Water Stains on my paint. Suggestions?

MS - your "paint" should be gel coat unless your boat was actually painted by the previous owner. None the less, the steps are similar, though gel coat will be thicker and more durable, which also means a bit harder to polish.   Look for the "wetsanding threads" and you'll get an idea of what to use if the gel is really bad.   if you just have hard water spots, the polishing steps are needed, but maybe not the sanding.   try the lighter steps first to avoid doing a bunch more work than necessary.

3M marine polish/wax.

Hey is the 3M polish/wax that was mentioned the same stuff as 3M Finesse It Marine?

I just called corporate Nautique and was told to go with that. The guy also mentioned he'd heard of toilet bowl cleaner but hadn't tried it.

ny_nautique wrote: Yes, Finesse It is the wax/polish. That would be normally be the last step.

Careful- Finesse-it II is a polish, and a great one at that. It is not a wax, and will not protect the shine of the boat. I would highly recommend a good coat of wax as a protective layer for your "last step".

It's all in the eye of the beholder.

I am under the impression that if properly wiped down, washed, etc regularly and after using, there's no reason why you couldn't basically prevent oxidation. I guess another thing depends on if you dock it, what kind of water your boat is in and other environmental factors.

I just used a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water with a squirt of dish soap in a spray bottle to take off the water spots on my hull from the PO. It worked like a charm and after that I put a good coat of wax on. The boat looked wonderful after!

MontanaSport wrote: so if you keep it out of direct exposure to sunlight, obviously when not in use, it could minimize oxidation?

Yes and the reason some will go to the extent of having full below the waterline covers. Even if the are on a covered boat lift, the sun comes in and gets the hull sides.