Q: The colored stripe on my boat is really faded. What’s the best way to bring back the deep color and gloss?
​
A: Colored stripes that run along the topside or on the hull or waterline often fade quickly and need to be polished on a regular basis if you want them to retain their deeper color and gloss. The first thing you need to do is determine if that colored stripe is a vinyl sticker or if it’s a painted stripe. Depending on which it is will determine how you care for it.

Let’s get the easy one out of the way first. If your colored stripe is a vinyl sticker, there’s not too much you can do to it if it’s fading or peeling outside of removing it and replacing it. If it’s new or still in good condition, using a soft wax (with no compound in it) or spray wax to protect it will keep the color from fading over time. The darker the color, the more often you should apply wax or spray wax to it.

If your colored stripe is painted, it’s going to take more effort to bring back the color and gloss if it’s looking faded. The paint in the colored stripe can easily run if you use a buffer on it, so the first thing you want to do is apply a wide strip of painters tape on both sides of the stripe. This will prevent the paint from running into the lighter gel coat surrounding it.

The next step is to get your hands on a variable speed buffer or a dual action polisher. Do not bother trying to use an orbital polisher or doing it by hand as the results will be splotchy and not last very long because neither of those methods are able to cut through the oxidation that’s causing the fading.

With a faded colored stripe, you’ll want to do a two-step process. This means first applying and buffing with compound to cut through the oxidation and bring back the gloss and then following up with polish to protect the stripe from further oxidation. You don’t want to use wax on painted areas; instead use a non-wax polish. Cleaner wax typically isn’t strong enough to remove the oxidation in a colored stripe and although it might bring back the color at first, it won’t last very long, so skip the cleaner wax for this project. You can use a polish with compound in it as the second step, but you’ll want to use a true rubbing compound as your first step.

Before you begin, gather the items you’ll need:

• A variable speed buffer, such as the DeWalt 849x
• A bottle of compound for your first step - try 3M Perfect-It Rubbing Compound
• A bottle of polish for your second step - try West Marine’s Pure Oceans NanoTec Fiberglass Polish
• A white wool compounding pad
• A yellow wool polishing pad
• Microfiber rags

Apply the compound by hand and then buff it out using the wool compounding pad. You may need to do this a few times to cut through the oxidation. This is the step that brings back the gloss, so if you’re not seeing gloss, keep buffing.

However, keep in mind that if the painted stripe is on an older boat or was painted a long time ago, the paint may not be that thick anymore and if you buff too long or hard, you may hit primer. So take your time go and go slow.

Once the colored stripe is looking glossier, it’s then time to protect it with polish. Apply it by hand and then use the polishing pad to buff it off. When finished, wipe it all down with a microfiber rag. Remove the tape when you’re done.

Now that your colored stripe is glossy and protected again, you’ll need to keep it that way if you don’t want it to fade soon after. Use the polish at least once a month. This is something you can easily do by hand and it shouldn’t take too long.

Q: We have a ski boat with a red hull that’s slowly turning pink. I’ve applied wax to it several times, both by hand and with an orbital buffer, and it looks great for a few hours and then looks faded again. What am I doing wrong?

A: Boats with colored hulls must be waxed on a regular basis, about every 6 months and if it’s a black hull, you’ll want to apply wax about every 2 months. But that’s only after you have cut through the oxidation and the only way to do that properly is by using rubbing compound with a variable speed buffer. The rubbing compound has grit or clay in it that will help cut through the oxidation, but only when it’s applied at a high speed and applied evenly. An orbital buffer doesn’t spin fast enough or offer even pressure and you won’t be able to press hard enough with even pressure if you apply it by hand. Using an orbital buffer or your hand to apply rubbing compound will give you splotchy results.
​
If you haven’t used a buffer before, you’ll want to start with a DeWalt 849x. This buffer has a slow start so you can ease it onto the gel coat and then kick up the speed as you go. Use a compounding pad to apply the compound and buff it in with.

​Q: There are several deck brushes to choose from at my local boating supply store, but I can’t imagine I need one of each. Which one or two do I absolutely need on my boat?

​Q: Should I use a black streak remover product or something similar to remove water streaks on my boat or just stick to boat soap?

A: The answer to this question will lead you in circles until your head spins. Yes, you can use black streak remover products to remove water streaks, but over time, they will strip the wax in those specific areas and then the water streaks will become more noticeable and difficult to remove. But if you wax your boat every year, then by the time those water streaks have become stubborn to get off because the product you’ve been using has completely stripped the wax in those areas, it will be time to wax your boat anyway.

Or I could have answered this question advising you to stick to boat soap, which will remove the water streaks for as long as you have a good coat of wax on your boat. Once boat soap stops removing the streaks, then you know it’s time to wax your boat again. In other words, a black streak remover product is a great band-aid and will hide the symptoms, but in the end, it too will stop working and that’s when it’s time to wax your boat again.

My advice is a happy medium solution to this. Go ahead and use the black streak remover so your job is easier in removing those black streaks. But as soon as they become a bit harder to remove with the product, then take some cleaner wax and reapply it where the black streaks occur. This is something you can do by hand with a rag to apply it with and a rag to buff or wipe it off with. This will help your big yearly wax job last a bit longer.

​Another option is to use a boat soap with wax in it. This doesn’t mean that as you wash your boat, you’ll be waxing it at the same time. This means that this type of boat soap doesn’t strip wax and adds a light UV protectant that should last between washes to help protect your boat that much more from harmful UV rays.

Q: When I bring my boat back from being in salt water, is hosing it off good enough?

A: No. If you have just arrived at the marina and only have a few minutes before you have to rush off to your dinner reservations, then go ahead and hose it off as much as you can, spending any extra few minutes you have on windows – both glass and plastic. But you are not off the hook. Go enjoy your dinner, but know that you still have work to do. If it truly is evening and the sun has gone down or it’s a cloudy day, then you’ve just bought yourself some time. But if your boat is sitting in full sun, your boat needs a lot more work than just a quick hose down. This is one of those instances where putting off what needs to be done can create permanent maintenance issues in the future.

Now that I’ve scared you into action, you really do need to give your boat a full wash after each salt water adventure. As soon as the sun hits your salty boat, it can burn those salty water spots into your gel coat and especially your glass and plastic windows. It can also start to rust your stainless, so time really is of the essence. Glass windows can show permanent water spots if they don’t get cleaned thoroughly and properly and once the water spot has been burned into a window, it is very difficult to remove. You can’t clean it away with a window cleaner and you can’t even pick it off with your fingernail. Unlike other water spots, you can actually see the edges of each spot created by salt.
​
So, to keep your head from spinning, wash your boat with boat soap or Salt Away and water. Hit all sections – gel coat, non-skid, glass and plastic windows and stainless. When you’re done, wipe down all windows until they’re dry. You can do the same with stainless if you have time, but the windows require your attention more than anything else.

Q: The spiders at my marina are horrible. What can I do to keep them off my boat?

A: Ah yes, spiders. Not only are they creepy, but they leave little black dots everywhere on your boat – in your non-skid, on your white vinyl seats – everywhere! How is it possible for such a tiny creature to take over your boat almost no matter what you do to stop them! Thank goodness you can win the war over spiders, but you will need to be diligent. There is no solution that you can just set up and walk away from never to have to worry about it again. However, here are three solutions that will help you today and for a while to come.

1. Use a fogger. We've used the Hot Shot fogger inside boats and it's worked really well. This is the kind of insect fogger you set off and then run out of the room and stay away for about four hours. When you come back, all you see are dead insects everywhere – but at least they’re dead and no longer reproducing! This is the best solution to use in an enclosed space, such as inside your canvas enclosure or inside your boat. Afterward, you will need to clean all surfaces to remove any residue and you’ll want to vacuum up all the dead insects. Foggers not only kill the live insects, but their eggs, as well, so your enclosure will be spider free for about two months.
2. Use spider repellent. We love this all-natural Mighty Mint spider repellent because it actually works, smells good and isn't toxic to humans or pets. This is a product you can use anywhere on or around your boat. Spiders get onto your boat by climbing up your lines, so spray your lines and around the dock area, such as your dock box, fenders and the edge of your dock. Use it to also spray around the edges of your canvas enclosure and the inside corners where they like to hide and build nests. Although it’s advertised as a natural products, I still wouldn’t advise breathing it in, so either cover your mouth and nose or wear a mask. If you spray this every few times you visit your boat, it will do a good job of keeping spiders at bay as it kills them soon after contact and it repels them for a few weeks.
3. Use an ultrasonic spider repeller. There are many different brands and types, but we've had great results with this ultrasonic spider repeller. You simply plug it into an outlet on your boat, inside or outside, and it emits an ultrasonic sound that apparently only spiders are affected by. It disrupts their living conditions and causes them to find a less annoying home somewhere else (aka - your neighbor’s boat). This type of device works fairly well and will keep spiders off your boat for a few months, but you’ll need to buy a few different brands and switch them up each time. Otherwise the spiders will get used to the frequency over time and eventually not be so disrupted by it.

Want to learn more about spiders and how to rid them from your home? Here's an article showing pictures of different spiders (great way to know the ones you really need to worry about) and a company that can make them disappear.

Q: I’ve heard MEK or acetone is great for removing marks in gel coat. Is it OK to use or will it ruin the gel coat in any way?

A: I would save strong chemicals such as MEK or acetone as a last resort gel coat stain remover. First try a multi-purpose, biodegradable cleaner such as Pure Oceans All-Purpose Spray or even Simple Green in its more concentrated form. If the mark or stain isn’t coming off with a spray cleaner, then try a cleaner wax or rubbing compound. Just squeeze a small drop of it on a cloth and try rubbing the stain away. Remember that there is no wax in rubbing compound, so if you use it to remove a stain, you’ve also just removed any wax that was in that area, so you’ll want to apply another layer of wax for continuous protection.
​
If those things aren’t working and you want to try a stronger chemical such as acetone or lacquer thinner, then just pour a small amount of it on a rag and wipe it over the stain. These types of products will probably remove the stain, but consider that they’ll also remove any wax in that area, just as the rubbing compound will. This won’t hurt the gel coat in any way, but if you use strong products like this on gel coat, always follow up with another coat of wax in that section.