Car wash/wax ok for boats?

[MikeJ42]

Somebody has just told me not to use car products on boats (I was sure this would have been discussed before, but I searched and found nothing).
Is good (cheap) old turtle wash'n'wax OK on white gel coat? Its not gonna make it go yellow is it?

 

[Kipper]

Wash and wax will be fine for a regular wash down. Your learned friend may be refering to good quality finishing products. But quality polish is quality polich car or marine. I use a mix of both to get the best results. Like 3m fibreglass restorer finished with Autoglym resin polish to protect.

Its all down to personal preference. Use quality products and you cant go wrong.

 

[DRM MARINE VALETING]

Car wash & wax is fine to use on gel coat, but don't use cheap stuff. Try and use bio-degradeable, from an enviromental point of view, and non wax stripping products, so not to remove wax and polish that may of been applied. There have been posts on here praising the use of washing up liquid, not a good idea because of it's wax and grease stripping qualities, and that it is full of salt to increase viscosity.


drmvaletingservices@o2.co.uk

 

[Davy_S]

Because I am a cheapskate and dont have megabucks, I polish my simple fishing boat with Mer at the start of summer (April) the boat comes out in November, I simply hose off and it is sparkling clean and shiney. Works for me.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

I use Zipwax that I got on the cheap from the local Halforcs. Seems OK to me.

 

[Assassin]

I prefer to buff mine with Farecla G3 after a good clean, this leaves a perfectly smooth surface free of imperfections, and highlights and damaged areas.

This is followed by a couple of good coats of Auto Glym super resin polish, then a couple of coats of Auto Glym deep shine polish, all car derived products. These are designed to be as neutral as possible, many of the cheaper products are just that, cheap, and contain many industrial acidic or alkaline products which may damage finishes.

Stick to the premium brands which do not contain cheap industrial components and there should be no problems.

 

[PaulGooch]

When mine comes out for the antifoul etc, at the beginning of Summer (haha, Summer) she gets quick T-Cut to brighten her up, a fine grade of Farecla would also do. We then apply three coats of Turtle Wax, but as others have said, most good quality waxes would also do. End of Summer, as in about now, we give her another coat of Turtle Wax.

After each trip out, i mix some good quality wash and wax in a mop bucket and sponge/brush it all over the boat. Then, i rinse with the pontoon hose and she looks as good as new. I always like to give her a quick one after a trip to get rid of the salt, it never dries off otherwise and the salt makes everywhere feel sticky and attracts the dirt.

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

No its not. Many car waxes and compounds have ammonia which practically will oxidise all the gelcoat in time. For 20% more I would choose definitly real marine products.
G3 oxidises gelcoat, and the same for Autoglym. Here in the med we have the due and heat helps that process much faster then you over there.

The 3M marine line is among the best, as is the Starbrite, and MacGuairs. Have also used the Farecla marine stuff which is also good.
The more new the boat and more modern the gelcoat with its mix of isoftalic resin in it the worse oxidised it gets with non marine polishes.

 

[PaulGooch]

No its not. Many car waxes and compounds have ammonia which practically will oxidise all the gelcoat in time. For 20% more I would choose definitly real marine products.
G3 oxidises gelcoat, and the same for Autoglym. Here in the med we have the due and heat helps that process much faster then you over there.

The 3M marine line is among the best, as is the Starbrite, and MacGuairs. Have also used the Farecla marine stuff which is also good.
The more new the boat and more modern the gelcoat with its mix of isoftalic resin in it the worse oxidised it gets with non marine polishes.

Yeah, T-Cut used to have ammonia in it, in the 80's lol

Here's my 2003 boat, which most people who see it for the first time think she's brand new

 

[carlton]

Here's my 2003 boat, which most people who see it for the first time think she's brand new

Don't you have a bigger picture than that?

 

[PaulGooch]

Don't you have a bigger picture than that?

I don't think so, but i could Paint Shop one

Apologies for the large size, resulting the scroll bars, i'll edit the post and thumbnail it.

EDIT : Thumbnail done, click the pic that the thumbnail links to for an even bigger pic

 

[Marine Reflections]

No its not. Many car waxes and compounds have ammonia which practically will oxidise all the gelcoat in time. For 20% more I would choose definitly real marine products.
G3 oxidises gelcoat, and the same for Autoglym. Here in the med we have the due and heat helps that process much faster then you over there.

The 3M marine line is among the best, as is the Starbrite, and MacGuairs. Have also used the Farecla marine stuff which is also good.
The more new the boat and more modern the gelcoat with its mix of isoftalic resin in it the worse oxidised it gets with non marine polishes.

I would agree with most of that.. the 3m Marine is among the best (certainly for polishing compounds etc) and many car waxes and polishes do contain a certain amount of ammonia and petroleum distillates depending on brand & product, you can normally smell it. However G3 is a Farecla product...the "marine range" was simply a re-vamp of most of the car range products minus the ammonia... it no longer contains ammonia but is still rubbish compared with 3m (sorry just my opinion) not enough working time and too much fling, powder & gather for my liking.

Sorry to say Paul, Yes T-cut had ammonia in it in the 80s but sadly it still does and it will be harmful over time to the properties in your gel, your boat looks great though, so perhaps we are just getting a bit anal about what is the best to use and what is ok..it does start to get interesting though looking at the gel under 500x magnification.
With products off the shelves at Halfords; Zymol natural car wash @£6.99 is one of the best.

The bigger problem with regards to oxidation is often not the products but the techniques used in washing down, polishing and also failing to protect...see Pauls pic as a perfect example, the products used are t-cut & turtle wax.. hmmm! but with a good technique of cleaning, pre-waxing with the t-cut and 3 coats of wax is all that is needed to keep the oxi at bay.

The harshest thing for the gelcoat is...neglect!

It's not knowing what to do...it's doing what you know!

 

[PaulGooch]

<snip>

The bigger problem with regards to oxidation is often not the products but the techniques used in washing down, polishing and also failing to protect...see Pauls pic as a perfect example, the products used are t-cut & turtle wax.. hmmm! but with a good technique of cleaning, pre-waxing with the t-cut and 3 coats of wax is all that is needed to keep the oxi at bay.

The harshest thing for the gelcoat is...neglect!

It's not knowing what to do...it's doing what you know!

Just to be 100% clear Tony, it only gets a quick T-Cut once a year to remove any build up of dirt and wax. Then it's straight on with the Turtle Wax. Some flavours of T-Cut don't contain any ammonia, those that do, it's less than 1%.

 

[Marine Reflections]

Yep, I know they had a big overhaul on the range a few years ago, I think all the metallic ones don't anymore, boat looks great though, so can't be that bad. like I said, technique over product any day.

2003? It does not look like it's nearly 8 years old, so a good testiment to your techniques, it really does look "showroom" I think you are doing yourself out of credit, it really wont be the products that produce a finish that lasts like that for 8 years, pat yourself on the back.. not t-cut.

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Yes Farecla I have the new Profile range dedicated for fiberglas and is much better to the car dedicated G series. I agree on the dust, and there wax is a pain.
Hope to finish the last two bottles I have so I move on fully to the 3M and Starbrites set I recently purchased.
Yes 3M and Mc Guairs are over the top polishes. But if you want to remove oxidation there is nothing better then 3M. All the rest is second tier in my experience.

Starbrite has also a very good protectant which everyone on US Forums is speaking so well about. Will try it next season after a using the 3M cleeaner and wax on hull.

 

[tamarind]

Back to the original question, turtle wash and wax is as good as any marine wash as long as you keep the gel coat wet and rinsed down as you wash to avoid the wash & wax drying out, otherwise it dries streaky. Do avoid any strong detergents like truck wash, washing up liquid, jif etc, yes I have seen people use jif!! All these products will strip off your wax which will leave the gel coat unprotected. I maintain boats for a living and have seen all sorts of products being used. If you have black steaks which you can't wash out, you are better off polishing them off rather than using a stronger chemical.

 

[Warpa]

I have the meguiars marine range and some 3M heavy cutting compound for heavy oxidation. The menzerna cut and finish polish i have is vastly superior in mirror finish in my opinion, and alsi imo i think some of the marine range is geared at some real bad oxidation levels and the most extreme cutting pads.

I have cleaned up oxidation, minor sctracthes and swirls with a much finer finish compound before using my glaze compound. The more mirror like the finish the longer the look will last (though i have a proper wash method using car products. if you are having any problems with the wash streaking the finish in sunlight, try a quick detailing spray, i use meguiars last touch which also tops up the wax finish and can be sparayed on when drying the boat to get rid of any water marks, or used dry just to top the shine up.

Wax im using is collinite 915, not the most durable but as i dont mind boat cleaning twice a year is fine, jetseal 109 to seal all the metal and chrome, and i also wax the glass as i have no wipers, beads water off and aids cleaning.

At the end of the day, prep is key, a well prepped and protected boat can be washed and rinsed in a very very short time and will look like new for years, just rebuff once a year, same applys to my truck and at 2 years old it has a better finish now than when it left the factory

 

[PaulGooch]

<snip>

2003? It does not look like it's nearly 8 years old, so a good testiment to your techniques, it really does look "showroom" I think you are doing yourself out of credit, it really wont be the products that produce a finish that lasts like that for 8 years, pat yourself on the back.. not t-cut.

Thanks, i'll remember that when i'm freezing my bits off running around with the wash and wax after a Winter Cod fishing trip

 

[Marine Reflections]

ah yes fred drift! sorry op

Anything you use (insert common sense here) will not cause a dramatic affect like burning through the gel after one sitting, but there are many features of quality shampoo that others do not have:
Not stripping the wax would be one, as is decent lubrication as to help not scratch the surface when picking up any grit missed in the pre-wash, longer working use in the sun without streaking, conditioning the water and natural ingredients that enhance and enrich the properties of the surface rather than degrade them. and nice smell to boot!
It's fair to point out though, that wash N wax products are trying to do two jobs at once, wash then wax...(of course) but the washing up liquid type of residue that these types of "quick products" leave behind cant really be called a wax. But if you were to wax after, the residue needs to be taken off before waxing as it wont take to the surface as well, it needs the correct prep first in order to get the full potential out of the wax.
Sorry for being pedantic, i'm sure the anal police will be here any second!

 

[Marine Reflections]

Thanks, i'll remember that when i'm freezing my bits off running around with the wash and wax after a Winter Cod fishing trip

ha ha! it's the most fun in the snow, jump in and do the water line too!