Boat Washing

[kwerges]

Quick question... What do forum members use when washing their hulls, decks, etc. on their Hatterii?? I've been using Simple Green for a while now, and I'm not sure I'm getting the best results..

 

[Sparky1]

Boat Zoap is my favorite. I would think Simple Green may be a bit harsh depending on how you mix it.

 

[newinlet]

I use Woddy Wash or Orpine wash both work well
BTW - Woody wax is awsome on nonskid & metal
the alwgrip liquid wax - for protecting the original Imron is the best I have used

 

[StratPlan61]

I like Amway's Mint Condition Car Wash. It cleans well and is mild enough that it doesn't remove the wax on stanchions, cleats, ss trim, etc. Turtle Wax Car Wash also works well for the same reasons.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I like the StarBrite Boat Wash with TFE (teflon). It cleans well and is supposed to leave a film of teflon that will make future washings easier. I think it works as the bird cr@p comes off pretty easily.

 

[Ross Macdonald]

Simple Green will definitely take your wax off . It would be good for decks, but not for house, bridge or topsides. I use mcguires premium boat soap.

 

[kwerges]

Thanks for the suggestions. Kind of what I thought...

 

[Bob Bradley]

Mostly, I use rain.

But then, I dock under I-95, so the boat is sooty 5 minutes after I wash it anyway.

 

[MikeP]

For the decks I use the same Starbright product that Sky mentioned. For the hull I use regular Dawn dish soap. Works great and is much cheaper than "boat soap."

 

[rrrestorer]

Lets see, wax is kinda like grease, dish soap is formulated to remove grease, you use dish soap on your hull, you are removng the wax from the hull.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Lets see, wax is kinda like grease, dish soap is formulated to remove grease, you use dish soap on your hull, you are removng the wax from the hull.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

You shouldn't use wax on Imron. The polymer compounds are okay. I doubt Dawn is going to affect those.

 

[MikeP]

"Lets see, wax is kinda like grease, dish soap is formulated to remove grease, you use dish soap on your hull, you are removng the wax from the hull.
Correct me if I'm wrong."

You are absolutely right and Dawn is one of the best at removing wax. As Sky mentioned, Imron/Awlgrip doesn't need wax and both companies recommend against it. I have never waxed Imron and have been using/shooting it on vehicles since the mid 70's. Our boat's Imron is 14 years old and passers-by think it's a fresh coat.

I also used Dawn to strip all the wax on an old car I just purchased so I could start over by NOT using wax!

 

[GJH]

Been very happy with Brite Wash from Yacht Brite, a Shurhold brand, I got a big bottle in a great goody bag from Boston Whaler for joining the owner's club at the Miami Boat Show. Worked well enough that I just bought a bottle to replace it.

We had the boat polished and Rejex'd in May. Despite going through a nasty slick on the way south, we have very little "ICW Mustache" compared to last year at this stage and it washes off better. I'm sure Dawn works just fine too; I know some detailers and paint guys who swear by laundry soap.

George

 

[LENZ]

I use Roll-off to clean and then Woody wax on the non-skid. I just started using a polish called Re-Jex, it's the same stuff they use on 747 jets and other large planes. It went on easy and comes off the same.

Lenz

 

[nyrussell]

I like Amway's Mint Condition Car Wash. It cleans well and is mild enough that it doesn't remove the wax on stanchions, cleats, ss trim, etc. Turtle Wax Car Wash also works well for the same reasons.

Damn, I was going to add a question about Amway. BTW, They reccomend LOC for washing.

 

[newinlet]

Is anyone using Awlcare on the Imron it worked real well for me.

 

[stormchaser]

Sorry to hijack this, but this is of great interest to me. I'm new to "painted" boats...all of my previous baots were Gelcoated. I was planning on using the same thing I used on those...good oldfashioned car "wash & wax" stuff. Like TurtleWax's "ZipWax":

Then plan on "waxing" it 1-2x per year with a good hydrophobic polymer type wax such as Meguire's NXT GENERATION TECH WAX® 2.0

But is that going to hurt/harm my boat? She was totally repainted with Awlgrip about 8-9 years ago...and the non-skid was just redone again the year before last. I am HOPING to make it last as long as possible...freakin expensive to redo. People think its either a new baot or at least a fresh paint-job and I want to keep it that way...thoughts?

 

[TopHattandTails]

Starbrite TFE. Boat gets washed every Friday between May and October. A 5 hour wash IS therapy. Polished over the winter in the barn and again in Late July / early August. 1980 Imeron is still showing a 12" shine!