Waxing by hand is a must in my book. Many people attempt to apply wax with a random orbital polisher and I have found very little if any value added from that. Wax is used to provide a protective coating on your boat putting down a layer of wax between the boats gel coat and the environment. Most good waxes have a carnauba base. Carnauba is a very hard natural wax that is thinned out so it can be used in the capacity we know it today. In its natural form carnauba wax comes in chips that are solid as a rock. Once thinned, wax can be applied to your boat easily and painlessly. Most waxes fall into the category of being cleaner waxes having some property to clean the surface as you protect it. For this reason I tent to apply wax very much like polish (in brisk straight strokes in one direction) although it is not as important for the overall end result. Circular strokes can be used with identical results.

Waxing is very mindless overall but the preparation is of the utmost importance.

• Start with a clean dry surface and waxing cloth or pad

If the surface is not clean of all dirt and salt the wax will go on and streak very badly making your boat look far worse than when you started out. If all oxidation is not removed the oxidation will be waxed over again leading to cloudy surface. Wax over contaminants is very hard to remove so if the wax has any coloration it will stick to the contaminants.

• Don’t wax in the sun

Waxing in the sun quickly removes all moisture from the wax leaving that rock hard carnauba wax behind. The wax will not haze simply just stick without being able to be buffed off. Some wax works well in the sun as others just bakes on like beans in the oven.

• If a wax isn’t performing like you think it should try something else

For the most part wax is pretty cheep and some waxes just don’t seem to like some boats. If it isn’t working out don’t force in. Instead try another area, possibly one that isn’t directly in the sun and make sure that the wax goes on and comes off like any wax used on your auto. It should come to a haze and buff off like a powder leaving a smooth glossy finish.

• Have fun waxing

Waxing is a great job because when you are done the feeling of accomplishment rivals the first time you put a battery in the microwave (don’t put batteries in the microwave as a rule!) Then that first drop from your ice cold beverage of your choice hits that high speed low drag wax job it won’t stand a chance, like Barney versus Mr. T!