All boaters know the time and effort it takes to keep your boat protected and looking good throughout the season.  Our basic wash & wax service includes a thorough wash-down of all fiberglass surfaces and an application of wax to smooth fiberglass surfaces.  The type of wax used depends upon the condition of the gel coat.  If the gel coat is in good condition, then a pure wax is used.  If there is light to moderate oxidation, either a cleaner wax or a restorer wax (containing compound) is used.  For heavily oxidized boats, compounding may be necessary to restore the shine of the gel coat.  This wash and wax service is the no frills version.  For additional items such as  extensive cleaning (cabins, bilges,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wash & Wax Basic Pricing:

Wash & Wax FAQ

How often should I wax my boat?

Do I need to compound?

What products do you use?

Can you wax my boat in the water?

Do you take off rust & waterline stains?

What does the temperature have to be to wash and wax?

What is the meaning of life?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How often Should I wax my boat?  

The easy answer is that the more you keep up with it, the better your boat will look and the longer it will maintain its' shine.  The fact is that wax and other sealers don't last more than a month or so under normal conditions.  The salt, water, air, and sun all break down these products rapidly.  The porous nature of your gel coat means that you have to keep at it constantly to try and slow down the oxidation.  It's much easier to do preventative maintenance like waxing periodically than it is to try and restore chalky or faded gel coat.  It all comes down to how much time, money, and effort you want to put into keeping your boat protected and looking good.  For practical purposes, we'd suggest a thorough wash and wax before launching in the Spring, then once mid-season, and if weather is cooperative, one last time before fall lay-up. 

 

Do I need to compound?  

I know many people insist upon compounding their boat each season prior to waxing.  Our theory is that if you keep up with the actual waxing, you shouldn't have to compound your boat every year.  Compounding by it's nature is abrasive and will strip off some of the wax that you have already built up previously.  A good test is to run your finger down one of the hull sides and/or other fiberglass surfaces. If you look at your finger and there is a moderate to heavy amount of chalk (do not confuse this with the salt you didn't wash off from your last trip) then compounding may be a good idea to bring back the shine.  We'd probably want to look at the boat to determine the extent of the work.  If your finger has little to no chalk on it, then we can most likely bring the shine right back with liquid carnauba or a cleaner wax.  In either case, we'd suggest additional applications of wax, whether prior to launch or staggered throughout the season, to keep your boat's gel coat protected and looking good.   

 

 

What products do you use?

For cleaning products, we use name brands such as 3M Non-Skid Cleaner and Roll-Off for general cleaning.  As far as wax goes, we use the kind of wax that we feel will be best to either restore or preserve the shine.  If your boat is in good condition with no oxidation, we like to use a pure carnauba wax such as Ultimate Carnauba or a Collinite wax.  If your boat is lightly to moderately oxidized, we usually like to use a cleaner wax like Simoniz Royale Marine or for chalkier boats we'll try 3M Restorer Wax.  If your boat is heavily oxidized, then you're going to want to check out our compounding prices.  When we use cleaner or restorer wax, we suggest a second coat of carnauba over that for optimum protection.

 

Can you wax my boat in the water?

Yes.  The only thing is that it's a bit tricky sometimes.  We can certainly do a better job with the boat out of the water.  When your boat is in the water it's tough to get all the way down to the waterline because when you mix wax and water you get a big old mess. We can work off the finger slip if it's on one side of the boat, but have to use an inflatable on the other side.  Now  because we live in a litigious society, we have to pull back the reins on our prior practices.  We no longer will untie and move your boat from side to side, etc, so when we show up, your boat should be tied close to one of the finger slips.  We also will no longer use high speed buffers on the hull sides due to the risk of shock and or worse when using electrical cords around water.  We will do the best job possible by hand on the hull sides.  We can secure cords well enough to use buffers on the surfaces above the rubrail so that shouldn't be a problem. 

 

Do you take off rust & waterline stains?

Whew man... you people want everything.  Yes we do try and remove rust and waterline stains when we wax your boat.  Most of the time we can get rid of almost any stain that hasn't leached down into the gel coat.  Just let us know if there are specific areas of concern, otherwise we will give your boat a once over while we are cleaning it and do our best to remove those stains.

 

What does the temperature have to be to wash and wax?

Well let me answer a question with a question.  Do you want your boat to look good after we wax it? If the answer is yes, then you want to wait until the temperatures have been consistently in the 50's for a few days in order to get the hull temperature warm enough.  When you try to wax a boat in colder temperatures it just isn't going to shine as well as it should.  Maximum protection and shine can be achieved by using the products under the conditions that they were designed for.  If you want to wax your boat in colder temperatures, we'd suggest that you do it yourself because you don't want to see me cry when I try to buff the haze off the same spot over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and.....

 

What is the meaning of life?

This question has been pondered throughout the ages and the best solution I can offer up is to watch Monty Python's "The Meaning Of Life" a few times and figure it all out for yourself.  We each derive a different meaning out of our life experiences and I certainly have been deeply touched by the live organ transplant segment of that great movie.