You may like the overall appearance of your boat, but
sometimes, there’s something missing. It can be hard to put your finger on it,
but if you’ve been using your boat for a while, it may come down to the shine of your fiberglass. Fiberglass can be tricky to deal with, but it’s more than possible
to restore the original “shine” to your boat hull, as long as you know the
right steps. Here are some suggestions to make a fiberglass boat shine again.
Cleaning Your
Fiberglass
You don’t want to waste a lot of time polishing and waxing
if your fiberglass is only in need of a thorough cleaning. That’s why we
recommend starting with a high-quality cleaning. If that restores the shine,
great. If not, you know you need to move to the next step.
To clean fiberglass
effectively, we recommend the following:
- Use a
dedicated boat cleaner. The key is to clean without removing the wax from
the fiberglass to keep any shine that remains. Boat Cleaner does this
effectively. If that doesn’t restore the shine you’re after, you might also consider
Fiberglass
Powder Cleaner. - Rinse and
allow to dry before reviewing the state of your fiberglass. It’s also a
good idea to take a “before and after” picture to get a sense of how much the
cleaning helped.
Waxing Your Boat
If cleaning did a majority of the work but you still feel
like you need some extra oomf, it may
be time for you to wax your boat. Here are the basic steps:
- Use
Powder Cleaner. If you haven’t already, use Fiberglass
Powder Cleaner to clean and prepare the surface of your boat for waxing. - Wax your
boat. Using a damp cloth, you can apply LifeWax with a circular motion,
being careful to apply an even layer of wax. Apply a maximum area of 4′ x 4′ and wipe off immediately with a clean dry cloth. Wax remains will
fill the less-visible nooks and crannies of your fiberglass gel coat to provide
a smooth finish.
Usually that’s enough to restore the luster to your
fiberglass boat, but waxing is primarily for long-term protection. You may need
a fresh polish if you want your boat to look like new.
Polishing Fiberglass
Polishing is different than waxing in that you’ll be using
an abrasive to smooth out the coat. Unless your gelcoat is truly degraded, a
polish should restore its luster.
Apply PolyShine
either by hand or with an electric buffer. With a larger boat, an electric
buffer is the only option that won’t wear you out. You may also want to
consider using Fiberglass
Rubbing Compound before the
polish if you really need to do a lot of work to get the fiberglass looking its
best. This option minimizes the loss of gel coat so you won’t have to replace
the gel coat itself.
Remember to polish before applying a layer of wax, as
the wax will then work in tandem with the polish to protect the luster of your
fiberglass. Used with LifeWax,
PolyShine can last up to
three years after application, allowing you to focus on other areas of boat
maintenance!
More Ways To Care
For Your Boat
Want more ways to ensure that your boat looks its best?
Browse the boat cleaning and maintenance products
here at BoatLIFE to find everything you need!
