Recommended boat polish

[Tamalewagon]

After deep cleaning the boat, I need a compound or polish to make it all purdy. Suggestions?

 

[BUDMAN]

@she’smine Myke from extreme products might have something available

 

[RCDave]

3M Finesse It.

 

[HB2Havasu]

Did you clay bar it already? I'm going to try the Turtle Wax Ceramic/Graphene paste wax tomorrow. Kinda pricey but it has good reviews.

 

[DWC]

Here’s a few that i would recommend:

Old school, proven but need

Easy on and off. Good shine. May not last as long.

used this last season. Somewhere in the middle of the other 2.

 

[Bob Bitchen]

It works amazing as a 1 step process. Little pricy.

 

[HALLETT BOY]

I haven’t found any wax that will last longer than 1 time out in Havasu heat , next I’m gonna try ceramic

 

[King295]

I've had good luck with the 3M product line for gelcoat.

 

[J DUNN]

As long as it says "Ceramic" or "nano" in the title then you know you got a good product.
You get what you pay for except when you're paying for their advertising.

 

[RodnJen]

I’ve always liked the 3M line for quality and ease of use. I typically use the wax because it is least abrasive. Using the polish then wax works really well.

 

[Ricks raft]

Meguires

 

[AZmike]

following this thread. I need to lay down a nice polishing at the end of the season.

 

[Big Chorizo]

After deep cleaning the boat, I need a compound or polish to make it all purdy. Suggestions?

This is a great all in one.

 

[HBCraig]

This is a great all in one.

X 3

Solid

 

[Chili Palmer]

Give it a good cleaning to get all the oxidation off and wax it with Collinite 845 and whenever you pull it out of the water use a water spot remover that has a wax in it. I use Performance Boat Candy Speed Gloss, Hot Sauce is similar. As long as you keep it up it’s easy to maintain.

 

[Tooned Up]

@2FORCEFULL did a tutorial video on how he does it years ago (it’s still on YouTube if not here) that I have used since then with amazing results.

 

[twocents]

3M Finesse It.

I highly recommend 3M Finesse It -- I use it on all my bowling balls!

 

[jackducan07]

Last year, we chose Star Brite boat polish to use on our 2014 Brunswick 28" Challenger Fire/Rescue Boat. Our boat remains in the water for up to 9 months a year, in extremely harsh conditions. Unfortunately, it isn't housed in a nice protected marina and is constantly battered by strong currents and the brackish waters of Delaware Bay. This one is truly a marine polish. A lot of them say cleaner/wax but this is strictly a marine polish and most of all it

 

[RogerThat99]

This is a great all in one.

I use this also. It works good, and is easy to work with.

 

[FreeBird236]

Nu Finish isn't too bad, used it more than anything else since the boat was new in 08.

 

[Gelcoater]

Nu Finish isn't too bad, used it more than anything else since the boat was new in 08.

Some may laugh at it because of the corny commercials they used to play on tv, but it holds shine longer than the carnuba waxes of that time period.
Because it’s a polymer not a wax produced by natural sources.

Would be interesting to see a real world comparison between it and some of these ceramic or nano products out today.


Edit....

Uncle T should be by shortly to reprimand me for not knowing ceramic and nano waxes are indeed...polymers.

 

[lbhsbz]

I used that meguires hybrid ceramic stuff on my boat after a wet sand/polish last summer and it didn't make it a month before water stopped beading. I haven't found anything that really works well as a wax/sealant.

 

[was thatguy]

I used this on the Miller first.
Worked so good that I used it on the Vette a couple months ago.
It’s now my go to.
Both vehicles still glow, and so far Hot Sauce doesn’t seem to bother it for touch ups.

 

[Lumpy]

Collinite Boat Wax, The Best Wax on the Water » Collinite

We specifically formulate Collinite boat detailing products to clean faster, shine brighter, protect better and survive longer.

www.collinite.com

Big fan of the 3M Finesse It as well.

 

[ElAzul]

Marine 31 and don't look back. Developed by the best in the industry

Marine31- Boat Waxes, Cleaners & Polishes

Marine 31 Stern to Bow Waterless Wash & Wax with Carnauba provides an environmentally-friendly way of washing and waxing your boat.

www.marine31.com

 

[FreeBird236]

Some may laugh at it because of the corny commercials they used to play on tv, but it holds shine longer than the carnuba waxes of that time period.
Because it’s a polymer not a wax produced by natural sources.

Would be interesting to see a real world comparison between it and some of these ceramic or nano products out today.


Edit....

Uncle T should be by shortly to reprimand me for not knowing ceramic and nano waxes are indeed...polymers.

I haven't used ceramic or nano, I have used Colonite and 3-M with no real noticeable difference.

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

The issue with most waxes in Havasu is that the melting point is usually around 150 - 175 Degrees and on a hot day, the surface of the boat can get much hotter than that. One wipe down with Hot Sauce or any other product and your wax is toast.

This is the only wax I found with a 220 degree melting point and it held up for a season when I did my Howard with it. Even at the end of the season, the boat still looked like it had a fresh coat of wax on it.

Don't wax anymore because we are ceramic coated, but if I did, this is the stuff!!

 

[Justsomeguy]

This depends on where the gel is. How aggressive you need to be. Wake up by shine supply with an orange foam pad is great for light cut and high polish. It is si02 infused. Thats what I'm doing this winter. Then I'll re coat with beadlock marine ceramic coating. It's been 4 years since I did it last.

When I did it last time I needed an aggressive compound. So I went chop top with a microfiber cutting pad. Followed by classic polish. Then I coated with two coats of regular beadlock. Marine wasn't out back then.

 

[J DUNN]

What you need to do is pay somebody $3,000 to wipe on 3 ounces of ceramic on it. That's what you need to do!

 

[Riverhound]

This depends on where the gel is. How aggressive you need to be. Wake up by shine supply with an orange foam pad is great for light cut and high polish. It is si02 infused. Thats what I'm doing this winter. Then I'll re coat with beadlock marine ceramic coating. It's been 4 years since I did it last.

When I did it last time I needed an aggressive compound. So I went chop top with a microfiber cutting pad. Followed by classic polish. Then I coated with two coats of regular beadlock. Marine wasn't out back then.

Big fan of the Shine Supply products. My son has done a lot of research on different chemical compounds used in most popular brand products and keeps going back to Shine Supply. It works better and lasts.

 

[HALLETT BOY]

What you need to do is pay somebody $3,000 to wipe on 3 ounces of ceramic on it. That's what you need to do!

I got severely admonished in another thread for recommending the Meguires hybrid ceramic wax and doing it yourself …

 

[LakeMeadLavey]

What you need to do is pay somebody $3,000 to wipe on 3 ounces of ceramic on it. That's what you need to do!

The $3k is not for the ceramic its the hours of labor/polishing to get the surface properly corrected and ready for ceramic. That's if its done properly. All of these off the shelf one step ceramic waxes in a bottle are all BS IMO.

 

[LakeMeadLavey]

This depends on where the gel is. How aggressive you need to be. Wake up by shine supply with an orange foam pad is great for light cut and high polish. It is si02 infused. Thats what I'm doing this winter. Then I'll re coat with beadlock marine ceramic coating. It's been 4 years since I did it last.

When I did it last time I needed an aggressive compound. So I went chop top with a microfiber cutting pad. Followed by classic polish. Then I coated with two coats of regular beadlock. Marine wasn't out back then.

Big fan of the Shine Supply products. My son has done a lot of research on different chemical compounds used in most popular brand products and keeps going back to Shine Supply. It works better and lasts.

THIS......Shine Supply makes some amazing products. I have been using them for close to 10 years now. The problem with these threads is one guys idea of a shine is completely different than that of others.

Applying an all in one off the shelf product by hand will never get you to any level of perfection. As @Justsomeguy stated above working with the correct products, DA polisher, microfiber/foam pads gets you to a whole other level of shine, clarity and perfection.

Overkill to many but that's the difference. Many people are fooled thinking they will get that perfection by hand from an all in one off the shelf product. That's why these detail shops like Detail Specialties, Howard Detail, etc. charge what they do. Its a TON of labor to get the surface properly corrected and and ready for ceramic coating. You don't just wash, hand wax and apply ceramic like many are lead to believe.

With that said, many are happy with the results from a basic wash and hand wax. To each their own.

 

[Mike K]

Just did it myself with a dual action polisher.
I used Marine 31 “Captains One-Step Compound & Polish.
As everyone expects … putting the product on is the easiest part …
but wiping the product off is the hardest and worst part of the job .
This product couldn’t have been more different .
Normally you end up beating your arms trying to wipe off the compound/ wax / polish.
You can also use this without a dual action polisher … you can do this by hand.
Boats are big … cleaning the gel coat and removing tiny scratches is a big thing and then leave a protective coat of wax ? Huge job.
Well that’s the order … you can do it all with this product.
I was so impressed … I was motivated to keep going and going … I even did the trailer.
Anyway … again … a lot of products can work … but … trying to wipe off the product is always the hardest part … not with this.
I clean / polish / wax my boat every year . It looks brand new.
I‘ve used every product out there.
So far … this product is great.
My 2 cents .

 

[Mike K]

One other thing.
The thread poster used the word “ polish “ .
In the surface care world it’s more like this :
Clean ( remove dirt / scratches / old surface gel coat)
Polish ( add oils and chemical nutrients … kinda like a vitamin for the paint or gel coat … this is the shiny part)
Protect ( seals up all the work you just did … just seals it … no shine )
Think of it this way .
Use your hands as an example
Step one : clean … use Lava
Step two: feed the paint … like putting cream on your hands
Step three: put sunscreen on your hands to keep the cream from dissipating into the air”
So when u see a one step product ? The idea is to clean / polish / protect in one product.