boat appearance care

In order to keep a boat looking good it needs to be thoroughly cleaned, polished and waxed at least twice a year. Once you begin to see oxidation on the fiberglass gel coat, then it is usually too late to do anything to keep the oxidation from reappearing. Keep in mind that on a boat that contains heavy oxidation, it is possible to get it to look good again, however it is usually very likely to see the oxidation reappear within a short period of time. That's because the oxidation is coming from within the gel coat itself. Of course, there are a number of good products on the market that can be used to make the surface look clean, smooth and shiney, however that good looking finish on a boat that contains an extreme amount of oxidation usually does not stay looking good for very long. You can think of oxidation coming from within the gel coat of the fiberglass, similar to the way rust comes from within the surface of metal. If you were to take a piece of metal and grind away the rust and then coat it with car wax you would probably see the rust begin to bleed thru just like the oxidation comes back on an oxidized boat.

From a detailing business standpoint, my basic rule is when a boat is over five years old and it has not been polished and waxed on a regular basis from when it was new, then I will usually not take on the job. Generally speaking, if you see oxidation then it's a sure sign that the boat has not been maintained correctly. The key is polishing and waxing on a regular basis from when the boat is new. That's the only way to keep a boat looking good.