TSP or Car Wash soap?

[Beefer]

It's Christmas Day, and 70F here in Florida. Good day to wash/wax the boat. The hull has that wondeful chalkiness, and I was wonderfing which would be better to wash it with; TSP or regular old car washing soap? Opinions are appreciated as always.

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: TSP or Car Wash soap?

If the hull is chaulky, then it's most likely that you need to buff out the gelcoat. TSP will certainly go a long way toward removing yellowing and won't hurt the gelcoat. It may eat away wax but in your case, it doesn't matter.

There are a few threads in the resto section about restoring jelcoat and people have different ideas and experiences. For my old boat, I had to keep using more agressive cutting compounds until I was able to get down far enough to remove the chalkiness. Only after buffing out the gelcoat properly, was I able to get the shine to last.

Good luck and remember that Advil is your friend on this one!

 

[justchange]

Re: TSP or Car Wash soap?

I used dish soap and a brush on mine. Made a really big difference. it was the brush that did the work.

 

[veritas honus]

Re: TSP or Car Wash soap?

Check out Attwoods line of cleaning/detailing/waxing/polishing products. They work great, and are inexpensive, too. You can get them at Wally World and many marinas/boating stores.

 

[triumphrick]

Re: TSP or Car Wash soap?

I'm a big fan of the Starbrite cleaners and waxes. One of them is a compound/wax that will take minimal chalkiness and with the right application, buff out to a good shine.
Or you may have to go to either a polishing or buffing compound depending on the level of chalkiness. Start in one small spot, waist to eye level and work it over some with the different products. Once you find the one that does the best, move on to around the whole rig...

 

[Jet Wrench]

Re: TSP or Car Wash soap?

A good car wash soap will not remove any surface wax applied. A good soft bristle brush will keep the gel coat from getting scratched. I always chamois the gel coat after the final rinse. Hard water spots will embed in the gel coat over time and you will need to compound buff to remove them. Covering your boat when not used will keep the gel coat and interior minty for a long time. Here is my original gel coat on my CVX18, 24 years young!

JW