To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

[Harritwo]

I would like to know if you wax the entire hull of a fiberglass boat or just the portion above the waterline? I have been told to wax the entire hull and it will reduce the drag and I have been told not to wax below the waterline. I dont know why or what the reason is so that is my question. Thoughts? Reasons behind those thoughts?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

It'll be more pleasing to the eye when the boat is out of the water if you wax the entire exterior.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

Yep you can wax the bottom if you want but it will go SLOWER..... only slightly tho and likely not enough for you to notice.

If you do a search, this has been covered in detail dozens of times.

 

[tazrig]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

The only reason I can think of not to wax the whole boat would be if you have some type of bottom paint on it, but I hope you already know that. Waxing the bottom will also help keep it from turning yellow or brown from contaminants in the water. If the boat has Awlgrip for a finish you don't want to wax it all as that makes a mess of the coating and you have to have it wet sanded to bring it back. Awlgrip has its own polymer coating (like a wax) if you do have Awlgrip.

 

[Blake0912]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

I wax the entire hull on my boats without bottom paint, it keeps the ugly yellow stains off.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

I have never waxed a boat in my life, above or below the water line, that's in about 45 years of boating. I hate waxing, I don't ever wax my cars either.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

I have never waxed a boat in my life, above or below the water line, that's in about 45 years of boating. I hate waxing, I don't ever wax my cars either.

What do you do instead?... drink coldbeer???

 

[H20Rat]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

i wax above the waterline just to have it looking nice and give it some protection from UV. Tried below the water line, but after a couple times out, there is no apparent wax left at all. Full throttle runs + murky water tend to strip the wax right off.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

No I don't wax the Hull on my boat.









My kids do

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

This has actually been debated for years. Some people believe that wax can actually slow the boat compared to a painted bottom. I know thats not the discussion at hand but some say the bottom paint will actually break the water friction where as a clean bottom waxed or not will slow it down in comparision.

Wax, simply put, will be stripped away from the bottom of your hull the first couple times out. Also wax does not really make a hull shine, it is only a protectant. The hull should shine before putting on the wax.

 

[Alwhite00]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

I wax mine twice a season - Above & below. (no bottom paint) If you had a 1,000 hp Cigarette you might see a difference in speed bit I believe they actually sand the bottom of their boats in a cross hatch pattern.

LK

 

[Harritwo]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

If I had the desire to wax the hull completely, would there be a particular type of wax? I have seen some that have PTFE, some that dont, then there is the auto types.

I have waxed above the waterline in the past, never below and I still do not understand the reason why you would not.

If wax is designed as a protectant, would it not help make cleanup easier, protect from fading, and still put some of a shine on?

Is the reason for not waxing below the waterline simply because the friction of the water will strip the wax or is there another reason for not doing it?

 

[briangcc]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

I wax mine once a season - at season opening. I do above and below the waterline with the following caveat - I don't get down underneath the boat and do the underside. Laying on a driveway waxing the underside of my boat doesn't appeal so I've never gone that far. So I go as far as my arms will reach.

Waxing, as mentioned, makes it much easier to rinse down the boat and have it look like it hadn't been sitting in water for a week. The scum line usually goes away with little muss/fuss.


It definitely makes a difference in keeping up the boat. The marina I have service my boat was amazed last spring that mine was an '05. He thought it was brand new from the outward appearance. He pointed to another '05 in the lot that needed a complete wet sand and re-wax to bring back the shine, it was totally oxidated. He told me to keep up what I was doing. Don't know if that was just to blow hot air up my wazoo or not but since its the marina I plan on buying my next boat from, I'll keep up with my maintenance ways so that I get a better trade in value, if nothing else

 

[H20Rat]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

I wax mine twice a season - Above & below. (no bottom paint) If you had a 1,000 hp Cigarette you might see a difference in speed bit I believe they actually sand the bottom of their boats in a cross hatch pattern.

LK

its actually the LOW powered boats that benefit the most from not waxing... (competitive rowing and sailing in particular) In those two sports, every tiny bit matters, and the hull they use for competition is never waxed.

The 1000hp cigarette probably isn't running on glass and is bouncing around, so there is plenty of air rolling under the hull. The hull design itself on most of the boats like that have steps that suck in air, reducing the wetted area of the hull.

 

[frantically relaxing]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

I'm another one who doesn't use wax. On ANYthing. I use POLISH that has no wax or silicone. Why? I was told way back in the early 70's by a car painter friend (who extensively studied the science of paints) that the silicones used in car wax can amplify the sun's UV rays. Best to use is any car POLISH that has no wax or silicone. Back then Dupont No.7 was my choice. Nowadays I use Dri-wash n' guard. (so do a lot of guys who race boats-- ask 'em!) And that's only when I use ANYTHING. I DO polish my glass boats, but rarely do I polish my vehicles. Clearcoat rarely needs anything but mild soap and water. My 2002 Ford F-250 that has been parked in a garage maybe 5 days in 11 years, I've never touched it with polish, and the paint still looks brand new.

No free advice here, just my opinions.

 

[jkust]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

I wax everything but the very bottom but mine is a trailer boat that spends at most a week in the water then mostly just individual days.

 

[emilsr]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

Everyone has an opinion; here's mine:

I wax the bottom of the hull so it is easier to keep clean. If there is a difference in speed I haven't been able to measure it.

Most times I get lazy and don't wipe the wax off the part of the boat that stays in the water at speed; the theory being that the rough wax approximates sanding which all the "experts" say is the fastest. Again, no measurable speed difference on my boat. Unless it's at the water line where the spray can scour some (but not all) the wax off, the water doesn't rub off the wax....it's always still there when I get back under the boat. Easier to wipe the scum off as it's stuck to the wax and not to the hull.

Your mileage may vary as they say....

 

[dingbat]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

Why I don't wax below the water line:

1. I'm not that anal retentive
2. It's a waste of time and effort. It takes me 2.5 hours and a lot of elbow grease to wax the bottom. It takes one outting to remove it.
3. Wax doesn't do a thing to reduce the staining (tanic acid)of the hull. Still needs "washed" down with bottom cleaner twice a year
5. I get lots of compliments on the condition and rigging of my boat. Nobody complains about the looks below the water line

 

[ondarvr]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

What do you do instead?... drink coldbeer???

All I do is fish, sometimes many days per week and the fish don't seem to care if, or what parts of the boat were waxed.

I will pressure wash the boats and scrub the blood and slime off the deck when needed, but that's about it. I have 7 boats at the house right now, can't imagine waxing them all, just too lazy. Most are stored inside, they get covered with dust, but no UV exposure, so they look good long term.

 

[buellwinkle]

Re: To Wax or Not Wax? That is my question

Before you wax the boat, you should completely wash it, buff the gel coat with polishing compound to remove any oxidation and surface scratches/swirls. I personally use a high speed buffer with a foam pad and commercial products for this. Meguiars has a nice product called DACP #83 or you can use 3M Finesse-IT II. You can use an orbital buffer if you don't know how to use a high speed buffer but that requires more muscle and more time. Then when it looks perfect, you can apply a few coats of wax to the top where UV inhibitors will help protect the finish. The bottom, not sure it matters as it's under water, who cares if it's shiny.