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Wax Over Water Spots


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OK, this may seem like a 'duh' question, but thought I check in just in case. (first time I've had such dark colored hull)

We had our boat in the water for a week and hot sun resulting in lots of BAD water spots. When we got home I gave it the 50/50 vinegar and water treatment and it made a HUGE difference. But when I went to take it out I found it still had a lot of water spots still. I gave it the 50/50 one more time and also a pass with the Babes. After all that, we still have faint spots.

I'm thinking next step is to go for a 'real wax' with a buffer. . . . Is that the right move? Will that get out the remaining spots, or do I need to do something else first???

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Toast, wax will not get out any spots!

Use a polish to get rid of water spots and scratches.

Wax the boat after cleaning it.

The wax coat will help to keep it clean and will make it much easier to rub of water spots the next time.

If you want your black hull to look shiny and new, you will have to do the wipe-down job with 50/50 after every outing!

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McGuire's (sp??) makes a great mild oxidation remover that will take away your spots and also, I found, minor scratches and other hull imperfections. It is not overly abrasive, but I don't think you'll have any wax left after applying, so a complete wax will have to be your next step.

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Going to backup Stewart here. Last year my Supra got totally coated with thick water spots from a week at the lake. Vinegar or Ducky wouldn't touch it.

Dealer recommended CLR. It took it off like nothing. It's awesome. Not abrasive like compound.

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Looks like consensus shifting to diluted lime-away/CLR or cleaner then good wax.

I also came across the old post suggesting 3M cleaner (Finesse it IIRC)

The spots are faint, so I want to go with the least invasive possible.

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Looks like consensus shifting to diluted lime-away/CLR or cleaner then good wax.

I also came across the old post suggesting 3M cleaner (Finesse it IIRC)

The spots are faint, so I want to go with the least invasive possible.

Just be very careful with that stuff around the stickers/decals. If the spots aren't bad, I'd just go with a polishing compound such as 3M's Finesse-It, wax over that & call it good.

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It's not all that strong, not like you're pouring liquid Draino on the boat or something. :)

If you read on the bottle, CLR says it's even safe on vinyl. I'd rather use it than any polishing compound, which works by abrading material from the boat surface, including gel coat.

It's just a solvent that dissolves the minerals left on the boat.

You can put put it on a sponge, and wipe the spots right off. Follow up with a rinse, and you're good. I wiped right over all the decals on my Supra with no ill effect. (My VLX hasn't gotten that bad to need it yet.)

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Wouln't lime away or vinegar 50/50 strip off the wax each time you use it?

A good wax should last for a few 50/50 treatments.

Lime Away I don't know ...

P.S.

Where to buy this McGuiers (sp) stuff?

I will be in the states in October and it will be definitely on my shopping list!

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I have this issue all the time from our lake. If you have a good wax and use 50/50 vinegar/water after every trip you will be great.

However, to get the spots off you have now, the CLR or Lime-A-Way is your best bet. The spots will melt off like butter. Then you need to wash to get the residue off, then a good wax.

I think the CLR product will remove some wax, so I would not use it regular, only in cases when the spots got too hard to remove with vinegar, then re-wash and re-wax again.

Even the mildest rubbing compound will be more abrasive than the CLR, so I would not use it unless you need to remove scratches.

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I have this issue all the time from our lake. If you have a good wax and use 50/50 vinegar/water after every trip you will be great.

However, to get the spots off you have now, the CLR or Lime-A-Way is your best bet. The spots will melt off like butter. Then you need to wash to get the residue off, then a good wax.

I think the CLR product will remove some wax, so I would not use it regular, only in cases when the spots got too hard to remove with vinegar, then re-wash and re-wax again.

Even the mildest rubbing compound will be more abrasive than the CLR, so I would not use it unless you need to remove scratches.

Ditto.

The Meguires can be had at ANY auto store such as Kragens.

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I've used the quick detailer by Eagle One as well (in general I tend to like the Eagle One products better than Meguire's) & like that one a lot. I stopped using the Wax As U Dry for wipe down because to get it looking really right you need to buff it out. It's great in the driveway after washing, but it adds 1 more step that I didn't want after pulling the boat out at the ramp.

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I ended up using the 3M product because that's what I had readily available. It took a fair amount of time, but did a pretty good job.

I used the McQuires (sp) after going out today, and that worked great! :)

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions . . . .Gotta say that this forum has really made my move to Malibu a much better experience than it would have been on my own!!

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I've used the quick detailer by Eagle One as well (in general I tend to like the Eagle One products better than Meguire's) & like that one a lot.  I stopped using the Wax As U Dry for wipe down because to get it looking really right you need to buff it out.  It's great in the driveway after washing, but it adds 1 more step that I didn't want after pulling the boat out at the ramp.

re: eagle one - you also have to be careful not to get it on the vinyl. has petroleum distillates in it...

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