wax on – wax off

Posted on by scoobscobie

Waiting for boat parts to arrive so I’ve taken advantage of the recent warm days here in Denver (65+ degrees in March!?) to make Sweet Pea look pretty.  After about six hours her hull is again shiny!

hull being waxed
The sun was really bright so the image doesn’t really show what is going on: if you look to the left of the image you can see the ‘hazy’ look on the hull – that is the buffing compound drying; to the right of that is nice shiny smooth hull.  You will also notice if you look at the house (cabin) the gel coat looks more white than the hull – this is because the oxidation on the hull is removed showing SWEET PEA’s true ‘cream’ hull color.

I really like 3M’s Marine Restorer & Wax product (#09005).  I’ve used this for 10+ years and find it great for cutting away heavy gel coat oxidation and leaving a smooth surface and good shine.  It also cleans up those things that washing alone will not remove from the hull, deck & cockpit.  Because of the Montgomery lapstrakes I do all the work by hand – on a smooth hulled boat using a power tool BE CAREFUL as you can quickly rub away the gel coat.

Next I’ll be cleaning and buffing out the smooth sections of the deck, cabin sides and cockpit (ie, the non-non-skid portions).

Once I have the entire boat buffed I’ll put on more wax, just wax, to shine and protect the gel coat just a bit more.  If I keep keep up on the waxing (every couple of months for the deck and a couple times a year for the hull – usually once in the spring and again in the fall) I’ll not need to buff the entire boat again.  Keeping the boat regularly waxed with a UV inhibiting product does protect the gel coat – this is just the second time since I’ve owned Sweet Pea I’ve done a full buffing (it was needed now because of have neglected the boat since mid-2011).

For ‘just wax’ my preferred product is 3M Ultra Performance Paste Wax (#09030).  There are not buffing compound components in this product (no worries you will rub off the gel coat!) so it goes on fast and easy.  After it drying rub off the residue with a soft cloth and SHINY Montgomery 17!  DON’T use this product on oxidized gel coat!  ‘Just wax’ will not remove the rough oxidation and the wax will not come off! 

I have also cleaned and inventoried the inside of the boat – she was really dusty and needed to removed the remains of many wasp nests.  I found a bunch of things … even found two rolls of toilet paper and paper towels.  Both were dry and in ‘like new’ condition.  Yea there and no leaks!

Besides gel coat cleaning/waxing and cabin cleaning/organizing I’ve got the exterior teak looking great! Have eight coats now and it is looking shiny –

pretty teak
The oil used is Watco – it has some additives that after many coats it will have a satin shine that is similar, though ‘browner’ than Daly’s SeaFin.

One thought on “wax on – wax off”

  1. Pingback: Done enough – M17 #375 – SWEET PEA

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