Polish and Wax Suggestions for Black Boat

[The Black Widow]

Hey everyone!

I was curious if anyone had any good suggestions for polishing and waxing a black hull. Most of the hull looks good but there are some spots that are getting lighter and fading a bit.

Also, there are quite a few small scratches on the rails and sides that we would like to try and get out. They are not too deep but show some white through them like maybe it went past the gel coat?

[helmut]

Just ordered a bunch of products from performance boat candy but wont know the results for a few weeks. Did some research seemed like a great product and affordable.

[Bruizza]

I use Colinite on all the boats we have owned including my brother's black MB. Works freaking awesome. I polished and waxed our boat right before having it wrapped and it looked better than the day we took delivery.

[The Black Widow]

I use Colinite on all the boats we have owned including my brother's black MB. Works freaking awesome. I polished and waxed our boat right before having it wrapped and it looked better than the day we took delivery.

I see they have a paste and then regular wax. Which one do you use? And do they make polisher as well?

[Bruizza]

I use the 920 followed by the 925. Works AMAZINGLY well.

[Ewok]

I used the polymer from Hulu boat care last year and it kept the boat smooth all season. I wipe down with hot sauce everytime I pull out of the water and I keep my boat in my garage but the polymer from Hulu worked better than the 3M marine carnuba I used the year before.

[The Black Widow]

Yeah we use hot sauce every time we take it out as well and it keeps it really clean. The only part that seems to have the oxidation is the sides of the boat under the water line.

[Duncan]

I use the speed gloss from Performance Boat Candy and it completely knocks down hard water spots. I have used most of the other competitor products and like PBC best so far.

Advice: buy a good orbital. I use one from Griot's. And get a good polish along with a good wax. While I use PBC wax and I like it, I do not see a big difference from other products. I do stick with Griot's polishes mainly because I have them for my car. Re polish, get something with far less grit than rubbing compound -- I use Griot's "1" and "3".

The great thing about gel coat is it is so THICK and really hard to mess up with an orbital. Small grit polish and the orbital get rid of most haziness and tiny scratches. Bigger scratches might take larger grit polish or rubbing compound, followed by finer polish, and then wax. For a few shallow gouges, I have wet sanded, buffed with rubbing compound, polished, and waxed. And for a few deep gouges, get a gel coat repair kit, wet sand, rubbing compound, polish and wax.

In summary, get a good orbital and learn to use it with polish and wax--do this at least beginning and end of season, more if you have time or damage. Spray with a speed gloss and wipe down after every time in the water.

[Ewok]

I used the same method as Duncan for my pre-season prep. I use a good orbital polisher (porter cable) and I use Meguiars paint cleaner (http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product_detail.do?q=4576) with a cleaner pad to clean off stubborn dirt and old wax, then I used the Hulu Big Kahuna Polymer Sealant (9http://products.hulaboatcare.com/?page_id=136) with the wax application pad. The hulu stuff worked great, it's a little thick and it would have been slightly difficult to apply by hand but it stayed on all season, Hulu recommends re-applying 1/2 way through the season but it all depends on how much sun and heat and other stuff your boat is exposed to during the season.

[talltigeguy]

I use the 920 followed by the 925. Works AMAZINGLY well.

Bruizza,
Do you apply it with an orbital polisher? I too have heard amazing things about it. Never got around to trying it. But my boat is for sure due for a deep cleansing this spring. Using Boat Bling has been amazing and cut my 'deep cleansing' down dramatically.

[wired1236]

I've used a few polishes but have always had the best results with 3M products. There finesse-it works awesome with a good 3M buff pad. Turn out like a piece of glass.

[Bruizza]

Bruizza,
Do you apply it with an orbital polisher? I too have heard amazing things about it. Never got around to trying it. But my boat is for sure due for a deep cleansing this spring. Using Boat Bling has been amazing and cut my 'deep cleansing' down dramatically.

I just did it by hand. The boat is a 2012 so I didn't think a buffer was necessary. I was absolutely floored at how well it looked after I did it. I just assumed it would be as shiny as it would ever be straight from the factory. Boy was I WAY wrong. I was kicking myself for not doing it earlier in the season.

[topaz surfer]

another vote for the Hula products. That is what I have been using and have had really good results. I did post some pics of mine on here if you look it up.

[jpeterson0708]

Bruizza,

Also have a 2012, what products did you use when using the buffer?

[jpeterson0708]

Bruizza,

Forget previous. . . . I read your above responses after posting. Thanks