What is the best way to strip wax off the cap on my boat with out damaging
my gel coat. I have a very very nice finish and I don't want to turn it
milky by using an abrasive on it. A cleanser of some kind that will strip
the wax, but not put micro scratches in the finish is what I have in mind.
Then I'll re-wax and buff out.

Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com

Bob La Londe wrote:
What is the best way to strip wax off the cap on my boat with out damaging
my gel coat. I have a very very nice finish and I don't want to turn it
milky by using an abrasive on it.

"Simple Green" seems to take wax off very effectively and it has no
abrasive whatever. Normally to use as a cleaner we dilute it about 15:1
but to use it specifically to strip wax you might try a little stronger
concentration.

DSK

On Tue, 17 May 2005 08:59:09 -0700, "Bob La Londe"
wrote:

What is the best way to strip wax off the cap on my boat with out damaging
my gel coat. I have a very very nice finish and I don't want to turn it
milky by using an abrasive on it. A cleanser of some kind that will strip
the wax, but not put micro scratches in the finish is what I have in mind.
Then I'll re-wax and buff out.

Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com



In the Mustang groups, Dawn dish detergent is proclaimed to be a great wax
remover.

Nature seems to be doing a good enough job of removing the wax from my boat, so
I haven't tried it.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

On Tue, 17 May 2005 12:13:25 -0400, DSK wrote:

Bob La Londe wrote:
What is the best way to strip wax off the cap on my boat with out damaging
my gel coat. I have a very very nice finish and I don't want to turn it
milky by using an abrasive on it.

"Simple Green" seems to take wax off very effectively and it has no
abrasive whatever. Normally to use as a cleaner we dilute it about 15:1
but to use it specifically to strip wax you might try a little stronger
concentration.

DSK

I love Simple Green. It's not cheap, but it does a great job.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

On Tue, 17 May 2005 12:13:25 -0400, DSK wrote:

Bob La Londe wrote:
What is the best way to strip wax off the cap on my boat with out damaging
my gel coat. I have a very very nice finish and I don't want to turn it
milky by using an abrasive on it.

"Simple Green" seems to take wax off very effectively and it has no
abrasive whatever. Normally to use as a cleaner we dilute it about 15:1
but to use it specifically to strip wax you might try a little stronger
concentration.

DSK

PS. But maybe that's what's stripping the wax off my boat! I use about a capful
per gallon for normal washing.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

"Simple Green" seems to take wax off very effectively and it has no
abrasive whatever.


John H wrote:
PS. But maybe that's what's stripping the wax off my boat! I use about a capful
per gallon for normal washing.

That's not a strong enough concentration (about 1:250) to take off the
spider poop we get all around the outside of the boat, so we normally
mix it stronger. It doesn't strip wax at that concentration but it sure
doesn't do the wax any good, either.

DSK

On Tue, 17 May 2005 12:47:08 -0400, DSK wrote:

"Simple Green" seems to take wax off very effectively and it has no
abrasive whatever.


John H wrote:
PS. But maybe that's what's stripping the wax off my boat! I use about a capful
per gallon for normal washing.

That's not a strong enough concentration (about 1:250) to take off the
spider poop we get all around the outside of the boat, so we normally
mix it stronger. It doesn't strip wax at that concentration but it sure
doesn't do the wax any good, either.

DSK

Normally I'm just taking off salt spray. Keeping the boat in a boatel does away
with most of the poop problems, unless I have it left out overnight for an early
morning departure.

If the walking area gets grease marks, I might just put a little on full
strength, brush it around, let it set a few minutes, then brush it off with
water. It is, as you said, great stuff. I discovered it when cleaning my
motorcycle years ago. I've only recently started using it on the boat.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

John H wrote:
Normally I'm just taking off salt spray.

Plain ol' fresh water won't do that?

... Keeping the boat in a boatel does away
with most of the poop problems

Really? Don't they allow spiders into the boat stacks?


If the walking area gets grease marks, I might just put a little on full
strength, brush it around, let it set a few minutes, then brush it off with
water. It is, as you said, great stuff. I discovered it when cleaning my
motorcycle years ago. I've only recently started using it on the boat.

I like it because it doesn't damage silicone or rubber parts like bleach
does... I'd prefer to not keep any bleach... or other potentially
dangerous cleaning agents and/or solvents... on the boat.

I found out the hard way that the citrus based degreasers eat away lots
of different parts. DON'T use that stuff on anything with any rubber or
plastic parts! It sounds nice & natural but it's corrosive as h###.

Fair Skies
Doug King

On Tue, 17 May 2005 13:08:41 -0400, DSK wrote:

John H wrote:
Normally I'm just taking off salt spray.

Plain ol' fresh water won't do that?

... Keeping the boat in a boatel does away
with most of the poop problems

Really? Don't they allow spiders into the boat stacks?


If the walking area gets grease marks, I might just put a little on full
strength, brush it around, let it set a few minutes, then brush it off with
water. It is, as you said, great stuff. I discovered it when cleaning my
motorcycle years ago. I've only recently started using it on the boat.

I like it because it doesn't damage silicone or rubber parts like bleach
does... I'd prefer to not keep any bleach... or other potentially
dangerous cleaning agents and/or solvents... on the boat.

I found out the hard way that the citrus based degreasers eat away lots
of different parts. DON'T use that stuff on anything with any rubber or
plastic parts! It sounds nice & natural but it's corrosive as h###.

Fair Skies
Doug King

The boat gets scum from the surface of the water also. Remember, the Ches Bay
isn't the pristine place it was back in the days of John Smith.

I honestly don't know if I've ever had any spider **** on the boat. During the
summer, the boat is seldom on the rack for more than three or four days at a
time, so spiders don't get 'attached' too much.

I didn't know about the citrus degreaser problems. Thanks for the info. I do
keep a quart bottle of a oxalic acid mixture for the times when the hull gets
too brown (tannin, I think) for me to stand. I use a little spray bottle to
spray it on the stains, rinse it off, and the stains are gone.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

Around 5/17/2005 8:59 AM, Bob La Londe wrote:

What is the best way to strip wax off the cap on my boat with out damaging
my gel coat. I have a very very nice finish and I don't want to turn it
milky by using an abrasive on it. A cleanser of some kind that will strip
the wax, but not put micro scratches in the finish is what I have in mind.

Dawn, or any other similar liquid dish soap, will strip that wax right
off (Which is why you're not supposed to wash a car with dish soap
unless you're planning to rewax).

Simple Green will do the job too, but it's a bit overkill.

--
~/Garth - 1966 Glastron V-142 Skiflite: "Blue-Boat"
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing about in boats."
-Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows