what cleaner / wax do you use

[floridabywater]

I just tried Boat Bling products. They worked great! Very impressive. I had to mail order mine I cant find them the stores. Boat Bling

[Jassman]

A lot depends upon the area you boat in and how much effort you want to put in to it. Go to Properboatcare.com and autogeek.com and look at there sites. They have some excellant info.

The last product I tried was some Gel Coat labs made by Four Star prodcts and a product made by Restructure marine (more on them later), The results were the best I experienced so far. I've used Rejex, Race Glaze, Starbrite PTFE, 3m, Colinite, Meguires and more all providing good results. Some will use a solvent/chemical and or very fine abrasive for deeper cleaning and polishing when buffing. Both work good although I like the fine abrasive if you have some oxidation, I perfer a two or three step product for older boats experiencing oxidation. I really like the Gel Coat Labs Fine Cut but Its somewhat pricey.

The technology of synthetic polmers have been the latest rage due to the fact they last longer, produce a great shine, plus dirt and fish blood amd alike easily wipes off. On top of that they are easy to apply . Starbrite PTFE, Race Glaze, Rejex and Gel Coat Labs fall into that catagory. The only draw back that many detail enthusiast claim is they shine good but don't produce the deep rich glow of a high end Carnauba. I agree but the Carnubas just can't hold up to the marine enviroment on their own, which leads leads into some other excellant products that fuels the wax debate.

Products like 3m, Colonite and Meguires have a loyal following and rightfully so. These still utilize carnuba wax in there formulas, (check out their MSD sheets), along with ploymers. They produce a deep shine with very good durability. So if your looking somewhat of a highbred this is the way to go. It's all a matter of preference and what works for you.

Back to Restruture Marine product. This product is a nano technology incorporating RALG. It's a high end product and not for everyone. I put this on my 21 year old bridge boat's front over hang as a test. This product is not made for older damaged glass, it's made for glass that's in "like" new condition or restored. Mine had been well buffed and restored but still not a prime canadate. I applied the product anyway and at the end of the year it never look better, the product really works. It gets applied by hand and I really didn't like that. I'd rather use my buffer. Apparently I wasn't the only one because they have reformulated it so now it can be applied with a buffer. If you're a detail enthusiast check them out.

So what am I gonna use this year. I'll use the the Restructure Marine on the top again. On the rest of the boat I'll go back to the Gel Coat Labs or I'm thinking of trying Klasse one step and then their sealant. I been told that after the Klasse is applied a high end carnuba can be applied on top for that ultmate deep finsih. When the carnuba wears away you still have the high end finish of Klasse acrylic polymer. Sounds intersting, it all depends on how abitious I am.

Good Luck

I agree with many of your claims..also check out Leverage wax . com Ive used this for the last 5 years..goes on easy, comes off easier and lasts in the salt environment..It is supposedly not a wax and is a polimer with a polimer clay bar additive that has to be shooken before initial use. I use it now on all my fleet trucks, and boats.. along with 3M stuff.. Thanks for the info.. Jeff

[tprice]

Couple years ago my boat was starting to look it's age(99 model).

Was watching Ship Shape TV and they were using Buff Magic so I bought a can and had a buddy compound my boat with that and then I applied two coats of Rejex

and it looked great.

Now I just clean it real good couple times of year and put a coat of Rejex on it, couple weeks ago I actually cleaned well and put two coats of Rejex since I was

headed to the saltwater for a couple of week.

Still looks good but after washing when I got home looks as though it will need another coat of Rejex before long, that saltwater is brutal on everything

[Jassman]

I have used 3M and Rejex with great results...but prefer Leverage, goes on easier and comes off even easier, lasts a little longer in the salt water. It is polimer based product with synthetic clay bar built with in the bottle. Once shook, apply small amount and do a 5x5' area...the shine is clear, not muddy, and has some really deep reflective properties..especially on a darker colored hull.