Claybar

[davethewave]

Why isn't claybar used on boats? Or is it?

[Murr1525]

Re: Claybar

Well, you could use clay, or the clay towels, etc if you wanted... Or just on the more visible areas if you were doing a mild cleaning/wax.

Its just not done that often. The boat goes back in the water and cant be seen as well. And the cleaning/compounding products and pads are a lot stronger than for a car, so remove contaminants anyway.

[Jonesey]

Re: Claybar

I think it would depend on the boat. My power boat lives in a marina near a highway overpass. We get ALOT of fallout- rubber dust, brake dust, and even coal dust from a nearby terminal, yet it never feels like my cars paint does when there are bonded contaminants. I think that the 15 year old gelcoat is so baked that clay barring would be a waste. I think it would gum up from the dead gelcote. On a newer boat that is trailered it might make more sense. I had good luck with the heavy duty oxidation scrub this spring. It made the cut polish step much easier, the wool pads weren't loading up anywhere near as quick as before. At some point I'll buy a new boat, and then not have to fight previous owner neglect.
I was just at the boat today hoping to give it a quick wash before throwing some wax on it for the winter, but the marina has turned off the water for the season. Guess I need to fill some bukets and throw them in the back of the truck tomorrow.
The sailboat I race on is a different animal. The previous owner looked after it very well, and we have continued the tradition. Hull sides are as smooth as when it came out of the mold. There was some grinding on steel pilings nearby in the spring that left very tiny rust marks on the boat, but they came off with just the Flagship cleaner wax. As mentioned above, this could be because of the more aggressive nature of the marine products.

[Old Bear]

Re: Claybar

When racing high performance catamarans, we found that wax created drag and slowed us down.