Water Spots

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

What do you guys use for the water spots on the boat after a weekend of riding. I heard about a product called "Ducky" or something like that and I have also used distilled water and vinigar. The vinigar mixture worked very well but I'm afraid it will take of any wax I have on the boat. I'm also curious if the "Ducky" product works well and if it will remove wax. Any suggestions?

noneya · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 796 City: Roxboro, NC

Meguires makes a hard water spot remover, I got some at West Marine, it works great

Hyperryd · Addict Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 604 City: Central Cali

Meguiers makes a product called Quick Clean Marine that works great. It is like a cleaner and wax in a spray bottle. Great shine, no spots and it's easy. I get mine at the boat shop.

driftwood · Posted: May 13, 2003 10:20 pm Post subject:

ducky or mix vinegar and water at a 50% solution - just be prepared to rewax every few months if you do the v&W

anti-shoobies · Posted: May 15, 2003 6:28 pm Post subject:

Your standard hull cleaner will do the trick. Atleast it does for me.

X30rider · Outlaw Joined: 31 Mar 2003 Posts: 150 City: Dallas

Anti-shoobie,
you dont want to use Hull cleaner on you boat above the waterline i has acids in it and it can take off you wax really fast. you only use hull cleaner if your bottom of your boat is really dirty

west coast boarder · Addict Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 558 City: Nor Cal

I have some of the "Ducky" water spot remover and it works well.

sambo · Criminal Joined: 06 May 2003 Posts: 94

Vinegar and water work great. Like Driftwood said, don't forget to wax.

Bluesman · Posted: May 16, 2003 7:19 am Post subject:

WestMarine offers a gallon sized boat wash. About an once in a bucket of water does the whole boat. It takes the water spots off the glass as well as the gelcoat. It's a bit pricey, but the gallon jug lasts for years.

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

Bluesman, Is it a product offered by WestMarine as their product or does someone else make it?

krit · Outlaw Joined: 04 Apr 2003 Posts: 145

so if you spray on vinegar and water after each use, you have to wax your boat often or something? Please explain...

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

I think it is as simple as the vinigar taking off the wax. Therefore, you must wax often

krit · Outlaw Joined: 04 Apr 2003 Posts: 145

Sorry to be so clueless, but how often will I have to wax it? I bought the boat last June and haven't even thought about doing that. But I haven't used any vinegar yet either. If I just clean the boat with regular hull cleaner, will I need to wax it then also?

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

No worries krit, . According to Anti-shoobie,

you dont want to use Hull cleaner on you boat above the waterline i has acids in it and it can take off you wax really fast. you only use hull cleaner if your bottom of your boat is really dirty.

Well, a "Hull Cleaner" is new to me. Apparently, its a harsh chemical that can really start stipping off wax. In my opinion, use a standard baot wash, I use one called Mequiar's Boat/RV gel wash I picked up from my local boat dealer. I would switch to a standard type of boat wash if I were you because you never know what that stuff you have has in it.

As far as water spots and waxing, upon reading all of the post to this thread, I have decided to stay away from the Vinigar and Water mixture and spend the money on "Ducky" I don't think that Ducky will strip off the wax and apparently, it works preety good. In my opinion, Waxing should be done as often as possible. I'm a liitle crazy when it comes to the way my boat looks. If I spend all that money on it, I want her looking nice so I wax my boat about 3 - 4 times a season. You should at least do it once a year but I suggest more.

You also said you just bought it (your boat). The first thing I would have done is wax the shizzy out of it. You never know how well the boat was taken care of before you bought it.

Hope that helps. Just my 2 cents.

Boxerczar · Posted: May 17, 2003 5:30 am Post subject:

Starbright spot remover works awsome. Used this product every few weeks and only had to wax boat twice in three years. Still looks like a showroom finish.

paige · Newbie Joined: 28 May 2003 Posts: 32 City: Oklahoma City

OR, you could just wipe down the boat with a towel after you take it out-no products to buy, no worry about removig wax, no stinky vinegar...problem solved.

noneya · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 796 City: Roxboro, NC

Hyperryder- the quick wash wont take off all the hard water spots, that's what I normally use, but every few monthw you have to really clean it.
Paige- I wipe after every trip out w/ a towel and spray w/ clean water from the house, the lakes down here are nasty and you still get the water spots.

BigTimer · Posted: May 29, 2003 11:36 am Post subject:

SIMPLE-
Just wipe it down with a towel after every time you use it. No chemicals, no solvents, nothing.
Then just wash your boat every once in a while like you would your car. Every couple weeks or so. Wax it a few times a season. No big deal.

Unless your boat stays in the water, then you'll need some hull cleaner to get that scum line off.

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

The problem is that we go to the river very often and camp for about 4 days at a time and just wakeboard our booty's off. Out here on the colorodo river it hits 110 degrees plus almost daily. We board in the morning and go back to camp and have waterspots by 10:00 in the morning from the sun and heat. By the end of the weekend trip I have waterspots thicker that the gel coat. Now y ou can see my delema.

Troy · Criminal Joined: 16 Apr 2003 Posts: 79 City: Nor Cal

I've got the same problem. Black boat and California sun = waterspots. The Meguires waterspot remover works well and it won't mess up the wax. Half of the time the boat is sun dried before I can get a towel to it. I've been wanting to try the vinegar and water (much cheeper) but I haven't run out of the other stuff yet.

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

I have tried Vinigar and water. It works well but I have made the desicion to stick with the brand name products to save my wax and any other problems I might run into with the vinigar. Vinigar works well though. Make sure you use distilled white vinigar and distilled water from the market. 50/50. Also, make sure you do it to a cool boat and out of the sun. You'll get streaks if the boat is hot or in the sun.

I hate water spots.

Get2TheRiver · Posted: May 29, 2003 3:03 pm Post subject:

Hey X-Star, that water at the river rips the wax right off anyway. I usually wax pre-season and post season. Every day at the river, I just wipe her down. When I pull it out, I use the V&W solution. The boat looks awesome most of the time...

Sounds kinda sexual, don't it?

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

Thanks man. I wipe her down after the day but like Troy said, they are usually dry before i get a chance to wipe it down.

You havent had any other problems with the V&W though hu?

Get2TheRiver · Posted: May 30, 2003 9:16 am Post subject:

Love the V&W. I just don't worry about the boat not having that smooth wax finish that it does in my driveway before the first trip of the year...

Troy · Criminal Joined: 16 Apr 2003 Posts: 79 City: Nor Cal

Are you using the V&W prior to the wipe down or do you wait 'till you get home?

C-Stone · Posted: Jun 01, 2003 10:13 pm Post subject:

youre going to have to wax it regardless of what you put on it to try to get the water spots off... Just use a high speed industrial buffer and some M3 finesse it 2 , dont take more steps than needed, glaze it, wipe off the access glaze and youre done...

Get2TheRiver · Posted: Jun 02, 2003 6:10 pm Post subject:

Pull the boat from the water, spray it down section by section with V&W and wipe away.

r3612 · Soul Rider Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Posts: 346 City: Chicago IL

I use the vin and water works great on all the boats i've owned. I wax myrides about 3 times a year beginning, middle, and ,end. We have an abbreviated season here in chi-town. I'll say april til oct on avrg. I also give the ocassional spray wax just to keep her shinning depending on how much watertime it gets. Sometimes once evry 2 weeks sometimes one a month. I'm kinda anal bout things so I've been told.

X-Star,
Mabe I'm missing something why use distilled water is it because all the "harmful impurities" are filtered out or is there more to it?

Kris

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

I'm not really sure why but I was told by my old boat dealer to use distilled water. I've ran out of distilled water and used regular tap water and got the same results so I dont really think it matters. I just started using distilled because thats what I heard.

r3612 · Soul Rider Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Posts: 346 City: Chicago IL

10-4 on that

Someone asked me if I used regular water a while ago and I thought what other kind is there being the idiot I am, and he asked if I used distilled. Now I know he wasn't crazy. I've been using regular City of Chicago Lake Michigan water for years and no problems just for the record. I'll have to ask a couple of dealers on that.

You should of saw the look on my face when that guy asked me that though. Oh well!! Life goes on!

Kris

Delbert · Outlaw Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 112 City: Nashville

Anyone ever hear to use the water out of the lake/river where the boat got the water spots. Was told that it works but have never had to test (Wipe down after use and boat does not stay in lake.