Neglecting your boat polishing needs for years would make the surface fade and dull, giving it a worn out look. In such case, reviving the boat’s glossy finish and creating factory-like appearance becomes a necessity. However, if you know the technique and can spare a few precious moments of your busy life, it would be a great feeling to see your boat at its shinning best. If not, professional boat detailing services are always there to ease your labor and make your dirty-looking water transport brand new.
Different Boats, Different Boat Polishing Techniques
Fiberglass Boat Polishing
The outer surface of a fiberglass boat is normally made up of special resin called gel coat. It protects the hull and gives it its color and shine. Time and exposure to the sun and marine water eventually erode its relatively soft surface, leaving it dull and chalky. In addition, as this gel coat ages, it loses oils and dries out completely, giving your boat a worn out and weather-beaten look.
Wax polish replenishes these oils to enhance its gloss. It also helps restoring the original luster of the paint. Additionally, it removes swirl marks or tiny scratches and keeps the shine of the paint brighter. Professional boat detailers do all these things and let you have a pleasant cruise of the shiny boat along with long-lasting memories.
Painted Boats
On the other hand, paint applied to the boat’s exterior contains emollients and oils that make it shine. It can also dry out early if left exposed to the sun and water or if unprotected by wax. Polishing and waxing the boat’s exposed surfaces both remove this dead paint and restore the emollients to their original look and extends their life. This is one of the things you can do for better boat maintenance.
Boat Polishing
Polishing, contrary to popular belief, is not coating the boat. In reality, it removes the pitted surface. Both polish and buffing compounds are abrasives. They restore the shine of the boat’s fiberglass gel coat by removing imperfections, discoloration and scrapes in the surface, increasing the body shine and its original lively look. Pure polish over-coated with wax maintains this high gloss of the boat’s paint. This polishing is suitable only if the boat demands light refinishing. Instead, a stronger rubbing compound is more appropriate if the surface is excessively pitted or dull. It will keep the boat exterior clean and rust free.
Boat Waxing
The final step in this polishing job is to protect the finish with a wax job. The sun’s UV rays quickly ruin the topsides of the boat if there is no wax on the surface. Waxing your boat adds depth and shine to its paint and increases its durability. After washing and rinsing, it is also necessary to re-wax. This gives added protection to the hull’s gel coat and to the paint by sealing the surface against dirt. It also prevents oxidation from degrading the glossy finish of the boat. And that’s why boat polishing is an important aspect of making the boat trouble free.
No doubt, cleaning your boat can be a serious detailing job. For this purpose, you need to wash the boat first before polishing its structure. Otherwise, the old wax, grease, dirt, grime, and sticky water minerals get accumulated and make future boat hull cleaning more difficult. Additionally, they may cause malfunctioning in the boat’s machines.
Once the boat dries out completely, waxing and buffing of the hull is required to shine the fiberglass. It’s not necessary to wax the boat after every cruise though. However, we recommend that you do it at least once or twice during the season. Waxing preserves the luster of the hull and protects against the elements and impurities found in water.
In Conclusion
Cleanliness is the key to preserving the original shine of the boat or for that matter of any vehicle. That’s why boat owners prefer professional boat detailing services over self-cleaning. The entrust experts to make sure everything on the boat is squeaky clean before starting the actual polishing job and give the boat’s finish a fresh lease of life.
All these things require patience and technical perfection. Professional detailing services that specialize in boat maintenance are better equipped to do it cleanly and with finer details. They maintain the quality appearance and condition of your boat by bringing back the original color and knocking out the ugly, faded look. This leaves you time to cruise far and away full of beauty, full of dreams and with prospects of wonderful fun.
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