Waxing your Boat

Do you guys wax your boat ? My brother in law keeps talking about it like a car, unsure of its virtue on gelcoat. Thanks

Dr.Steven how about a picture

Great, welcome aboard this is a great site. will keep a lookout for a pic coming soon

Wax is essential to preserving the gelcoat on your boat - without it, the gelcoat will oxidize, causing it to fade and become porous. Once the gelcoat becomes porous it will stain as well. A well-waxed boat is much easier to keep clean with a quick wipe down after hitting the lake. I like to use a heavy wax like Collinite's Fleetwax or 3M ultra performance paste wax - I find that way I only have to wax about 2x a season and just spot detail in between. But really, any wax is better than none - I know guys who swear by regular old automotive Turtle Wax. I find waxing the boat kind of therapeutic. Remember the Karate Kid...wax on, wax off!!

I also wax my boat about 2x a season.
I use Meguiars Flagship Premium Marine Wax and am very pleased with it.

Most members here will tell you that ABSOLUTELY wax the boat. Make sure that the wax you use is comprised of Carnauba.

Carnauba waxes possess natural protective systems. That means the wax properties expand when exposed to water while diffusing the sun's ultraviolet rays. These natural attributes mean that once the wax is applied to your boat it will protect it from further oxidation and preserve a magnificent, rich brilliance for the rest of the year.

I'm one of the many anal guys here on the site that will wipe down the boat EVERY time she leaves the water both inside and out. Making sure that 'Miss Scarlett' has a good coat wax on her makes the wipe down process quick and easy.

TRBenj wrote: I agree that you should wax the boat (I shoot for once a year), but disagree on the carnauba. There are many synthetic waxes on the market these days that I have found to be better- they go on easier and last longer. Collinite is one of them...

Collinite is a brand name. If you go to the companies website and read their description of marine waxes they'll tell you..."Safely removes embedded contaminants, provides carnauba shine and lays down a durable coating of weather-protection."

I interepret that as they use Carabuna in their product but in a user friendly liquid. Maybe I should have said ..." Make sure it contains Carabuna."

I interpret as providing a shine like you'd expect from carnuba. If you come out and say it has carnuba I'd then know what it shines like...

Yes, I realize Collinite is a brand name, Ive bought the stuff! I dont know exactly what their synthetic formulation consists of.

I do stand corrected though- per their website, their products "contain copious amounts of wax-both rare Brazilian carnauba and premium synthetic polymers."

I would still say that you dont need a pure carnauba wax.

Pledge with beeswax all natural

I use the Fleetwax once a year and do wipe downs with Babe's Boat's Bright. It leaves a waxy finish also.

DrStevens is that a Rainbow Nautique, BTW?!

I suppose things can vary greatly with water content/quality, but Ive found that water spots come off easily with a quick wash (car wash soap) and dry. That wont strip the wax.

We use Collinite's #920 followed by #885 fleetwax paste wax. It holds up well and supposedly makes the boat a little faster .

Bri892001, Yes it is a 1978 Rainbow Nautique, I may be able to get a better photo this weekend as I am going to move the boat to have some engine work done. I am going to redo the graphics when I decide what to do with the gelcoat, need to figure out how to make a tracing of the graphics. I know I could get the gelcoat to look better with a wet sand but I hate to sand to graphics all off and start over

Ahh, I see.

Do you rain-x the windows? If not, I highly recommend it.