns rays as long as straight waxes.
 
Last edited:
Presentation said:
In our climates a reasonable maximum expectation of wax/polish surface protection for a boat uncovered and outside is 2 months if you do it properly with quality products and wash the boat the proper way with products that minimize stripping the wax.
Click to expand...

I don't agree with your assessment. We wax once a season and the boat looks so good in the spring time that it's almost as if it has been waxed. The hull will still bead water.
 
I’d love to hear what you are doing.

Even with oxidation remover then multiple applications of McGuire’s flagship (not cleaner + wax) and zero soap, water only when washing, I cannot get a boat kept outdoors exposed to direct sunlight to bead water more than 2 months.

We are in a similar climate.

Re-waxing the hull also gives the opportunity to remove black streaks, bug ‘dots’ and bird do-do stains.
 
All I do is polish with Finesse and wax with Flagship. The other key is keeping the boat clean. It gets washed every Friday when we are not cruising. Very little soap (2 tablespoons of Ivory soap in a big bucket of water) is used. When cruising, I rinse it with water every morning and dry it off. That's it.
 
Kreole KId said:
Meguiar's FLAGSHIP Cleaner/wax:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I compounded (3M Finesse It), polished (Starbright), and waxed (regular Meguires Flagship Wax) the last week of March and first week of April. All summer long, I have been able to wash the hull with just a hose and the palm of my hand. Rinse and wipe only. I have only been using soap on the non skid. West Marine had the cleaner/wax on sale a month or so ago and I picked some up. I just used it for the 1st time a couple of weeks ago and I LOVE it. Wipe on/wipe off and she looks every bit as good now as she did back in April. Only took about 20 minutes per side. It even removed things that I thought I was going to have to use compound to remove.
 
If you are looking for results that will turn heads for your gelcoat or painted sufaces, contact me. I can and will give you the products in which I use on a daily basis on the Yachts I detail! Perfection is not easy but when its achieved your life is so much easier!

Best Regards,
AquaBrothers Detailing
 
The original poster is in Connecticut. You are in Fort Lauderdale Florida.

So what you are saying is this person should contact you directly, not via this forum, and you will tell him secrets that you will not share with us on the board yet you are using this board to find people like the original poster so they can contact you?

Are you sure you are trying to help here or are you simply promoting your business as a non-paying advertiser?
 
AquaBrothers Detailing said:
If you are looking for results that will turn heads for your gelcoat or painted sufaces, contact me. I can and will give you the products in which I use on a daily basis on the Yachts I detail! Perfection is not easy but when its achieved your life is so much easier!

Best Regards,
AquaBrothers Detailing
Click to expand...
It sounds to me like You are trying to use this forum to generate sales. :smt018

If you have valid information please post.
 
Thank you all for the input. I am going with a cleaner wax first and see were that gets me.

I would think 3 to 4 months is not asking to much out a good coat of wax as long as to much soap is not used while washing.
 
ABarnaby said:
Thank you all for the input. I am going with a cleaner wax first and see were that gets me.

I would think 3 to 4 months is not asking to much out a good coat of wax as long as to much soap is not used while washing.
Click to expand...

Like I said in the earlier post, Meguiar's Flagship Cleaner / Wax should be a good gauge to start with. And this is MHO. Even if you have to hit it twice with this, you should see some results.

If you can, post some before and after pictures and let us know what product you settled on. Good Luck:thumbsup:
 
I have resisted posting on these detail posts in the past as I think many times its personal preference. HOWEVER, I recently broke down and ordered the buff magic along with the pro polish that many talk about on this site. I must say that I was "wowed" by the difference - boat had been fully detailed in spring, washed weekly. Few weeks prior tried a cleaner / wax combo on transom (as shine was fading) and was not thrilled how it came up. So this past weekend I started from the transom and am working my way forward - this stuff really does an amazing job, the boat has never been so "white", and the polish on top really makes it shine. I did use the machine with a wool pad for the buff magic and a foam pad for the polish as per the manufacturers reccomendation. My biggest problem now is I need to get the rest of it done!
 
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