EV1

Hi Guys,

I'm just a lurker here but I've been ask by management at my job to look into a solution for our boat upkeep issues. I'm a captain at a tourist attraction in Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada. We have a fleet of 8 aluminum boats painted in various colors. They sit in the sun all day from April-October and I'm trying to find a product to reduce the sun fade on the paint and keep the paint in better overall shape. We scrub the boats daily to keep the scum lines down, soot off the transom and engine hatch area and waters pots off the paint. Sometimes we use products like CLR to get the tough stuff and we also cover the whole boat in water 8 times a day. Boats don't come out of the water until end of season, so we will wax it once before the boat goes in and then it's all clean and whatever suggested products X amount of times during the season.

I figured I'd talk to you guys as you probably know best about what products to use on boats sitting in the sun all day. Any suggestions?

Thanks OSO!

Griff

It sounds like your cleaning supplies are stripping the wax right off.

No way wax protection will last more than a month or two on a boat. I would something like 303 protectant.

minxguy

http://www.sharkhide.com/sharkhide_metal_protectant.htm

Ken

Rattlesnake Jake

iTrader: (2)

Sweat, primarily..

EV1

Yeah that is 100% certain. The wax won't last with what we put it through. It's like going through a torrential downpour 8 times a day. Even Rain-X only lasts so long on our windshields.

I'll take a peek into that product, thanks!

27sedan

I'm guessing you're with the whirlpool jet boat people. If so, I love your ride. I tell people it's like riding in a submarine with the top down. To stay with the thread, I don't have any advice for keeping the boats clean. Mine lives indoors.

Padraig

A few thoughts for what they are worth.

1. Better quality paint.
2. Wax friendly cleaning products.
3. Wax more often, possibly contract it out. Good looking boats may pay off as customers will pick yours over the competition.

Padraig

EV1

You are correct! I ran the idea of garages for our fleet but for some reason they said that was too expensive.

We've been running a dewalt buffer and some meguiars products over the top side of the boats. So far so good... it looks like we will be running cheap and cheerful, full chemical clean, then buff, wax and polish once a month.

I don't Captain on the US side because of the new US customs practices they set up this year, but if you're ever on the Canadian side, let me know!