I waxed the boat before I put it in covered storage for the winter and do not assume the wax has has broken down so was not planning on waxing when I took it out (start of the season wax). Do you guys usually wax again before you start using it?

Not a bad idea. Sure could not hurt.

I have three teenage boys - so the boat gets waxed at the beginning of the season, in the middle of the season, and at the end of the season. I mean they have to earn their pulls some how. <BR> <BR>If the boat is completely enclosed, I would suspect very little wax would break down, but like Buzz said, it certainly won't hurt.

if you have covered storage i wouldnt wax. uncovered wax to preserve the gel coat.

I wax it 4 or 5 times before it touches the water for the first time every year. By waxing it all the time it helps with the water spot removal

That's a waste of time. Waxing five times doesn't mean you have five coats of wax - it means you have one coat of wax that you've applied five times. The solvents in the wet wax (the coat you're applying) "re-liquifies" the dry wax, so you're doing five times the work to get one coat of wax. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by swass on February 14, 2008)

what kind of wax do you all suggest and in what form?? <BR> <BR>buff or by hand??

BY HANDD!!!!!!!!!! takes a little more elbow grease but buffers can be veryy mean to the color on the boat

The kind of wax you choose is 100% personal preference. Some like natural Carnuba; some prefer synthetic. The argument over which is better is similar to a Ford vs. Chevy debate: pretty pointless. <BR> <BR>Hand wax vs. machine: Again - personal preference. Keep in mind that there's a big difference between a buffer and a polisher. Lots of people have buffers; few have polishers. You can't do much damage with a buffer unless you're using a really aggressive polishing compound and you're holding the buffer in one spot and applying a lot of pressure for a long time. (If you're using a buffer, I'm assuming you're not using a cutting pad.) I don't use a buffer around the decals, but I was ridiculed for that one. On the other hand, if you use a polisher - you better know what you're doing. The risk of damage can be much greater. <BR> <BR>This is a great place to learn all about buffers, polishers, pads, etc. <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.autogeek.net/" target="_blank">http://www.autogeek.net/</a> <BR> <BR>BTW, my comment about more than one coat of wax assumes you're using a natural wax. I don't know if the same holds true for a synthetic.

I have a feeling some will take exception to the "pointless" remark. There are pros and cons to each, but it still boils down to preference, IMO.