Boat/motor wax

Whats a good aluminum boat wax and whats a good one for fiberglass motor covers? My dealer told me Lemon Pledge works great if I dont want to hand wax.

Derek, I like the Starbrite marine wax. It can be used on both tin and fiberglass. I follow that up with a a spray on type like Eagle One wax as you dry. I also heard that the lemon pledge works but have not tried it. I would use the plegde after I put on a couple coats of marine wax.

I use Lemon Pledge for washing my truck & car and over time it will leave a nice shine, but I never have tried it on my boat I will have to give it a try. For those stubborn water spots on the boat and motor I use Simple Green it works great. You can get Simple Green in the grocery Store.

Theres a product on the market called “Duckie” found at most marine dealers which works wonders on removing the white scaly deposits on all metal surfaces.. I have a 225 merc optimax and it works wonders!!!

Thanks for the tip bigbassin and Welcome to IDA!!!

I use whatever I have for my cars. The last couple of years it’s been 3M wax. Before that Dura Shine. Whatever. They all put a nice shine on the boat and motor. I also have some 3M gloss enhancer which is basically a spray bottle with a very small amount of wax. Just spray it on and wipe off with towel. That works slick and it’s the only thing I use on my sleds anymore to avoid the wax dust. I have access to the 3M company store so that’s the main reason I use their products.

Don’t use the Lemon Pledge on Fiberglass with a clear gel coat. After a while it turns the gel coat to a milky/clouded mess that basically ruins the finish.

It does look great the first few time you use it however.

Jon sound like you are speaking from experience

One little tip that I found to clean up the exhaust area on outboards was Limeaway. This product seems to cut away the white tinted residue around the exhaust ports with just a slight amount of elbow grease!

I just waxed my boat for the first time. [2001 boat] I used TurtleWax 2001 Urethane Enriched Car Polish. It says one application last one year. Has anyone used this stuff on their car or boat? If so, how did it protect/work? I didn’t do the motors yet, has anyone used this wax on their motors? Boat really shines but hasn’t been in the water yet since the wax job. Goes on easy and requires no buffing. Am hoping it does a good job-time will tell. My boat sits outside in the driveway as no garage-comes down to a choice money wise, a garage or a boat, and being the level headed smart guy I am of course I have a boat, lol. Haven’t found a way to catch fish from a garage yet. So finding a good wax will help to keep the boat looking better over the years of sitting outside. For removing the dirt/scum stuff I have found that Limeaway and Mean Green [get it at dollar store in Lake City] both do a good job.

Thanks, Bill

Bill, I use the 2001 every once in awhile. The wax last a long time but to bring out a good shine I will use a spray on wax like Eagle wax as you dry for a second coat.

Sounds good. Thanks for the fast reply Don. Have you used the 2001 on your motors too?
Thanks, Bill

Yep, just keep the wax away from the prop!

Thanks guys.. Ive used Maguires in the past. I will give the ideas above a shot.

Nufinish is real good.

Here on Devils Lake we get a lot of scum from the salinity. We dilute Lime Away in spray bottle, spray it on, let it fizze and wipe it off with a wet sponge. Repeat.

Duckie is great for maintinance.

I used Pledge for years on motor covers, snowmobile hoods and my bike tank that I had done up in flames with 17 coats of House of Kolors laquer. That being said, I won’t touch it anymore, it was good for quick touch-ups but turned blotchy very quickly. Plain old Meguiers 1-2-3(cleaner,polish,carnuba) system works fine for me.

Wizards Mist and shine works great.A lot of car dealers use it on the cars in the showroom.