Wiping down your boat
 

What do most of you use to wipe down your boat after a day on the water? I have used ducky in the past, need to pick something up for the upcoming season and curious what most people use.

babes boat bright

I like the Ducky myself, but here is the tread that I started that should give you good info... http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=792156

here too, and I only have to wash my boat once a season!

I hear a lot of people use Pledge Multi surface, going give it a shot this year.

Babes is the stuff.

Boat Bling Products FTW...

I use a mixture of vinegar and water for my boat on a every use basis, I use babes on occasion. The water and vinegar was reccomended to me by a number of people for hard water areas. Price is right too. Been doing it for 3 years now and seems to work very well.

Speed Shine...... griots garage;)

Boat bling hot sauce. I tried a bunch of stuff before and I really like this the best!

Towels

i use to do this also but was told it takes the wax off and you have to wax it more in the summer so it will not fade. but dose do a killer job on the hard water spots! i think ill stick with babes this year

Boat Bling - Hot Sauce.

Huh I have never heard that. I will have to reconsider using this of that is the case.

Babes Boat Bright and microfiber.

Put some Babe's Boat Bright in that vinegar mix. I usually do a third of each in a pump up sprayer. Mist it on and after about the 3rd application you'll start to notice more of a shine. The sprayer is important, it doesn't do near as good of a job in the squirt bottle.

I tested vinegar/water on 2 coats of Collonite Fleetwax last year and the Colonite lasted about 6 weeks. Not scientific, I would just wipe a section dry and see if the spots came off. The Babe's slows the process so I only wax on holiday weekends during the summer and we use the 3 or 4 nights a week usually from now through October.

I'm going to try the Colonite fiberglass cleaner first this year to see if it adds anything, I usually polish then wash it down with a very strong vinegar mix to strip everything before the wax.

The BTS looks interesting, I'm plan on giving that a go after I run out of Colonite, possibly about the time of the Labor Day detail is what I'm thinking.

Been using vinegar and water @ 50/50 ratio for 5 years on an all black hull and it works great and never had an issue with fading. You can drink vinegar straight let alone cut with 50 % water and I hardly doubt its going to kill your wax job or even more absurd damage your gelcoat. I go out like 4 times a week during most of the rideable season and drain a spray bottle full about every week and a half. I can't imagine the money i'd go through if it was costing me 5 bucks a bottle. I wax 1 maybe twice a year and my boat sits outside in the sun all season. Still shines like a mirror.

In one of my boating mags from last year they had a good write up as to why buff on buff off paste wax was a thing of the past with all the new technology in synthics. I'll have to hunt the copy down.

Boat Bling Hot Sauce and Vinyl sauce on the Seats.

I really don't mind the work, we live 2 blocks from the lake so holidays are a mess and I need something to do. I load up the cooler and turn up the stereo and detail the boat and the cars if I have time. I try to finish up Monday afternoon so I can wave goodbye to all the €#%/ing weekenders then go for a ride and put the boat back in its slip. 4th of July evening is the only time you'll catch me on thee water during a holiday and only briefly while the guy across the lake shoots his full commercial show with music from a live band.

I use babes and dilute it with water and put it in a garden weed sprayer. I hear great things about Boat Bling Hot Sauce too. Once of these days I will finally try it, but have been super happy with Babes and I have a black boat.

+1 Tim C.

For basic end of day wipe down, towels and water have generally done the job. The boat still looks great...

I like slimy grimy... has some acid to it so you need to wipe it off then do a quick hose down but man it takes everything off my white boat

Hot Sauce!!

06 Black boat....wax in the spring and in the fall. The rest of the time the boat is wiped down with 50/50 vinegar and water after it comes out of the lake. Not a water spot to be found. A couple of years ago I got the idea to try skipping the vinegar and water step and instead sprayed the boat with a quick detailer spray and wiped it down/polished. Looked good but after the second time I could see water spots were forming. Oops! Hit it again with the 50/50 and all good again.
Works for me and is cheap and somebody complements me on the boat everytime I take it out.

I've used Babes in the past and felt that it didn't work as well as a 50/50 vinegar/water mix. I've been using that for a few years now and it works great. I also like to soak my buddies towel with what's left over so that he smells like a douche on his ride home.

I just use soft towels at the ramp (once I am out of the way) and use some quick detailer at home every few trips. It always looks nice and I often get "How do you keep it so clean?" questions at the gas station.

I like the 50/50/Splash (vinegar/water/splash of liquid wax), but my wife complained about the towels smelling and so did all my wipe down buddies. I would use it again if it were up to me, but as stated above I am just as happy with a 50/50 babes and water mix in a garden sprayer.

Babes boat bright with some damp towels! Excellent! Babes seat soap inside! Excellent! With the towels a little more soaked and saturated with the boat bright, lastly hit the trailer and wheels! Excellent!

^exactly

Jay
Exactly what we do too. Our boat always looks perfect....

same exact way i do mine, take a soft brush to the interior a couple of times a year and it looks awesome!

I have got used to the vinegar smell, lol....reminds me of summer now when I smell it! It is easily remedied however with a few drops of imitation vanilla extract. Do that and your boat/towels will smell like a warm pastry!

TIm
Interesting....

ill have to try the 50/50 babes and vinegar.

Ok guys give this a try, it works great for a wipedown with no chemicals.....Go buy some Chamoise, like these

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=939161_0_0_
Keep them in the boat, toss them in the cooler to get them wet, when your off the water squeeze them out so they are dry, and go to town. They work pretty damn well! Great for wiping everything down while on the water too....they aren't like towels that get wet and heavy.....ring it out and its good to go again.

I always hit the boat with some babes after every trip, but the chammoise do a great job of getting the light water spots off. I bought 4 of them, cut them in half, and now theres always enough for everyone to help!

I really think the chemical you should use depends on your water, hardness and mineral composition will definitely have an impact. When I go to saguaro I have the best results with Babes, at Bartlett Ducky and Vinegar seem to work better.

Yeah it works Diggs....I might be exaggerating a smidge...but it really does smell pretty good with the vanilla mixed in, give it a try.

On a side note what do you guys prefer for towels to wipe the boat with? I have always used the microfiber ones from Costco...they are yellow and you can get a big back of 36 I think for 16$ or so if I remember correctly. The only problem is lately it's been hit or miss at my local Costco's as to whether or not they have them in stock. Went to buy a bag a couple of nights ago and there weren't any. I am going to be looking for another source if I can't pick those up pretty soon.

I will check out the link for the Chamois posted earlier but I have never had much success with those things in the past. I could always wring them out but it seemed like they would still leave a little water behind once they had gotten fully saturated for the first time. I guess they would help to get the bulk of the water off and then could be followed up with a towel.

Tim we usually order our microfiber towels from Amazon.

The Absorber is the link above. They are awesome and way better than a chamois. I have been using them on my cars for years. If stored properly and put in their tubes wet after use they will last for years and years and years and they work awesome.

Gonna pick one up and give it a try!

ditto on the absorber. I just wax once or twice a year and wipe it down with absorber after a day of frding decently clean water, and wipe down the interior with a used towel and every 2nd time out, I spray the seats with conditioner.

cool that some other guys are using the absorber, I thought we were the only ones!


A note on storing them, I don't even bother keeping them in their container, mine all live in the boat under the drivers seat. In the AZ heat they dry out and get crispy, but you just dunk them under water and wrinkle them up (or let em sit in the cooler for about 5 minutes) and they are back to normal!

Another vote for Absorber....been using them for 10 years. My family and all my boating friends also rock the Absorber!! I store it dry also.

The Absorber reportedly is hard on wax with microfiber supposedly being better. Not sure how true that is but I accidentally left my Absorber at my inlaws house 6 hrs away. So, I grabbed a 24 pack of microfiber cloths (About 18"x18")at Sam's for like $8. They seem to work really well and the good thing is if you have 24 of them you can pass them out to everybody and get it done quick. I never could bring myself to buy a bunch of Absorbers since they aren't cheap.

Theres no one product that will work for everything. I use Babes after every trip, Absorbers just do a great job of initial wipe down and we've been using them for years now. Babes comes later, which has wax. so if I'm stripping wax with the absorber, its going right back in with the babes and a microfiber.

Look into Bow To Stern, I dont even wipe my boat down anymore but about once a month, and no more scum lines.

http://www.btsprotectant.com/

Anyone else use this stuff? I may give it a try, but id like to here some other opinions first

I'm a 3rd and my buddy uses Maguires Quick Detail Spray. As soon as it comes out of the water or as soon as it is back at the garage (10 minute drive), the boat is sprayed and wiped down. Most of the time, he puts the Spray in a small pump up sprayer and also has "extras" for more folks. He also has stacks (in a carry bin) of white cotton towels. Everyone pitches in on the outside and the wives work on the inside with an interior spray. The Quick Detail spray is not for glass but can also be used for trailer rails and wheels. His boat always looks great!

Just used 50/50 vinegar and the absorber on my black boat after its first trip to the lake and it took off all the water spots and looks like it never hit the water. Vinegar is pretty cheap too.

I am also interested in Bow to Stern. Anyone else with experience? Txjole what do you think of it?

I think I'm fixing to order a bottle...

Best thing I used to date. I have 5 boats currently and have had a boat (or three) before I had my DL and i'm 37. The guy that invented it just wrote a like FYI on Planetnautique if you want to here from him about the stuff. Only stuff I found that when used spider crap wont stick to your seats.