Water spots, cleaning, waxing, etc.

[drewski300]

We have a black Axis and the water spots become pretty visible after a boating season. We have used Hot Sauce to help get rid of those but honestly it didn't work nearly as well as diluted white vinegar. I did roughly a 25% water/75% vinegar mix and it was a lot easier to remove the spots. But that brings me to my next question. Does vinegar strip away the wax finish? Is Hot Sauce better to maintain a waxed boat during the season vs. the vinegar mix?

Basically, what is your annual routine for protecting the boat during the season?

[Eagleboy99]

37 minutes ago, drewski300 said:

Does vinegar strip away the wax finish?

Yes.

[Slayer]

58 minutes ago, drewski300 said:

We have a black Axis and the water spots become pretty visible after a boating season. We have used Hot Sauce to help get rid of those but honestly it didn't work nearly as well as diluted white vinegar. I did roughly a 25% water/75% vinegar mix and it was a lot easier to remove the spots. But that brings me to my next question. Does vinegar strip away the wax finish? Is Hot Sauce better to maintain a waxed boat during the season vs. the vinegar mix?

Basically, what is your annual routine for protecting the boat during the season?

You should do some searching on here.  There are many posts about this and many posts about detailing, gel coat protection, etc.  @ibelonginprisonhas a method that works very well and it's well documented here.  

 

Black boats are difficult.  I prefer speed gloss from performance boat candy over hot sauce however either will do what needs to be done for water spots.  The biggest issue is to keep them from drying on the surface as much as possible and don't let the sun bake them into the finish or it will be increasingly difficult to remove them.  If you rub, polish, and wax or seal the gel correctly, this becomes much less of an issue.  I have 2 black boats and never have water spot issues that become problematic because I never let them bake into the gel coat.  

[INCOPPNITO]

I like Colonite wax and like @Slayer said - Boat Candy speed gloss in between. 

[Slayer]

Colonite is great stuff!

[oldjeep]

Collinite paste as a base wax.  And then I wipe down with Eagle One wax as you dry to get rid of the water spots.  Works great on my 11 year old 1/2 black boat.  Most of the products described as removing water spots are just vinegar or some other kind of acid that removes all the wax from your boat.

You get a nice mirror finish

Edited April 19, 2021 by oldjeep

[06malibu]

Meguiars m67 for polish and Collinite 845 for wax. Get a good quality microfiber drying towel and dry after every use. We use babes products. Quality microfiber is well worth it, I used the rag company towels for all my detailing auto and marine. 

[oldjeep]

One note - if you have never used collinite paste wax, don't do a huge area if you are out in the sun.  That stuff gets really hard and is no fun to try to buff out by hand if you gooped it on and then cooked it.

[drewski300]

1 hour ago, Slayer said:

You should do some searching on here.  There are many posts about this and many posts about detailing, gel coat protection, etc.  @ibelonginprisonhas a method that works very well and it's well documented here.  

 

Black boats are difficult.  I prefer speed gloss from performance boat candy over hot sauce however either will do what needs to be done for water spots.  The biggest issue is to keep them from drying on the surface as much as possible and don't let the sun bake them into the finish or it will be increasingly difficult to remove them.  If you rub, polish, and wax or seal the gel correctly, this becomes much less of an issue.  I have 2 black boats and never have water spot issues that become problematic because I never let them bake into the gel coat.  

I did a water spot search and didn't see much. Sometimes knowing key words to search just to get started on the right foot.

Would vinegar at the end of the season be a bad idea? i.e. wipe the boat down with vinegar to remove the spots and then pressure wash before storage? Then reapply wax in the spring. Or if you take care of the boat properly throughout the year, you shouldn't have to use something as strong as vinegar?

[oldjeep]

1 minute ago, drewski300 said:

I did a water spot search and didn't see much. Sometimes knowing key words to search just to get started on the right foot.

Would vinegar at the end of the season be a bad idea? i.e. wipe the boat down with vinegar to remove the spots and then pressure wash before storage? Then reapply wax in the spring. Or if you take care of the boat properly throughout the year, you shouldn't have to use something as strong as vinegar?

No reason to have to use vinegar, but if you do - wax the boat when you are done.  I typically wax the boat before I put it away for the season, because even with the cover on in my garage it gets a bit dirty over the winter.  Then in the spring I just spray a microfiber with the Marine One wax as you dry to get it clean again and it is ready to go.  Main thing is that any dirt that sits on it when there isn't a layer of wax or sealant is that much harder to remove if you let it sit.

Edited April 19, 2021 by oldjeep

[Slayer]

The suggestion for searching was more related to ways to protect the gel, not specifically related to water spots but when properly protected, water spot problems are less significant and easier to manage.  

 

@oldjeepis right.  No reason, other than the fact that your wax gets stripped, not to use vinegar.  He's also right in that you should wax it when you're done.  

 

Everyone does things a little differently with variable results.  IME, a good cut / polish / seal treatment keeps my boats looking good all season as long as I wipe them down every time I use them. 

[drewski300]

I feel like all of this finish work is similar to cooking (or anything for that matter). To truly understand it, there is a lot of science behind it and understanding the science will help you know what is needed. I hear cutting, polishing, high gloss polishing, waxing, cleaner waxing, buffing, power buffing and every other term and my eyes glaze over! LOL

We had some pretty bad water spots last year and I'm going to put a better effort in this year. Thanks for all of the responses!

Edited April 19, 2021 by drewski300

[NCVride]

Try out Jescar Power Lock or Ultra lock instead of the wax.   Search it on here.

[oldjeep]

4 minutes ago, NCVride said:

Try out Jescar Power Lock or Ultra lock instead of the wax.   Search it on here.

Experiences vary, but I tried out the Jescar Power Lock after a thread here and the only thing it had going for it was that it was easier to apply/buff off.  Didn't last nearly as long as the Collinite.  Not to mention it stains everything you touch with it.  If someone near the twin cities wants a free partial bottle, they are welcome to it.

Edited April 19, 2021 by oldjeep

[justgary]

3 hours ago, drewski300 said:

I feel like all of this finish work is similar to cooking (or anything for that matter). To truly understand it, there is a lot of science behind it and understanding the science will help you know what is needed. I hear cutting, polishing, high gloss polishing, waxing, cleaner waxing, buffing, power buffing and every other term and my eyes glaze over! LOL

We had some pretty bad water spots last year and I'm going to put a better effort in this year. Thanks for all of the responses!

 

[NCVride]

On 4/19/2021 at 1:33 PM, oldjeep said:

Experiences vary, but I tried out the Jescar Power Lock after a thread here and the only thing it had going for it was that it was easier to apply/buff off.  Didn't last nearly as long as the Collinite.  Not to mention it stains everything you touch with it.  If someone near the twin cities wants a free partial bottle, they are welcome to it.

Interesting, I've never tried to Collonite but didn't have any issues with it staining.  We'll see how it holds up.  Just went with it because of the threads on here and a detailer buddy told me to use it as well.   

[oldjeep]

3 minutes ago, NCVride said:

Interesting, I've never tried to Collonite but didn't have any issues with it staining.  We'll see how it holds up.  Just went with it because of the threads on here and a detailer buddy told me to use it as well.   

Staining of all the microfiber cloths - not the boat.