Maintain the Finish

Dirt Ball · September 03, 2012, 09:15:37 PM

I recently acquired a 2005 175 VS. The previous owner took excellent care of it.

This is my first fiberglass boat. How do you maintain the gel coat?

Mike Cork · September 05, 2012, 03:36:43 PM

There are several great products out there but I like to use bass boat saver after every other trip. Wipes on and off easily and leaves a very clean finish that is UV protected.

K2Racing29 · September 05, 2012, 03:39:41 PM

+1 Bass Boat Saver every time. 2006 boat. Example of the shine:

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Dirt Ball · September 06, 2012, 06:00:55 AM

Thanks guys. I'll give Bass Boat Saver a try.

RedTop · September 06, 2012, 07:03:24 PM

I bought my Ranger 520 used. Its a 2001....I rushed them to get it ready so I could take it to Lake fork the same day. (Shouldnt do that by the way)...Anyway they cleaned it up and oit looked pretty good. So after 9 months I decided I'd like to get some of the oxidation out of it. I tried rubbing compound and really giving it a good cleaning and all. So I did some reading and was going to do it over the winter....when its not a 105 outside....So I was goofing off with it and did a very small area following some instructions I got from a friend and read on a boat site....this is what I've got done...Just the top cap as the sides look new....

Before

After

All in all I think it looks pretty good....NOW...If I could get some ideas how to do the fenders on the trailer....Id be happy as all get out!!!

ehilburn11 · September 27, 2012, 09:28:14 PM

Quote from: RedTop on September 06, 2012, 07:03:24 PM
I bought my Ranger 520 used. Its a 2001....I rushed them to get it ready so I could take it to Lake fork the same day. (Shouldnt do that by the way)...Anyway they cleaned it up and oit looked pretty good. So after 9 months I decided I'd like to get some of the oxidation out of it. I tried rubbing compound and really giving it a good cleaning and all. So I did some reading and was going to do it over the winter....when its not a 105 outside....So I was goofing off with it and did a very small area following some instructions I got from a friend and read on a boat site....this is what I've got done...Just the top cap as the sides look new....

Before

After

All in all I think it looks pretty good....NOW...If I could get some ideas how to do the fenders on the trailer....Id be happy as all get out!!!

So what exactly did you do?!

watsjigs · September 27, 2012, 09:55:45 PM

I use a product from Larsen called "Boat Restore and Polish" it is much like other products mentioned. This product is good for cleaning and shinning your boat, but you need to use it on top of a good wax. I use collinite boat wax 2-3 times a year and polish 2-3 times a month depending on how much use I put on the boat.

I have seen boats loose their shine and suffer oxidation issues after several years of using a polish and not using a high quality wax. After the polish comes off the oxidation and fading is still there and getting worse. You are just covering it up with the polish. A high quality wax job will stop it.

Just my two cents. I hope it helps!

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RedTop · October 08, 2012, 04:36:55 PM

Quote from: ehilburn11 on September 27, 2012, 09:28:14 PM
So what exactly did you do?!

I wet sanded the areas with 2000 grit sand paper....I didnt put a ton of pressure or just go nuts. I just sanded a bit then cleaned it....checked for spots that looked like they may need a lil extra sanding and worked on them. After UI would wet sand a small area I would clean it.

I used MacGuires Ultimate wax....I waxed and buffed it by hand...then waxed it again and used a buffer. 3200 rpms. I never used much pressure at all.

I will say that I did small areas at a time. I didnt just keep wet sanding a huge area then stop. I concentrated on small areas at a time. Then waxed.

took me 3 days to do the top area of the boat.

since I've done it I bought some detailing wax....it removes water spots and lil things here and there.

I'll be doing more to the boat thru the winter...I just brought it back from Lake Fork this past weekend...I'm going to do areas I didn't do over the winter...then maintain it. The above poster is correct...you need a good wax.