Boat specific products?

C

CharlesW

The Rainmaker
Since it is about time to start thinking about getting the boat out, I thought I would see if anyone has used the Meguiar's, 3M, Star-Brite, Yacht-Brite, (or any others), products that are directed at the boating enthusiast.
Over the years, I have always used whatever polish and wax I was using for my vehicles and felt I have had good success, but... maybe I'm missing something.
As of right now, I do the same swirl remover, polish/cleaner, sealant thing that I use on my vehicles.

Swirl and blemish removal is done with any of several products, depending a lot on what I feel like using that day.:) It could be Meg's #83, #80, #9, Poorboy's SSR or a combination of any/all of them.

Polish/cleaner is Klasse AIO. (No surprise there, right?:))

Sealant is 4 Star UPP x 2.

A PC and Meguiar's pads are used for all the steps.

During the season, the boat is on a lift and only gets washed for that 3 to 4 month period. It is under a canopy and covered on the days when we are not going to be there to use it. It seems to always look good and the gel-coat being mostly white with only a band of red, looks new. Considering the boat is a 1993 and has gone through 12 seasons of use, I think what I'm doing is working pretty well.
It is always interesting to get other peoples opinions, though.

Charles
 
Charles,

I know there is a lot of debate over Teflon in a protective product being a scam or not, but I have to say that the StarBrite Marine Polish with Teflon has held up exceptionally well on our boat. The boat sits in the sun from morning to mid afternoon (dry storage) and last time the boat was washed, there was no evidence of it having diminished much. Water was still beading and being repelled from the gel coat and the surface is still fairly slick to the touch. The product was used in March of last year, but I will say the boat has only been used 4 times since then. I'm just as skeptical as anyone else on long lasting products but the StarBrite has proven to be a quality protectant.

Geeze, I sound like a salesman.
 
I'm going to keep my eye out for Collinite. One of my favorite boating stores I browse for detailing stuff is Boater's World. I think you can even get a nice free, thick catalog of all the stuff they sell. No Collinite though :(
 
Charles,
Just so happens that I tried 3M Marine Protective Liquid Wax and Starbrite Marine Polish With Teflon side by side on a fiberglass dock box. The dock box had pretty good oxidation on it. The 3M Wax has astounded me with the durability and the Starbrite just didn`t seem to last. This is 100% exposure because I waxed the top of the box and the weather has not be kind. The 3M wax was bought at Walmart for....$2.50 but that was quite a sale. Usually under $10 anyway but these prices on the web are way up there.
 
TraderB,

Where in SC are you? I'm surprised by the contrast of your experience with StarBrite w/ Teflon and my experience.
 
i work for a boat detailer. and we always get megs stuff. atleast for the compound, polish, wax....and we have an assortment of other stuff to get marks off and hull's clean....actually i cant remember the name of the stuff we use for really really tuff hulls but i know when i hung the spray bottle on my pocket...about 10 min later i didnt have a pocket anymore...haha...the stuff like smokes as it gets sprayed out of the bottle and we usally only put a tiny bit in the bottle cuz we have to replace it almost everytime we need to use it. but we try to catch as much stuff as we can from it cuz i dought it would be good for anything....
 
Crystal-glo has SPF 30....same as the car treatment although I wouldn't recommend the wash if you like a lot of bubbles, it's low foaming...although it does do a good job.
 
TW85
I am on Hilton Head part of the time. It is no surprise that there is a different experience with the same product. there are just too many factors and just about anything here on DC that works for some doesn`t impress others. What I mentioned to CharlesW was a direct observation of products in one circumstance. That to me is the best when 2 products are compared side by side.
 
Pappy,
That stuff that smokes is likely called On and Off. It is an acid cleaner. Works great on dull stainless steel too.
 
TraderB said:
TW85
I am on Hilton Head part of the time. It is no surprise that there is a different experience with the same product. there are just too many factors and just about anything here on DC that works for some doesn`t impress others. What I mentioned to CharlesW was a direct observation of products in one circumstance. That to me is the best when 2 products are compared side by side.
Click to expand...

Fully agree.

I thought I was the only one on these boards (DC & Autopia) south of Charleston and north of Savannah.
 
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