Fiberglass hull cleaner and wax

[Chanty]

Hi C-Brats - Our 22' cruiser is on the hard and with the warmer weather just around the corner our thoughts are turning towards cleaning and waxing the hull before putting Chanty back in the water. We got lazy in the fall and did not do anything to the hull when we hauled her. Any suggestions for a good hull cleaner and wax.

Thanks, Warren "Chanty" Long Island.

[Captains Cat]

Most of the wax/cleaners are good, pick one from West Marine....they all take lots of elbow grease unless you use an electric buffer. Be careful with those though, you can take too much off if you're not careful!!

Glad to have you here, please consider joining us at the Chesapeake Gathering in early June! Love to meet you. Had 30 boats last year, hope for 35 in 2006....

Charlie

[Almas Only]

I'll jump into the breach! For cleaning, I recommend Davis Fiberglass Stain Remover. This is a blue gel, which is sworn to by most of its users. It contains a mild oxalic acid. To apply, first cover your trailer with plastic, or you'll damage the galvanized finish. Leave the plastic in place until the boat has dried following final rinse, or water will drip from the boat, pool on the trailer, and damage the galvanized finish anyway. This is a relatively mild cleaner _ I can apply it without gloves, but different people have different tolerance to acids. Suggest you wear old clothes, rubber gloves, and eye protection.

Apply with a sponge, or VERY smooth scrubbing pad which will not damage the gel coat. Unless you're absolutely certain about the pad, use the sponge. For difficult spots, use a toothbrush. Wipe on firmly. I suggest you start with the roof, work down, and do the boat in two halves, divided by the rubrail. Wash the boat with soap, rinse down, and while the boat is still wet, apply the FSR. Let the FSR dry, then rinse with water from a hose. After the rinse, a clear gel (not blue) will remain, which you just wipe off with a sponge, and then do a final, very through rinse.

Davis FSR comes in a 16 fl.oz. container, and you'll need about 20 - 25 fl. oz. to do the whole boat. So, buy two containers. You can get any number of stronger products (i.e., more acids at higher concentrations), but my experience with Davis FSR has been excellent. West Marine carries Davis, and another product under the WM brand. I suppose the WM product is basically equivalent to that of Davis, but haven't tried it, so can't make a recommendation.

As for polish, I've used Aerospace 303 for about three years, and been satisfied. You spray it on, and wipe with a cloth to smooth out. Very easy to apply, but it does require more frequent applications than some wax products. Available at WM.

Based on recommendations of others, I've now switched to Starbrite Premium Marine Polish with Teflon. It's supposed to last longer than 303, but my experience in that regard is based solely on recommendations of others. We'll have to see. Contrary to instructions, you can apply the product to the entire boat at once, although you might want to start with a small test area before reaching your own conclusion in that regard. At any rate, apply, let dry, then buff lightly with a smooth towel. It does not require machine buffing, at least when applied to gel coat which has not oxidized. Leaves a very nice finish, but doesn't make fine scratches in the colored gel coat disappear quiet as well as does 303. Like the other products, available at WM. One caveat on Premium Marine Polish: don't even think about using it on your car. The teflon leaves a haze which requires you to go back and do the whole car in about 1 sq. ft. sections. This stuff seems to be formulated more for fiberglass/gel coat, than for paint. Doesn't seem to damage paint, but it's a real pain to apply properly. I'll never try that one again.

Note: If you have gelcoat oxidization, you'll want to use something with an abrasive formulated to remove the oxidization. I don't have personal experience with those items, so will leave comment to others.

Good luck!

[DodgeRam]

Good info Warren , www.cleaniedini.co


Gary SEARAM

[DodgeRam]

Try this one , www.cleaniedini.com,



Gary SEARAM

[C-Fisher]

I highly recommend Collinite's product line. I have tried many of the other different products at West Marine and others and was never happy with the results, especially for something that lasts. If I take the time to get my boat looking great I want it to stay that way all season. This wax holds up to salt water use and stays looking great. The secret is you need a product with high grade Carnauba wax. Yes it is expensive but I only have to wax it once a year.

For cleaning my boat I am not to picky since I use so much, I just get whats on sale. After cleaning I use Collinite's #920 Fiberglass Boat Cleaner. Just a little on a rag and all oxidized water spots melt right off. It is also great for cleaning black out of scratches and scuffs.

For the wax I use Collinite's #885 Special Heavy Duty Fleetwax. This stuff is awsome. Just follow the directions and don't do to much at a time and it goes on easy and wipes off easy. And it looks GREAT! I know I probably sound like I own stock in the company, but no I just like the job it does.

I get mine on the web at www.waxbytes.com , very good place to order from.

Wayne

[TruroYankee]

I'd like to second C-Fisher's recommendation for Collinite's #885 Special Heavy Duty Fleetwax. I agree. This stuff REALLY IS awsome. What I really like is how fast I can wax my boat - you're supposed to just wipe it on and wipe it off. No buffing necessary. It leaves no white residue and is tough - stands up to salt water very well. It's amazing.

[jimandlaurie]

We used Collinite on our 22,and now use it on the 25.
Pat from Daydream gave me the head's-up on it. I'm glad he did . It does a great job for me too. Thanks Pat!!

[lloyds]

There are other boat websites and the consensus also runs to collinite. Don't know why I haven't tried it yet. Guess I am just too busy using the boat.

[Levity]

This is my fourth season taking my boat into the shallow reaches of the rivers and creeks along the Chesapeake Bay. The white portions of my hull were beginning to show brown stains from the tannin in the shallow waters. No amount of scrubbing would remove the brown stains and using an abrasive to wear down the gelcoat was not an appealing solution. A search for hull cleaners lead to this forum and to West Marine for an Oxalic Acid hull cleaner.West Marine carries StarBrite Instant Hull Cleaner. This is also an oxalic acid cleaner. The galvanized trailer must be covered for the duration of the process as the acid will damage the galvanized coating. It is easy to apply this product which cleans tannin and other stains without scrubbing. Since it is an acid and does not work by abrasion the gelcoat is smooth and very clean when the job is finished. It is important to emphasis that little elbow grease is needed to use this product. Just wipe it on with a rag and the brown stains wipe off! The white and colored gelcoat looked great when finished and dried. An application of Collinite Fleet Paste Wax put the final touch on the hull. The results are very satisfactory.
Mike 'Levity'[/b]

[Wefings]

http://www.woody-wax.com/

New product for us, has great reputation and reccomendations . Especially non skid wax .
Collinite also is great stuff .
Marc

[hardee]

How timely. I too, have been busy, either working or using the boat, and it is due for a shine. I was looking at a product called RejeX, also a product called CorrosionX and CorrosionXHD (1-877-577-5803) for the job. It is a polymer treatment/sealant. Anyone have any experience with either, From the website and ad it looks good, but that's how I want the boat to look, and so far all I've seen about it was from those folks selling it. Again I am looking to the C-Brats for their extensive knowledge and experience. Thanks to each.
Harvey
Sleepy-C