Removing Wax

[DrB]

I know this has been discussed before, but when I did a search for "removing wax", but every post with "wax" or "removing" came up.

Quick question is:

I want get rid of the Collonite Fleet Wax 885 that I waxed my boat with last year so that I can polish it. The gel coat is pretty pristine as is, just want to buff out the hull with Finesse It II and reapply the wax. I tried it on a little area last night and still think that there is wax on the hull. I washed it with a little soap and water first, allowed to dry, then applied On/Off gel for 15 minutes soak, rinsed thoroughly.

Before I do solvent wipe down with Acetone or MEK, anyone have a different technique?

Second question - Previous owner used soft scrub every two years to clean the hull. Results are fantastitc. Anyone else try/do this? My Hull is original gel coat Pearson 1979 10M.

Thanks.

DrB

[sailingdog]

Fiberglass Prep Wash 202 will do a really nice job... so would Acetone. Denature alcohol or Xylol would probably work well too... TSP would probably do the job as well.

[hellosailor]

DrB-
Are you applying a new WAX? If so, you should be able to apply it directly over the old wax, simply wash with soap and water first, rinse clean.

If you are applying a POLISH (generally a silicone or other synthetic product as opposed to a wax) most of them also can be applied directly over old wax. Unless the product says to use a "prepsolvent" to remove any old wax or polish, you may not need anything more than a wash with "car wash" soap.

SoftScrub is designed to be safe on fiberglass and acrylic tub and shower surrounds. The older cleaners (Ajax, Comet) were infamous as abrasives that detroyed these finishes and pretty much only BonAmi (a milder feldspar abrasive) was safe for them. But after too many years of irate customers, even Ajax and Comet reformulated to be "fiberglass safe" over a decade ago. I'd still trust the BonAmi or SoftScrub more, I use SoftScrub for the real nasty marks that nothing else will take out.

If acetone or MEK isn't required--you're better off not working with them or breathing them. Nasty stuff.

[e-27 sailor]

You might try Simple Green. I think it will strip the wax right off. I used a little on my transon last weekend, and no more wax shine or water beading. I alo cam recommend MEGUIARS Boat & RV Wash, once you do re-wax.

[DrB]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

DrB-
Are you applying a new WAX? If so, you should be able to apply it directly over the old wax, simply wash with soap and water first, rinse clean.

If you are applying a POLISH (generally a silicone or other synthetic product as opposed to a wax) most of them also can be applied directly over old wax. Unless the product says to use a "prepsolvent" to remove any old wax or polish, you may not need anything more than a wash with "car wash" soap.

SoftScrub is designed to be safe on fiberglass and acrylic tub and shower surrounds. The older cleaners (Ajax, Comet) were infamous as abrasives that detroyed these finishes and pretty much only BonAmi (a milder feldspar abrasive) was safe for them. But after too many years of irate customers, even Ajax and Comet reformulated to be "fiberglass safe" over a decade ago. I'd still trust the BonAmi or SoftScrub more, I use SoftScrub for the real nasty marks that nothing else will take out.

If acetone or MEK isn't required--you're better off not working with them or breathing them. Nasty stuff.

The Collonite Paste Wax is pretty resistant to most "Car Wash" soap. Also, good car was soap is not supposed to easily remove wax.

I want to remove last year's wax, because I want to power "polish" the hull with Finesse It II to remove some very, very light oxidation in areas around the hull. Since I am going to do that, I'll just do the whole hull and even things up. Wax will just gum up the pad make polishing it less effective.

I will probably add a few teaspoons of TSP to bucket of soapy water and wash and rinse. Problem areas I'll hit with some softsrub and then orbital polish with Finesse II the whole hull and then hand wax it.

HS and SD, thanks for the ideas.

Bill

[RichH]

Any 'caustic' detergent will remove the wax; and, it doesnt have to be a strong caustic.

Best to strip old dead wax out of gelcoat is either a sodium-silicate based detergent, a dilute mixture of TSP (trisodiumphosphate - hardware store stuff) or, old fashioned 'lye soap'. These are all 'inorganics' that will not harm the gelcoat.