Best Boat Wax
What you really need to know

As a boat owner you don't just want any wax for your boat, you want the best boat wax!

But what makes a boat wax the best?

The industry will have most oof us chasing our tails with hyped-up marketing and labeling.

Your TLDR Summary of the Best Boat 

• Cars have clear coat as the final layer of paint that filters out damaging UV rays.
• Boats are made with gel coat and have no clear coat to protect from oxidizing.
• Boats will oxidize immediately when exposed to the elements of weather and sun.
• Gel coat is a multi-part mixture that is laid over the fiberglass sheeting. While gel coat is a very durable material, it is very prone to oxidizing. (One of the reasons the majority of boats are either all white, or mostly white. This is to hide the oxidation that will naturally occur)
• Unless your boat is literally brand new, or has been stored indoors, and you have also been very diligent and consistent with the maintenance of the gel coat, there will be still be some level of oxidation even though it may still look pretty shiny. (Once you start waxing or polishing your boat you will begin to see that your boat does in fact have a small degree of oxidation)
  

Asses Your Boat First

To make things simple, I can break boats down into 3 categories. You can decide where your boat fits in.

1. Brand new boat straight from production (this means it has NOT been sitting outdoors on a dealers lot exposed to the sun for months or years- if it has, then your boat would fit in one of the categories next)
   
2. Your current boat, or the one you may have just purchased is a few years old, but still looks pretty good and pretty shiny from a casual observation. (you might see slight areas of oxidation when really scrutinizing your boat in different lighting-if you know or suspect any degree of oxidation then you will want to polish your boat first to restore the gelcoat to a high gloss level before attempting to wax your boat)
3. You know your boat has plenty of oxidation. The hull may have a water line, some bumper scuffs, dock scuffs, or obvious chalky and dull gel coat. (if this is your situation, I highly recommend you accept that removing the oxidation by hand, even with an aggressive compound is not going to be realistic for even the most determined and dedicated of you. For results that are both professional grade as well as permanent, you will need to see my page on fiberglass boat restoration.)
   

Best Boat Wax for Brand New Boats

The above headline is important due to a single qualifying word: NEW!

This means you have a new boat, directly off the production line which it has never had the chance to oxidize out in the elements.

3M Perfect-It Boat Wax

3m Boat Wax on Amazon

• 3M represents a trusted name for most of the world
• Liquid wax will prove to be a better user experience for many of you reading this

Collinite Fleetwax #885

Collinite Fleetwax Boat Wax on Amazon

• Heavy duty paste wax from a highly rated manufacturer
• Formulated for marine and aeronautical uses

Darren's Note: Let me apply some logic to what can feel like a daunting task to any long term boat owner. Boats are not easy to take care simply due to the fact that they are big!

Some bigger than others and regardless of the size of your boat, it's going to be a lot of work. For this reason I will often break a boat down into sections. I will start with the most vulnerable areas first so I know those areas are taken care of if life gets in the way and I find I am unable to finish the remainder of the boat like I had expected.

You can clean small areas individually and then wax these areas individually, rather than attempting to wash and wax your entire boat in a single day. A wash bucket, wash mitt, and a micro fiber cloth will allow you to simply wipe down an individual section one at a time and then tackle your boat section by section.

If you embrace this strategy you might find your boat gets waxed far more often!

If you plan on trying to compound or polish your boat by hand before you apply your choice as the best boat wax, I recommend you break your boat down into bite-size areas that are more manageable.

Remember that polishing your boat by hand will be easier in some ways, but require far more elbow grease than if you were doing it with machine. You may have to compound each section multiple times before you think the area is ready for some boat wax.

Just accept this as part of the journey at the beginning and it will help you become less frustrated as you get into the project.

Also note that you control the level of results you find acceptable. If you aren't able to achieve the desired results than you either need to step up to a machine in the form of a boat buffer, or you need to lower your expectations. Your hand will never be able to duplicate the speed, friction, and consistency that a power buffer can do.

One of the big problems with little to no experience is the inability to know if you expectations from a product are appropriate or unrealistic.

This means you might find yourself chasing after one boat compound/polish after another expecting these compounds or polishes to perform at levels that simply are not realistic.

To repeat myself, you can go to my page on using a buffer to remove oxidation from your boat using a buffer.

What To Do If You Aren't Sure

Many of you will read this page and wonder exactly what you should do:

• You know your boat needs to be waxed
• You think it might have some oxidation but if it does, it's not too much since your boat still has a good level of shine
• You also accept that your boat could probably look better with some wax, but maybe some polishing first

Then do what I would do, and that is use a polish and wax combination like the one below:

3M Cutting Polish + Wax on Amazon

• Polish and wax at the same time
• Allows you to get the performance of a polish (will restore the shine while removing light oxidation) while adding protection in the form of wax
• Use as often as you are willing as it would be impossible to wax your boat too much (and wax build-up is a myth!)

Pay "Best Boat Wax" It Forward

Darren's Tips: If you are new to boat ownership, working on a gel coat or fiberglass boat (gel coat is officially the top material you are working on but many people refer to boats as fiberglass, even though fiberglass itself only exists as part of the underlying material) will be a very new experience for you. If your boat is brand new or in excellent condition, waxing your boat with your choice in the best boat wax is not going to be nearly as shocking as a boat with mild to heavy oxidation.

Any of the products above will perform for you so long as your expectations are not unrealistic. And I have found most boat owners are not looking for perfection when it comes to their boats if they are doing it themselves. Finding the best boat wax to me is as much about understanding the nature of gel coat/fiberglass as it is actually finding a top rated "best boat wax".

Thank you for visiting the Best Boat Wax review.

I bet you know of at least one other person who would benefit from the information I have taken so much time to produce, so please post this to your FB or Twitter account and help me spread the word!

Or just send them the link and pay it forward in that manner. I have made it super easy to spread the word with my “Socialize It” button box at the very bottom of this page.

Sincerely,

Darren Priest