A good looking boat is a wonderful thing. When you pull your boat away from the dock, you want it to look sharp. You want to display to others the pride you take in your craft, and you want to show just how luxurious your boat is. You want your boat to look good, all the time.

Still, detailing your boat can be a challenge. Depending on the type and color of your boat, you may have something of an uphill battle. For example, if you have a darker colored gelcoat, you have to do some serious work to keep it looking up to snuff. And while detailing your boat won’t lower your boat insurance rates, it is sure to turn some heads when you’re out on the water.

Here are some tips for the detailing process that will save you time and elbow grease, and make sure your boat looks its very best:

• Off with the old, on with the new. Make sure to remove your old wax before you do anything else. You’re going to want to wipe your hull down using acetone or a dedicated dewaxer product. You should use several different rags for this process. Make sure to flip them frequently, or else you’ll just wind up reapplying the wax you were trying to get rid of.
• Use a machine. The fact of the matter is that using a polisher will make the detailing process quicker. It’ll also use less material, and it will remove compound and wax much better than you can by hand. A rotary polisher will be quicker than other types, and it will produce less spatter. It’s also less likely to kick back when you’re working around obstructions like vent fittings or transom rings. If you’re new to polishers, however, you might consider a random orbit polisher, which is more forgiving.
• Hand wax when necessary. There will be some spots on your boat that are going to need you to put down the polisher and put the compound and the wax on manually. Some of the areas include the area between your instruments and gauges, borders around hatches or companionways, and the underside of cleats and grab rails. Don’t use a regular rag for these areas, however. Instead, use a pair of clean cotton gloves and turn your fingers into polishers.

Photo via Ed Bierman