Boat waxes, compounds, 303 - new boat "feel?"

I know this has been discussed 100 times already, but my question is a little different. My boat is only a year old, but has lost it's "showroom feel" already. I'm looking to recapture that soft gelcoat feel of the boats in the local dealerships.

Everyone seems to recommend the Meguires #67 Cleaner wax or the 3M cleaner wax. In looking at the description of these products online, I noticed that they both have a rubbing compound in them. Having a black boat, I'm a little sketched out using a rubbing compound of any kind.

Is it safe?

How much gelcoat will I remove (if any)?

Should I use a circular motion or a horizontal motion to apply and remove the cleaner wax? Should I buy an electric buffer?

I was thinking of using the cleaner wax to get all the water spots and imperfections out of the gelcoat, and then using the 303 protectant to really smooth and shine things up.

Will I accomplish my goal of the "showroom feel" with this plan?

The 3m cleaner wax works just fine on a black boat. If the 3m cleaner wax actually has a buffing compound in it I would be very surprised. It went on like any other wax.

ONE STEP, FIBERGLASS CLEANER & WAX is designed to remove LIGHT to MEDIUM oxidation, clean, polish, and protect fiberglass/gelcoat and marine topside paint. Unique formulation combines a rubbing compound with a special blend of waxes which restores shine and protect in one application. Size: 16 ounce Liquid.

That's why I'm nervous about running a white "hole" in my black boat! lol

"You can learn more about it at www.tst5k.com or www.techformula.net. "

Dave Williams - Wakeworld

Well then you answered your own question. My boat is an 02 and after a work up with the cleaner wax it looks awesome. You probably don't need it so just use a regular wax and your gelcoat will shine nicely.

David,

How much was the TST protection coat? How does it work? Do you like it? Sounds like a good idea. I wax my boat all the time to keep it sweet looking and its hard work.
Brannon

It really depends how water spotted or dull your hull is. We just went through a full polish on an all black boat.
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/324586.html?1147193145

Peter - your boat looks awesome. How does it feel? Soft and supple like a...uh, new boat?
Which products did you use? Any details appreciated.

Brannon - I didn't use (and haven't purchased) the TST products, but have heard of them.

Flux - which cleaner wax did you use? Did you apply by hand?

After reading more and more about 303 protectant, I'm considering not even using a cleaner wax, or a wax at all.

From the 303 website:
Does 303 replace Wax on Fiberglass?

Gelcoat fiberglass is polyester resin with the pigment in the resin, commonly used in boats, RV’s, snowmobiles, jet ski’s, etc. Gelcoat fiberglass rapidly fades and chalks with traditional maintenance being tedious and repetitive buffing and waxing.

303 Aerospace Protectant is an alternative to buffing and waxing. 303 restores like new color and gloss to faded gelcoat fiberglass by spraying on and polishing completely dry.

A new appearance is maintained with periodic spray on/wipe off applications usually every 45-60 days of exposure. Fiberglass shines. Colors stay bright.

In addition, the 303’d surface is extremely repellent to water, soiling and staining…staying cleaner longer and clean up is much easier when soiled.

So for gelcoat fiberglass 303 Aerospace Protectant is a superior with respect to ease of use, level of protection, appearance and repellency.

hmmm......

David, it is not my boat, go back and re-read the link, everything is in there. Except I do not think I listed the 3M wax we used after.

WOW! that 303 stuff is a load of crap. "303 restores like new color and gloss to faded gelcoat fiberglass by spraying on and polishing completely dry" NO WAY, NOT POSSIBLE!

I used the 3m cleaner wax. I have the exact same hull and deck as Peter, but with a tan stripe and tan interior.

I wax the boat by hand and the cleaner wax takes off some of the waterspots that don't get wiped off. I really doubt it's all that abrasive by hand. If your boat is pretty new, just use the regular 3M wax or any other regular marine wax, your boat will be shiny and beautiful. The trick is to keep it waxed, a few times a season should do. We do it every fourth weekend or so.

My black hull has a ton of scuffs, comes with the territory. I live with the imperfections and figure when they accumulate enough, it will be time to buff them out for real.

I polished my van which is my tow vehicle this weekend. it came out real nice...it removed all the built up dirt and grime and is has a great shine. I just sprayed and wiped the van afterwards with 303 because I was too tired to wax. it really looks nice...kinda has a wet look. I hope this protects the paint!!! i'm a bit nervous like my van is naked becuase it doesn't have any wax on it. lol

have used 303 for years now, no more waxing on my 96' truck and 94' boat, paint and surface of boat both look great, people think i wax my boat alot but have not for 2 1/2yrs. 303 works, the simplicity seems to easy but it works.

303 does restore gelcoat, try it.

Last year when i got my boat it was really faded all over. I spent a whole day with a mop and compound and it looked like new again except for a spot behind the hand rail on the transom where i couldn't get the mop behind. I then sprayed it down with 303 and polished it off a few times abd bingo the color was back and it looked nice and shiny like the rest of the boat.

Since then i don't bother to wax any more and just 303 every 3-4 weeks. Its so much quicker than wax and you can cover everything in it, inc the interior then just buff it up. Takes about 6oz to do my entire 22ft boat so pretty economical too.

David: if your boat is a 02 Im assuming you dont need a Oxidize Remover. Yes the stuff your asking abut has a bit if compound in it. I dont like using compound unless its with a machine.

So we already know what oxidize removers have in them

So lets assume your surface is nice and clean
and oxidize free, Polishe's have oils in them and will leave your surface darker richer and smoother. But a polish needs to have wax over the top of it to keep the oil's traped or coverd. If you put a polish on you boat and take it out a few times the polish is pretty much gone. A wax will help keep the boats dark richer color if its had a polish applyed to it.
Try 3m's Hand Glaze or Meguires boat polish. Then finish it off with Meguires wax or any wax that you like.

BTW I dont know why people suguest putting 303 on your boat. 303 is like Armorall it leaves the surface greesey and you have to rub the hell out of it to remove all the marks from the surface. and it's removed easy with water.
It works great on the Interior but not on the surface of the gell coat.

Good info everyone.

I might get some 303 just to try it and see what the hype is about.

I got the 3m cleaner wax last night, but am not sure if I need it. My boat isn't oxidized at all (it's a 2005), but I have a lot of water spots that are easy to see since it's an all black boat.

Maybe I'll return the 3M cleaner wax and go for the 3M Hand Glaze or Meguires polish that Grant recommended.

Grant - what kind of polishes/waxes did you use on your Nautique after you wet sanded it a while back? Would you recommend applying the polish and wax with a buffer or applying by hand, then removing with a buffer?

Aside from Magic Erasers, What do you guys use for cleaning the Vinyl before applying 303?

I really like the 3M vinyl cleaner/restorer. That and magic erasers works miracles.

David, I would not use the 3M cleaner/wax on an 05, IMHO seems a little abrasive for a nearly new boat. My .02

I'm sure Grant will chime in, he's the man in the know for this stuff.

1.I started By wet sanding (By Hand)
2.Then Compound. (By Machine)
3.Then Micro fine compound.(By Machine)
4.Then Hand Glaze or Polish.(By Hand)
5.Then Wax.(By Hand)

then I sprayd my whole boat with 303 and wiped it down with Magic Eraser's J/K

Grant - what brand of polish and wax did you go with?

Anyone ever heard of Zaino?

Zaino is the bomb on vehicles! VERY EXPENSIVE.

Not sure how it would work on fiberglass. Klasse works good on fiberglass and is similar to Zaino.

I use the Meguires wax but any good wax will work fine.

Big time score yesterday. I was at west marine pickiking up a new Ancor. They had a cooler full of discount product and low and behold Quick Marine Clean is inside the cooler. They were selling them for 99 cents each. I took all 6 of them, Score

Grant - On a new boat, would you think you could start at step 4 on your instructions? A lot of this stuff is foreign to me.

yes Craig: IMO start with #4 and then wax it and call it a day. If you are still not happy then you might need to hit it with a machine and micro fine compound, but you need to know what you are doing, so stick with step's #4 and #5

Try step's #1 and #2 on you friends car to get skill's LOL

Eh Brah - I emailed Zaino and here's the response I got from Sal Zaino himself!

Zaino Show Car polish is great on boats. It is Gelcoat safe and will stand up to saltwater and UV rays longer than anything you've ever used. For optimum results I would recommend Z-3 for use on your boat, but you can use Z-2 for now.... ZFX is highly recommended...

Thank You,
Sal Zaino

Grant (or anyone else),

Have you tried using a sealant instead of a wax? I know for auto finishes the sealants last a lot longer. Just wondering how they'd hold up in a marine enviornment.

Ryan, see the 4th post from the top. Is that what your talking about?

Adam, not quite that "industrial". I'm thinking along the lines of Klasse high gloss sealant glaze or Meguires #21.

Wow! put 303 0n my vinyl seats and it's amazing. it shines and it doesn't leave an oily feel. I have to admit I'm impressed.

I hated to do it put I had to use tileX mildew cleaner on my seats for the first time. I had some stains which just were not coming off. It worked great. Then I out 303 on it.

Has anyone used it on polished aluminum wheels on your truck? just throwing it out there because i am getting sick of polishing or am switching to chrome.

We recently purchased an '03 Launch. The boat is black, and for the most part the gelcoat is in great shape. A few scratches on the port side, and several on the transom by the platform. I'll post pics tonight, but what would you recommend to buff out most scratches?