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Review of Meguiar's and Babe's Boats products


Chatty21VLX

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I am a first time owner, and have a 2001 Wakesetter 21 VLX. The boat was already in decent shape. The interior is in good shape with some very minor bad spots, and the hull looks good with the exception of some moderate oxidation on the transom. I have been reading about how to get rid of the oxidation and how to polish everything and get it nice and shiny. To be honest, there are a TON of products out there, and everyone has an opinion on what to use. Since I just spent a ton of coin on the boat and life jackets and tow toys, I didn't really want to buy a $200 DA tool right off the bat. I happened to be in the auto parts store and saw the Meguiar's DA Power System kit. I went back and forth in my head for several minutes before buying the drill kit, the compounding kit, some polish, and liquid wax.

If you're not familiar with the kit, it's an attachment that chucks into a drill motor. The drill spins the shaft, and the gears inside give the head a dual action motion. The head has velcro on it, and Meguiar's makes pads for compounding, polishing, and waxing. The head comes with one polishing pad, but no polish. The compounding kit comes with one compounding pad and a 4 oz bottle of Meguiar's Ultimate liquid compound. I bought a 16 oz bottle of the Ultimate polish, and a 16 oz bottle of the Ultimate liquid polymer wax (the wax comes with an applicator pad, but it doesn't work with the DA system; it's for hand use). I think I spent $115 on everything.

I was scared to try the kit because I've never done any compounding on a vehicle, and I didn't want to hurt the gelcoat. I decided to remove the swim platform and start under there so any damage would be hidden. I watched a few Youtube vids on the DA system to boost my confidence.

First, I did a wash with Dawn soap to remove any grease and wax on the transom. After that was dry, I put the DA head with the compound pad in my cordless drill. The instructions recommend a corded drill motor, but I figured as long as the RPM was within the manufacturer's stated range I would be OK. I could immediately tell a difference when I applied the compound. I worked in very small areas to make sure the compound didn't dry as I worked (I think I worked in a 24"x24" or smaller blocks and the instructions suggest 36"x36" areas). The oxidation came right off the gelcoat, but not the puffy raised Malibu decal.

After the compound step, I changed to the polishing pad, and applied one step of Meguiar's Ultimate liquid polish. I couldn't tell too much of a difference with this step, but it did bring out more of a mirror finish to the gelcoat. Again, no change to the decal.

Lastly, I used the hand applicator to apply the Meguiar's Ultimate liquid wax per the instructions. I did 2 thin applications, waiting 5 minutes between each application and wiping clean with a microfiber cloth. Wow! It's slick and shiny now! I don't know how long the wax will last on a boat hull, but it seems to be a good product. Time will tell.

I also bought some Babe's Boats vinyl cleaner and Babe's Boats vinyl conditioner. Again, my upholstery is in good shape, but there were a few sunscreen spots in the grain, and a few dirty footprints from last weekend. The cleaner took out a surprising majority of the dirt. I thought it looked clean before, now it looks really clean! The stuff has a pleasant smell too. I followed up with the conditioner. I can definitely feel a difference in the treated vinyl vs the untreated vinyl (I ran out of time and didn't get to do the rear seating or motor/storage vinyl yet). It feels more supple, but not greasy like ArmorAll. The spray bottles should last several applications.

I really wanted to try the Boat Bling interior products, but my local boat supply store only had the Babe's Boats brand of interior products.

So, as for now, I recommend all the products I used. Actual use and abuse on the lake may change my tune, but they're good for now!

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  • 2 years later...

Always nice to hear reviews, thanks.  I work really hard to keep my 03 & 70 looking like new.  The products I've tried are countless. Vigilance is the key in my book. My 1970 spent most (till 2012) summers in salt water too.

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