Boat detailing

S

Shades

New member
Ok guys, the same guy who owns that Black chrome edition ford asked me to detail his boat. He has like a 21ft bay boat. He basically wants a good protectant on it. I need recommendations from you guys who have done boats on the best products to use on the fiberglass. I'll pretty much be doing the hull and all gelcoated interior components. What's hot and what not. I'll be using a milwaukee rotary on it as well. Thanks!!



-Jeremy
 
I like to use Klasse Twins on my boat. Just and added note. I hate detailing the sides on a boat especially when its on the lift.
 
I've never tried them but I hear the meguiars products work pretty well and are available otc. There is also a section on the meguiars forum I believe for boats. Good Luck.
 
I just use whatever I have on hand in my car category. I am doing a boat tomm. that is a 22ft center console and except for the "hull" sealant, I am just planning on using #105 on the whole boat.
 
Brandon1 said:
I just use whatever I have on hand in my car category. I am doing a boat tomm. that is a 22ft center console and except for the "hull" sealant, I am just planning on using #105 on the whole boat.
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Please take some pics and let me know how it went. I've got about 4 or 5 boats I could do when I find the time. I bought the Megs boat detailing kit, but haven't had a chance to use it yet. Thanks!
 
I like Collinite. Usually I polish with Meguiars boat products because I don't need enough to buy in bulk - #67 one-step on a light cut wool pad topped with 845IW via PC and finishing pad.
 
I use alot of meguiars products. I use a good diluted APC to aide in the washing of the outside then like to use meguiars cleaner/polish combo on the exterior of the boat. I usually then follow up with a product called lightning polyseal, but have also used S100 with great results. I forget the name of the meguiars product off the top of my head, but it is a cleaner/polish in one combo, and I think it works great. Used it on almost all of my marina work last summer. See this thread for a few boat shots from me

http://autopia.org/forum/click-brag/54033-first-boats-marina-56k-good-luck.html
 
Don't be afraid to go aggressive on a gel coat, they are tough and sometimes the oxidation can be a bear to remove!



On an older boat, I like to use a rotary and a good medium cut polish (unless the fiberglass is really faded). then I go over it with an agressive sealant.....nu finish, Liquid Glass,etc. Solvents and abrasives seem to work well on old, faded, neglected fiberglass.



If the boat is newer and the gel coat is in good shape, I would clean it real good and use Zaino or Collinite.
 
I have used megs boat/rv polish followed by flagship premium wax and was very impressed with the results. However, I was so impressed with zaino on my car that i am going to use some z products this time. I considered aio, jw strong w/aj topper, and the megs products but went with the z line now that they have zaio. here is what im going to do (btw my boat is 1 year old with imron painted hull sides)

- ONR wash (no running water in storage facility)

- ZPC for any scuffs, scratches, rope marks, oxidation w/yellow or orange ccs pad

- ZAIO for whole boat w/green ccs pads

- Several Z3/zfx layers with z6 wipe downs

- 1-2 Z5/zfx coats

- Z8 final wipedown

- CS final coat



i also bought some 4" spot buffs for the hard to reach areas or small areas that a little zpc.
 
My dads boat Zainoed! Hull becomes very reflective.



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I ordered the kit from Properboatcare.com, the one with the wool pads. I bought Yacht Brite's Buff Magic for my compound and Star brite's Instant Shine w PTEF for the polish-sealer, got these highly recommended by the Sea Ray dealer I bought my last boat at. They had Megs and 3M stuff on the shelf too, but this was what they use in their shop - good enough for me. Now, if the weather would break I could finally do that dude's boat.
 
It's a decent product, but it is not going to last the whole boating season by any means. I have had boats for the past 15 yrs and have tried tons of products. I have used Starbrite products before but I don't think I ever tried the one you mentioned because I would of remembered the PTFE....but then again, when I hear PTFE in a detailing product, I tend to avoid it all together.......



Try it out and let us know what you think.
 
Jeremy,



When it comes to a final step protectant, I would highly recommend Meguiar's Flagship Premium Marine Wax. Of course, you can use Flagship on all exposed figberglass, however it appears to work especially well on the hull, which usually only gets polished and waxed once a year while the boat is out of the water.



I think the key is to always look for a top of the line product that contains plenty of uv protection from sun. And the frequency of application always plays a big part in maintaining maximum protection over the course of the boating season.



Most people would be surprised to find out that many boat manufacturers actually recommend that the fiberglass be polished and waxed at least once a month. You will usually find that information printed in the owners manual.
 
I've got black and dark red gelcoat on my boat, which is a serious PITA to keep looking good as every little scratch shows and waterspot up (just like swirls and waterspots on black auto paint). Imagine that, waterspotting on a boat. Never would imagine my gelcoat would be getting any water on it. :rolleyes:



The Meguiar's Marine polish seems to work OK for getting out the swirls and scratches. My boat has no oxidation, so I can't comment on how well it would do on gel coat that is in bad shape. Folks tell me carnuba is still best for protection, even for boats, so I use Clear Kote Carnuba Wax right now but might switch to a paste when the bottle runs out. I have a bottle of Babe's Waterspot remover and Clear Kote Quick shine on the boat for a wipedown at the end of the day. I find that if I do regular quick wipedowns to restore the shine, the need for major detailing is reduced.



The Babe's water spot remover really works like a charm, even on hard water spots that won't come out with the Meg's Polish and a cutting pad. A few sprays and they wipe right off. Remember that if you do get waterspots and have to get them out with the Babe's (or vinegar solution), you have to re-wax that spot. The Quick Shine is great for keeping the gel coat clean and making sure fresh water spots don't become permanent hard water spots, it also works great as a general multi-purpose cleaner on the glass and chrome parts.



Lastly, if you moor your boat, get a boat lift. If you trailer it, then just keep it covered and wax periodically and it will stay looking good for a long time. Boats that get all nasty and oxidized are seriously neglected. Treat it like you treat your car and it will be fine.
 
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