how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

[Maxximus]

I have a 2007 Bayliner 175BR i keep in my garage between use and go out about once a week with it. I'd like to clean and wax as necessary to keep the coat in good shape, etc. but i don't know how often and what i should use specifically.
any suggestions/recommendations?
thanks.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

how often do you wax a garage-kept car? it's purely a personal decision. I leave mine outside, uncovered, and wax annually.

 

[PS94]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

The best thing you're doing is keeping her indoors.
I have a boat that has lived outside most of it's life, and it's faded horribly.
I wash mine after each use...get the lake scum off the truck and trailer as well.
And I wax mine about 2x a season

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

how often do you wax a garage-kept car? it's purely a personal decision. I leave mine outside, uncovered, and wax annually.

Same here. Only it does sit covered. Once a year is good enough to remove any oxidation for me. Boat hull/gelcoat still looks new for a '76 model.

 

[boat1010]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

I don't think you can wax or clean too much. The more you baby the boat the longer it looks good. The more you will get when ya trade it in or sell it. Like some of the others I clean every time I use it with soap and water and wax two or three times a year.

 

[Maxximus]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

cool, thanks for the insight. i had seen posts stating the waxing would help protect the coat from normal wear/tear as well, so being that it spends its time in water (as opposed to car example) i figured there'd be some opinion on how often to do it to keep it as protected as possible...

 

[captainzac]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

Keep mine inside this is what I do
Fresh water
Buff and wax first of year (3m)
When I go out I spray it down with a spray on watery like wax (jiffy) and wipe it off and do the windows
When I return I spray down the sides to get any scum that might adhere to the water line
Most of the time I leave the boat in the water all weekend
Having it inside saves a lot of time on cleaning and lengthens the life of the boat

 

[Fireman431]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

Wash after every use and wax twice a year.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

Yup, wax lasts 6 months at best and on your hull even less with the water pounding on it. Twice a year minimum will serve you well with an annual buffing. The expansion and contraction of fiberglass is easily double what your car goes through and dirt gets imbedded easily which rapidly promotes oxydation. Keep her clean and covered as much as possible.

 

[Maxximus]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

you recommend a buffer or you do it by hand?

 

[gozierdt]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

A buffer is much easier to use, especially the first time, or if the surface is a little oxidized. If you're
doing 2-3x per year, doing it by hand isn't such a big deal. You've got a good surface to start with,
you're just renewing the surface protection.

 

[AndrewsArk]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

What kind of wax do you guys use or suggest?

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

I would advise against using a buffer unless you have lots of experience with them. It's very easy to burn the fiberglass/gelcoat if you stay in one spot too long or use too-high of a speed setting. Unless you are doing a large boat (arbitrarily say 26'+) I'd just do it by hand. I like 3M marine polish/wax myself.

 

[RZR2007]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

Clean it has much as you want too/have time too, as boat1010 said, you can never get it too clean! If you are talking about one of those $29 orbital waxing buffers from walmart, no need to worry about burning through the gelcoat. It will help you get the job done a little faster on large flat areas, not alot of help in smaller areas. If working with a quality buffer and rubbing compound for faded gelcoat, don't stay in one area too long, as haulnazz15 said. Gelcoat is much thicker than paint on a car, so you do have a bigger window for error. 3m products work really well...

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

An orbital is fine for maintenace waxing, not worth a damn for compound buffing. It depends upon your existing gel coat. An oxydized boat cannot be restored with a flat finish with a typical orbital buffer. You'll need horsepower and sweat to get it flat again. A rotary high speed buffer can be death on stripes, rub rails and such, but with a little practice/patience and liberal use of compound, it shouldn't burn. Gel coat that has been oxydized prior is hardest to maintain, once the finish fails, it's harder to bring it back. Thus, regular waxing is a must to keep the grime from getting in there in the first place. An annual heavy buff will keep things flat, regular waxing will provide the sacrificial layer to protect the gel from the elements. The point is, do everything to prevent losing the top finish of the gel coat. That means weather protection and maintaining a waxed protected surface. Life will be easier down the road for a few well spent hours with a fresh coat of wax.

 

[sschefer]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

Wash after every use and wax twice a year.

That's my regiment. I use SharkHyde because mines all unpainted aluminum. Take a look through the restoration threads. There are plenty of examples of what happens when boats are neglected. You have a sizeable investment when you buy a boat so there's no real over doing it when it comes to protecting it.

 

[dingbat]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

how often do you wax a garage-kept car? it's purely a personal decision. I leave mine outside, uncovered, and wax annually.

+1...

 

[RZR2007]

Re: how often to wax/clean a boat kept trailered?

An orbital is fine for maintenace waxing, not worth a damn for compound buffing. It depends upon your existing gel coat. An oxydized boat cannot be restored with a flat finish with a typical orbital buffer. You'll need horsepower and sweat to get it flat again. A rotary high speed buffer can be death on stripes, rub rails and such, but with a little practice/patience and liberal use of compound, it shouldn't burn. Gel coat that has been oxydized prior is hardest to maintain, once the finish fails, it's harder to bring it back. Thus, regular waxing is a must to keep the grime from getting in there in the first place. An annual heavy buff will keep things flat, regular waxing will provide the sacrificial layer to protect the gel from the elements. The point is, do everything to prevent losing the top finish of the gel coat. That means weather protection and maintaining a waxed protected surface. Life will be easier down the road for a few well spent hours with a fresh coat of wax.

I totally agree, too oxydized and nothing works better than sand paper