Fiberglass Wax
See what the Expert has to teach you!

Fiberglass wax or boat wax?

I have found that most boat owners understand very little when it comes to proper care of their "fiberglass" boat. If boat owners did understand more they would actually be searching for the best gelcoat wax.

Fiberglass is part of the manufacturing process, but gelcoat is actually the material the boat is finished with as the top layer. This layer of gelcoat is what you as a boat owner need to concern yourself with when it comes to proper care and maintenance of your boat.

Follow along and I will help you become a more informed boat owner and work through some fundamental learning so you can make a more informed decision when it comes to your "fiberglass" boat.

Fiberglass, Gelcoat, or Both?

As stated at the beginning, your fiberglass boat is made with fiberglass, but fiberglass is not the material you are working with as a boat owner.

Gelcoat is the top layer of material and the material that needs care and protection in the form of cleaning, polishing, and protecting through various products on the market.

"Darren, I don't want to become an expert on the subject, I just want a simple answer to my needs as a boat owner!"

Great!

This I can do, and if you want further information you can read this page to the end.

3M Medium Cut Polish and Wax on Amazon

• Professional grade for professional results
• Restore, enhance, and protect in a single product

Most of you will want the "simplest" way to produce results for your boat. And by simple I am referring to less "moving" parts versus actual labor on your part.

You will still be required to put in plenty of elbow grease to get the results you are after, but most of you will be able to accomplish this with a single product versus 2 or 3 different products.

• Hand use
• Machine use

Most boat owners are very limited of their working understanding of gelcoat, oxidation, and what is required in specific terms to removing oxidation, restoring shine, and adding protection.

Which leads most boat owners looking for simple solutions that can be done by hand. It is possible to work your way over your entire boat by hand with this product from 3M, but you will be very limited on the results you are able to produce.

The best alternative to getting the results you are really after will require you to commit to using a rotary polisher.

The good news is that buffers (polishers and buffers are the same thing) of today have been engineered to be very user friendly in a such a way that even beginners can now safely and effectively use professional grade tools and achieve desired results.

DeWalt Polishing Kit on Amazon

• The exact buffer I use professionally
• Take your boat polishing efforts to much higher levels of results

100% Wool Polishing Pads on Amazon

• If you are committed to using a machine polisher on your boat, you will need multiple buffing pads
• 100% wool pads are the preferred choice when compared to synthetic fiber options
• The labeling on buffers and pads can be confusing when it comes to sizes (7 inch, 8 inch, 9 inch, etc.) these pads will fit on the DeWalt backing plate that comes with the polishing kit from above
• Nothing cuts through oxidation on gelcoat like a new buffing pad and for this reason you will learn quickly that is is better to have multiple pads on hand so you can switch them out as needed

Becoming a More Informed Boat Owner

Q: What is the difference between a boat wax, fiberglass wax, or marine wax?

A: Nothing. The term is all based on how a manufacturer decides to label their product. Different industries will tend to lean into a specific term, but there is no guarantee of consistent use of a term within a specific industry.

Think of it with this example: Do you own a car, auto, or vehicle? Here are 3 terms that all mean the same thing and yet each can be used to discuss the same thing.

Q: Do you really need to wax your boat?

A: Yes. At least if you want to maintain the beauty and value of these toys. Just like car paint, the elements of weather will degrade and "weather" your toys. Every material on your boat will degrade as a result of the aging and the weathering process and the gelcoat is no exception.

Choosing the right fiberglass wax and applying it on a consistent basis is priority one when it comes to fiberglass and gel coats.

It is a confusing industry regardless of whether you are talking about choosing the best car wax or the best boat wax. Endless choices, endless opinions, endless free opinions all trying to inform, educate, or convince you as to what is the best, what steps to take, and what techniques to use.

I feel your frustration!

Q: What is the difference between a fiberglass boat and a gelcoat boat?

A. Nothing. It is simply a difference in labeling versus any actual material or build difference. People simply refer to their boat using different terms.

The reality is that any boat (think of your bathtub or shower enclosure) will be made using both materials. 

Fiberglass sheeting (think of cloth material made using fiberglass strands) is simply one of the materials used in the construction of making boats. In most cases, based on quality/cost of the boat, the process is as follows:

• Start with a mold of the boat being manufactured/constructed (the making of a boat mold is an entirely different discussion. We are talking about the making of the boat itself, not the mold used to make the boat)
• Cover the inside of the boat with a carnauba based wax called mold release wax, or simply release wax (Multiple coats of this boat mold release wax must be used to prevent any sticking of the boat construction materials from sticking to the mold. One of the reasons carnauba wax is used in this release wax is that it can be "layered" to produce a truly integral or completeness to this "buffer" layer that allows the other materials to be released without any adhesion problems between the mold and the materials used to construct the boat)
• Most boats are completely white or a solid color for the entire boat (custom boats with graphic patterns, etc., are made differently as the different colors are sprayed or laid down in separate and distinct sequence based on desired appearance of final boat)
• The gel coat material is the first layer to be sprayed into the boat mold (which means it is sprayed onto the mold release wax. the surface of the gel coat being sprayed onto the mold release wax will dry completely, while the exposed side will remain tacky)
• Gel coat is a resin mixed with a hardener (In a simple explanation; this is two liquids that when combined, become hard or non-liquid to created the catalyzed material called gel coat. White is generally the color of choice, but any color can be added to this two-part gel coat process)
• Once the gel coat (two-part resin/hardener) is sprayed into the boat mold, then fiberglass cloth sheeting is hand laid into entire boat mold.
  
• Once fiberglass cloth is laid out, a second type of resin and hardener is either sprayed or rolled onto fiberglass sheeting
• The fiberglass cloth becomes saturated with this two-part resin/hardener and is then squeegeed out to remove excess resin/hardener before it fully cures into a solid material (excess resin/hardener is unwanted at this stage. Complete saturation of the fiberglass cloth is required, but excess resin/hardener is unwanted)
• Once this has hardened up, or fully cured (fully cured is different than fully cross-linked at the molecular level. This means the gel coat and fiberglass cloth can be stiff or hard enough to remove from the boat mold, but will in fact, continue to catalyze or fully cross-link at the molecular level once it is removed from the mold)

Darren's Note: If you actually took the time to read through that boat making process, you can likely begin to see why people refer to their boats as having gel coat or calling them a fiberglass boat. Which then ripples into the terminology of referring to boat wax as fiberglass wax, versus marine wax, versus car wax, and so on.....

Q. - I have always heard that natural carnauba products are best.

A. First off, the "best" of anything will always depend on the exact benefits you are looking for. When it comes to choosing the best in a fiberglass wax, I am of the opinion that regardless of the actual fiberglass wax you choose, the best boat wax will be the wax that makes it onto your boat more often, not less often.

This has more to do with finding the best rated boat wax, and more about the user experience. Because when it comes down to it, if you are willing to pay any amount of money purchasing the best boat wax based on the endless boat wax reviews written mostly by non-professionals and this new boat wax is so miserable to use, it's never going to make it onto your boat.

If it never makes it onto your boat because of a very poor user experience, than how good is that wax really going to be?

While carnauba wax has long been the accepted king when it comes to car wax or boat wax, I will always default to the wax you are willing to use more often, not less often regardless of what it is made of.

Q. - What is the difference between marine wax and car wax?

A. Nothing. (sorry to inform you of this) I know you will dismiss this as it goes completely counter to what you have been lead to believe, but the same natural wax or synthetic  ingredients that car wax products are made with, are also the same ingredients used to make marine grade or boat waxes.( I realize that the labeling on any marine or boat wax will make very compelling claims as to why that particular boat wax or marine wax is truly unique and a requirement for your boat, but it is simply false statements used to sell you more products)

Despite the differences in car paint and fiberglass or gelcoat boats, the ingredients are used for both materials. The manufacturers simply label them differently. It is not necessarily a case of manufacturers lying or misrepresenting to you, they simply accept that as a boat owner you would more easily put your trust and faith into a product that was specifically labeled and marketed to your specific situation and needs.

Which is why you not only could use the best car wax on your boat, but you could also use the best fiberglass wax on your car.

Also noteworthy is the fact that virtually any marine yard or marine service facility will not let any product onto their premises unless it is labeled as a "marine use" product.

Q. - What if my boat already has some level of oxidation to the fiberglass or gel coat?

A. What I can tell you is that virtually every boat is going to have some level of oxidation to it. Most times your boat will still appear to have some shine to it which then leads you to the conclusion that your boat simply needs some form of wax made for fiberglass versus car wax.

The problem is that it takes very little oxidation on your fiberglass boat to change the requirements on your part as to how you approach what you are really trying to do: add shine add protection to your boat through the use of some top rated fiberglass wax.

If your boat is heavily oxidized you will likely be capable of determining this almost immediately with a quick visual examination. But many boats that have oxidation will also still have some level fo shine to them.

And because of this, you will likely conclude that applying a good fiberglass wax is going to suffice; but it won't. Once gelcoat or fiberglass begins to oxidize, it develops a porous layer of dead "material" in the form of dead or dried out fiberglass/gelcoat material.

If you attempt to apply your favorite fiberglass wax or dedicated boat wax to this, you will quickly realize that is becomes an exercise in futility as the wax immediately soaks into this subtle dead layer of oxidation making it almost impossible to successfully wax your boat.

Darren's Note: If you are here looking for a fiberglass wax and are attempting to wax your boat then I need to add the following baseline tips:

• Gel coat/fiberglass is not car paint. (your boat may have been painted, but that would be the exception, rather than the rule. I come across very few boats that have literally been painted over the gel coat))
• Gel coat/fiberglass is literally like trying to wax your bathtub. Same material, same process of manufacturing.
  
• If you are unsure as to how to start or want to practice first, you can literally test in your bathtub/shower if you know it is a fiberglass bathtub or shower enclosure (99% of them are)
• Gel coat/fiberglass oxidizes very differently than 2 stage car paint. Gel coat/fiberglass will become chalky. The tricky part is that even if your boat still has shine to it, in 99% of the cases it will also have some level of oxidation that you will not realize until you try and wax it. For this reason I always recommend that a person start with a cleaner wax like the two below.
• Just because it is a cleaner wax should not alarm you if you are waxing your boat for the first time and you think it is in pristine condition. You will be completely safe in using one of these cleaner waxes.
  

If you are dealing with mild to moderate levels of fiberglass or gel coat oxidation, then a cleaner wax is effective if you are looking to simplify your world from 2 steps, into 1 step.

Fiberglass Oxidation Removal:
Why does gelcoat or fiberglass oxidize

I see many boat owners approach the washing and waxing duties of their boat like they do their cars. The problem is that gelcoat or fiberglass is not car paint.

Gelcoat oxidizes so easily due to the fact that it is a very porous material (it is also very durable, strong, and cheap to use in the construction of boats). Oxidation of any material as a rule is a direct result of the material being exposed to oxygen. Oxygen in the form of the air you and I breathe.

It is called being exposed to the elements. And the elements of oxygen (air) and weather causes this unwanted effect of oxidizing or degrading the gelcoat material.

Car paint is not porous like gelcoat is and therefore does not oxidize like your boat will. This is one of the major reasons car manufacturers started to clear coat cars.

You may have noticed that modern day cars no longer turn chalky or fade like they did 30+ years ago before the introduction of clear coat paint.

Because gelcoat is such a porous material, all these exposed pores will oxidize very quickly f you do not keep a quality fiberglass or marine wax on your boat. This wax fills in all those endless microscopic pores and protects against the elements.

Fiberglass Oxidation Removal:
Heavy duty polishing compound

I realize that you came looking for the best fiberglass wax for your boat and now I have taken you into the world of machine polishing and heavy duty polishing compound.

All in the name of trying to remove the oxidation from your fiberglass boat (gelcoat).

I just know how difficult boats can be to wax once they have begun to oxidize. I also know how quickly boats begin to oxidize even though your boat still has some shine to it.

Once you start rubbing on the gelcoat or fiberglass of your boat, what is revealed is very shocking to many a boat owner.

Therefore I am including this section that takes us down the path of fiberglass wax to polishing your boat with a compound.

Fiberglass Boat Polishing

The area of boat care is an area filled with much bad information repeated by misinformed or inexperienced people.

I have included the pictures below in the attempt to motivate you in taking that next step from simply applying your favorite fiberglass wax to polishing your boat with a rotary polisher.

The results are impressive in picture, but still don't do the real-world results justice when you see it first hand.

Above it an example of some polishing I did on an oxidized boat. I used blue painters tape to create a before and after effect. Not only is the boat gelcoat oxidized, but the side of the hull had some serious scuff marks that I also polished out.

The second picture is the same area after I removed the blue painters tape so the true before and after results could be seen.

These are the type of results only capable with using a rotary polisher, wool cutting pads, and the Rip Cut compound.

The Bad News:

Because gel coat and fiberglass is such a durable and tough material, when it comes to polishing and removing oxidation, it requires more product and more work. The heat and friction required to remove heavy layers of oxidation are only possible through the use of a high speed polisher and wool pads.

Yes you can attempt to do this by hand, but it will prove an extremely frustrating experience and when compared to the results you can produce by machine, there simply is no comparison.

The Good News:

The good news of this is that polishing on these tough and durable materials of fiberglass and gel coats means they are also much more forgiving when it comes to the possibility of damage during use of the high speed polisher. So if you are a beginner, and have been sitting on the fence as to whether or not you want learn how to use a high speed polisher, it would be next to impossible to do any form of actual damage. The great thing about the latest in rotary polishers (high-sped buffers) are the ability to dial them down to such a low operating speed of only 600 RPM's.

Fiberglass Wax Conclusion

Interesting how many topics that appear simple at first, but can become rather complex subjects very quickly.

Our discussion on fiberglass wax is no exception. I hope through our discussion on selecting a fiberglass wax has left you both informed and empowered to make an informed decision!

I wish you much success!

Sincerely,

Darren Priest