What do you clean waterspots with?

[areamike]

I used that combo what a mess and waste of time and didn't even make a dent in my water spots, 100% vinegar works like champ and is very cheap.

To clean our chrome Windex, with a mild nylon brush, actually works well followed up w/ Mothers polish.

So you say WINDEX for the chrome and stainless steel?? hmmmm

I'll try 100% vinegar next time on the gelcoat. Unfortunately, the only thing I have found that removes this nasty YELLOW stain I get sometimes is the toilet bowl cleaner.

[Bill_AirJunky]

I started riding with a guy this summer who introduced us to this one....

We've been using Babes Boat Bright. It does a descent job, but isn't very easy to get a hold of, just not many stores that carry it. Greg mixes about 40% vinegar, 30% water & 30% Turtle Wax. Water spots disappear & you sort of wax the boat everytime you wipe it down. Seems to do a great job.

I've used Starbrites Hull Cleaner on other boats plenty of times for removing the hull stains. Works great. But the gelcoat needs a coat of wax afterwards. And if you wax the boat occasionally, then the hull stains clean off a lot easier. I keep the Vride in the lake for weeks or months at a time & have yet to need any hull cleaner yet.

Edited August 11, 2009 by Bill_AirJunky

[Stanley Wheelhouse]

try a mixture of 75 vinegar and 25 spring water

[mellen_mpz]

I use about 25% vinegar/75% water mix. Works great and its el-cheapo

[malibu bret]

75% vinegar and 25% water.

[sparkoft]

Has anyone used Ducky's? It's really good at removing water spots and doesn't smell like poo.

I also use Ducky's it seems to get all of the hard water spots off.

Edited August 11, 2009 by sparkoft

[mendo.malibu]

I bought my boat new 2 years ago today on my way to Shasta for a houseboat trip,

we spent a week on the lake and I haven't ever been able to get the water spots out.

I've tried the vinegar, Babes and many other products. I have heard from many people

that the bathroom cleaners work the best but I am a bit hesitant to use them. My question

is will they harm the gel coat in any way? I would assume just a good coat of wax after.

[Malibudude]

I used that combo what a mess and waste of time and didn't even make a dent in my water spots, 100% vinegar works like champ and is very cheap.

To clean our chrome Windex, with a mild nylon brush, actually works well followed up w/ Mothers polish.

So you say WINDEX for the chrome and stainless steel?? hmmmm

I'll try 100% vinegar next time on the gelcoat. Unfortunately, the only thing I have found that removes this nasty YELLOW stain I get sometimes is the toilet bowl cleaner.

Trust me after a few hours my boat typically looks white, and has amongst the toughest water spots. Babe's stuff isn't worth it and doesn't even make a dent, the wax and seat saver are great but not for cleaning the hull. Anything short of 100% takes more elbow grease. Yes I use Windex on SS and Chrome, used it on rims for years w/o any issues.

While I've never used it myself I know someone that uses Rejex on his '94 Mastercraft and seems to hold up well.

I re-wax my boat after every use and polish the chrome usually bi-weekly, just the fact of the hard water combined with a black hull that I'll somewhat anal about it.

I started riding with a guy this summer who introduced us to this one....

We've been using Babes Boat Bright. It does a descent job, but isn't very easy to get a hold of, just not many stores that carry it. Greg mixes about 40% vinegar, 30% water & 30% Turtle Wax. Water spots disappear & you sort of wax the boat everytime you wipe it down. Seems to do a great job.

I've used Starbrites Hull Cleaner on other boats plenty of times for removing the hull stains. Works great. But the gelcoat needs a coat of wax afterwards. And if you wax the boat occasionally, then the hull stains clean off a lot easier. I keep the Vride in the lake for weeks or months at a time & have yet to need any hull cleaner yet.

Starbrite hull cleaner is great but very toxic, and make sure you don’t let it get on the trailer paint. It certainly does do the job. I use Starbrite polish w/ Teflon and then follow it up w/ West Marine Carnauba paste wax. This combo has worked the best of all the other products especially on a black boat!

[areamike]

I bought my boat new 2 years ago today on my way to Shasta for a houseboat trip,

we spent a week on the lake and I haven't ever been able to get the water spots out.

I've tried the vinegar, Babes and many other products. I have heard from many people

that the bathroom cleaners work the best but I am a bit hesitant to use them. My question

is will they harm the gel coat in any way? I would assume just a good coat of wax after.

OK, I just did some testing today.

Vinegar 100% will remove hard water spots and build-up from stainless steel and chrome and will not harm it. Use a polish afterward to help maintain it.

Vinegar 100% will also remove the hard water spots and build-up from the gel coat and is less harsh on the gel coat finish that Toilet bowl cleaner is. However, Vinegar would NOT remove the yellow stain that occasionally get on my boat. Only Toilet bowl cleaner would.

So in the future I will be using Vinegar as it is cheap and then following up with a good stainless steel/chrome polish and wax on the gel coat.

[Malibudude]

I bought my boat new 2 years ago today on my way to Shasta for a houseboat trip,

we spent a week on the lake and I haven't ever been able to get the water spots out.

I've tried the vinegar, Babes and many other products. I have heard from many people

that the bathroom cleaners work the best but I am a bit hesitant to use them. My question

is will they harm the gel coat in any way? I would assume just a good coat of wax after.

I tried the bathroom cleaner and it didn't clean it either, plus after getting some of it on my chrome it took me hours to get the tarnish off. It didn't hurt the gelcoat.

Maybe buff out the hull and start from scratch.

[InvisibleMask]

Anyone try a clay bar? I think this would take the stubborn water spots out but i have yet to try it since mine aren't bad (yet).

I use vinegar/water also but just bought the Babes Bucket and will be using those product too.

[Tao of Wake]

100% Vinegar. Need to spray it on, leave it for about 15-20 seconds and then wipe it off. Takes the water spots right off! Then follow-up with a good wax or Babe's Boat Bright.

[SMERRILL]

I agree the Water/Vinegar solution works great. I also found this product at my local shop called Sea Spot Go. I've never heard of it before they recommended it. No harsh smell, works wonders. I've yet to have any water spots on the boat after using this stuff. All my friends know to help wipe down the boat after pulling out of the lake, and it only takes 10 minutes at most. Keeps the boat looking new. I also re-wax every 4 weeks. This Sea Spot Go doesn't take off the wax either. It's a little pricey, but it works awesome.

Edited August 11, 2009 by SMERRILL

[Lance B. Johnson]

try a mixture of 75 vinegar and 25 spring water

Wouldn't you use distilled water if you were concerned about minerals?

[msuwaterski]

I bought my boat new 2 years ago today on my way to Shasta for a houseboat trip,

we spent a week on the lake and I haven't ever been able to get the water spots out.

I've tried the vinegar, Babes and many other products. I have heard from many people

that the bathroom cleaners work the best but I am a bit hesitant to use them. My question

is will they harm the gel coat in any way? I would assume just a good coat of wax after.

I tried the bathroom cleaner and it didn't clean it either, plus after getting some of it on my chrome it took me hours to get the tarnish off. It didn't hurt the gelcoat.

Maybe buff out the hull and start from scratch.

I know I'll catch some grief for what I am about to advise but it works like a charm. The active ingredient in bathroom cleaner that works on boats is Hydrochloric acid. Unfortunately the concentration of HCL in bathroom cleaner is not strong enough to remove the harsh yellow stains you speak of. I live on a lake that stains my boat yellow also. What I use is to remove the stain is MURIATIC ACID.

Muriatic acid in concentrated HCL and can be bought at most hardware stores. You absolutely need to wear SAFETY gear when using this, such as rubber gloves, eye protection, and a breathing mask when mixing!

I mix a cup of Muriatic acid to one gallon of water. Simply saturate a cloth, rub it on your boat and walk away. It takes about 10 minutes to work, less if you are washing your boat in the sun as sun helps to activate the process. It's great because you do not have to scrub or rub, it is a labor free process that will remove any and all water stains plus the deep yellow stains from dirty water. On top of that, it will not hurt your gel coat (although you will need to apply fresh wax when you are done).

NOTE: Do not get this mixture on any rust on your trailer. It will only make the rusting worse. On the plus side though the run off from when you rinse the boat will clean your driveway cement.

[Molarbu]

I bought my boat new 2 years ago today on my way to Shasta for a houseboat trip,

we spent a week on the lake and I haven't ever been able to get the water spots out.

I've tried the vinegar, Babes and many other products. I have heard from many people

that the bathroom cleaners work the best but I am a bit hesitant to use them. My question

is will they harm the gel coat in any way? I would assume just a good coat of wax after.

I tried the bathroom cleaner and it didn't clean it either, plus after getting some of it on my chrome it took me hours to get the tarnish off. It didn't hurt the gelcoat.

Maybe buff out the hull and start from scratch.

I know I'll catch some grief for what I am about to advise but it works like a charm. The active ingredient in bathroom cleaner that works on boats is Hydrochloric acid. Unfortunately the concentration of HCL in bathroom cleaner is not strong enough to remove the harsh yellow stains you speak of. I live on a lake that stains my boat yellow also. What I use is to remove the stain is MURIATIC ACID.

Muriatic acid in concentrated HCL and can be bought at most hardware stores. You absolutely need to wear SAFETY gear when using this, such as rubber gloves, eye protection, and a breathing mask when mixing!

I mix a cup of Muriatic acid to one gallon of water. Simply saturate a cloth, rub it on your boat and walk away. It takes about 10 minutes to work, less if you are washing your boat in the sun as sun helps to activate the process. It's great because you do not have to scrub or rub, it is a labor free process that will remove any and all water stains plus the deep yellow stains from dirty water. On top of that, it will not hurt your gel coat (although you will need to apply fresh wax when you are done).

NOTE: Do not get this mixture on any rust on your trailer. It will only make the rusting worse. On the plus side though the run off from when you rinse the boat will clean your driveway cement.

I just want to make sure nobody does this wrong. A little rhyme from chemistry lab: "Do as you oughter, add acid to water. Add water to acid, you're gonna get blasted!"

[Mountee]

Anyone try a clay bar? I think this would take the stubborn water spots out but i have yet to try it since mine aren't bad (yet).

I use vinegar/water also but just bought the Babes Bucket and will be using those product too.

My water spots were too tough for the vinegar/water so i used the clay bar and had great results... it definately needs wax afterwards though.

I've used the hot sauce but it is way too expensive for what it is... it smells like vinegar/water and they put some liquid wax in there.

[Marine Specialty]

I really like the Hot Sauce, I ran out and bought some babes and the babes left a greasy residue, I don't like it at all. I now have some meguires spary quick detailer I bought until my new shipment of Hot Sauce came in and I have to say for half the price the Meguires kicks a**, I might just use that from now on.

I use Meguiars hard water spot remover. I found that it works the best. It does leave a slight residue but that is so that the water spot that get on it again are a lot easier to remove when you wipe the boat after your done for the day.