“Luster” is an indefinable quality, but you know it when you
see it. It’s not that the boat should look shiny—you can polish any old metal
to a strange sort of shine. It’s not that the boat should look clean—even old boats can look clean.
Luster instead is that combination of health, cleanliness,
and panache that makes boat polishing worth the labor. But not every boat
polishing session will automatically result in the luster you’re working so
hard to achieve—for that, you need to know the right steps and the right
products. We just happen to have both of them for you right here:
Acquiring the Right
Boat Polishing Materials
First things first: if you aren’t using the right products,
nothing’s ever going to look right. New boat owners especially need to pay attention
to matching the right kind of products to the right materials. Here’s our quick
guide:
- Use Graphix Wax any time you
need to wax over graphics but are concerned about losing the color and—yes—luster
of your custom graphics. Boat graphics are a big investment; there’s no reason
that a routine waxing should have to damage that investment. - If you need more color on your fiberglass, look
for a dedicated Color Restorer. Read the label to make sure that it’s fiberglass-ready—or, better
yet, just click that link. - Use a high-quality boat polish like PolyShine if you’re going
the combination wax-polishing route. Not only does this premium boat polish
work on chrome, stainless steel hardware, and fiberglass, but it will last some
three years if used with Life Wax.
For all of your product needs, be sure to visit our index of
boat polishing and waxing products.
The Boat Polishing
Process Made Easy
Once you have the right products for your purposes, the rest
will be much easier—and much more intuitive.
First, make sure to clean and dry the areas you’re going to
polish. This is essential to making sure that you’re not polishing little
streaks of dirt and debris but rather polishing the materials of your boat.
Next, use a slow speed buffer of your choice and apply the polish. Some
boat owners prefer to do this by hand, but power buffers are also popular
because of the size of the boat hulls. A power buffer is also better for older
boats that require a lot more work.
Wipe off the polish and then finish with a wax of your
choice—if you are covering graphics, remember to use Graphix Wax for better and
more durable long-term protection of custom graphics.
If you like our wax and polish products, be sure to continue
browsing all of the boat cleaning and maintenance products here at BoatLIFE. Chances are, you’ll be able to
find an affordable product that handles all of the materials you need to
maintain your boat—even if your goal is to restore a boat’s indefinable
quality of “luster,” we have you covered.
