Hands-On: Let It Shine

With these 20 steps, your boat will look like new again and be ready to hit the water for spring.

by Chris Caswell

When you bought your boat, you probably believed them when they told you it was maintenance-free. Well, now you're a couple years down the road, and your boat is starting to look a bit weary around the edges. The showroom gloss is gone from the hull, the upholstery has a few stains, and the boat needs a bit of freshening up. With the investment of a few weekends and some elbow grease, you can make your boat look like new. Best of all, it's not an expensive process.

Here's hard-won wisdom No. 1: Don't try to do everything at once, or you'll get discouraged and quit. Instead, break the sprucing-up into manageable segments so you can see what you've accomplished. Hard-won wisdom No. 2: Figure out how much time it's going to take for each project. Then double it. That way, you'll give yourself time to deal with all the unexpected issues that may arise, and you'll be a lot happier in the end.

Here are 20 tips to get you started:

1. Start with a thorough washdown using a liquid soap formulated for fiberglass boats. For the hull and smooth areas, a good sponge will knock off the grime and scuffs. Finish with a thorough freshwater rinsing.

2. If you have dings in the fiberglass, repair them now, before you polish the hull. Get a patch kit in the proper color, or better yet, have your dealer do the job.

3. Hull graphics are usually decals, so apply Armor All (www.armorall.com) or a similar preservative to protect them. If they have a loose or curled edge, trim it neatly with a hobby knife or use decal adhesive from a hobby shop to re-glue it.

4. If you have stubborn stains, such as rust around a fitting or oil at the waterline, remove them with a paste made from baking soda.

5. Non-slip surfaces can hold dirt, so use a stiff-bristled brush to clean them. If necessary, try using a mild abrasive powder like Bon Ami (www.bonami.com) on any stubborn grunge, but use it only on the non-slip areas.

6. Now is the time to polish the fiberglass. If the gelcoat isn't badly dulled or oxidized, you can use an all-in-one cleaner/wax made for fiberglass (not cars). Apply it according to the directions and buff it out, either with a soft cloth or a clean buffing pad on a car buffer. Be careful not to buff the decal graphics since they're fragile, and don't wax the non-slip areas.

7. A cleaner/wax won't give you the lasting shine of a quality marine wax, so if you have the time (and energy), finish off with a protective layer of wax.

8. If you leave your boat in the water - whether it's salt or fresh - you need to protect the bottom of it from growth using antifouling paint. If you don't stay in the water, give the bottom a good coat of wax - it'll make your boat go a little faster, too.

9. Metal on boats these days is mostly stainless steel, which you'll soon find isn't really stainless. Brite Boy (www.trewax.com) is an excellent metal polish: Put an old sock on your hand, put the polish in your palm, and then wrap your hand around the rails and stanchions to shine up the metal.

To shine up stainless steel, put a sock on your hand and apply polish.

10. "If you have teak trim, then you have three choices: Leave it bare, oil it or varnish it. Leaving it bare requires the least effort, with an occasional scrubbing using teak cleaner to remove the gray weathering. Oiled teak glows like Scandinavian furniture, but you'll have to re-oil it regularly. Varnish is traditional, but it'll need sanding and a re-varnish every year. It's your choice.

Teak trim can either be oiled, varnished or left bare — it's up to you.

11. A stain on your cushions can ruin the cockpit's appearance, but be sure to test any cleanser on a small hidden area before applying it. For a ballpoint pen mark, spray it with cheap hairspray (lots of alcohol content), let it sit briefly, and use a wet cloth on the mark. Bloodstains will come out with unflavored meat tenderizer: Wet the spot, sprinkle on the tenderizer, and then wipe away the stain.

Removing stains from cushions will improve your cockpit's look.

12. Mildew and mold often form on the bottom of bunk and settee cushions if you haven't aired them out regularly. Sunlight is the best cure: Leave the cushions out upside down to bake on a sunny day. To remove the dark stains, try a weak mixture of lemon juice and salt, then rinse thoroughly.

13. Your bimini top and cockpit enclosure canvas take a beating from the weather. If possible, remove them from the boat (and their metal supports), spread them out, and wash them gently with a non-detergent soap (detergent can damage the canvas). If the clear isinglass windows are scratched or hazed, use a marine product designed to restore them. Never clean the isinglass with an ammonia-based household window cleaner.

14. Plastic windows and portholes are easily scratched, and even rubbing dried salt off them can damage their clarity. If you have a scratch, try using peanut butter (non-crunchy) or toothpaste on your finger as a rubbing compound.

15. Leaks aren't really a cosmetic problem, but will cause problems if left unattended. A window leak can be solved by removing the window and re-bedding it in silicone sealant. A leak in a deck fitting can ruin the interior wood and upholstery, so use a good bedding compound to cure it.

16. The galley gets a lot of use. You can polish out knife scratches on a fiberglass counter with a rubbing compound, or gently wet sand Corian with a fine (600-grit) wet or dry sandpaper. The refrigerator will pick up aromas, so wipe the inside with white vinegar, leave the door open (with the fridge turned off) or put an open box of baking soda inside to absorb odors.

The galley tends to show its wear and tear, but you can revamp it with
small touches such as polishing out knife scratches and gently sanding the counters.

17. Most boats use either wood veneer or wood-grained mica for décor. Veneer can be sanded very gently (make sure you don't go through it) and re-varnished as needed. Talk to your dealer about how to bring back the gloss and color to faded wood-grained mica panels. Warm, sudsy water can be used to gently clean most interior liners, and follow up with a freshwater sponge bath.

18. After a few seasons, your trailer is going to show nicks that will quickly rust. Sand the rusty spots down to bare metal, and use a rust-preventative coating like Rust-Oleum (www.rustoleum.com) to repaint the area. Armor All will bring back the new look to the tires and help protect them against the sun, too.

19. Your marine hardware store or dealer will have touch-up paint that matches the color on your engine. Gently sand any rusty spots where you've dinged the engine, and paint the area either with a spray or small brush. The same thing applies to the outdrive units, too.

20. Lastly, clean the bilge. Even though you can't see it, a dirty bilge can give your boat that "old" odor of oil, grease and bilge water. Use a bilge cleaner, let it slosh around, and then pump it out at an approved pump-out facility. A good product is Star brite's citrus extract formula, Super Orange (www.starbrite.com), which has a pleasant aroma. Remember that even though a bilge cleaner emulsifies oil and grease, it's still illegal to pump those fluids into the water, under the penalty of a hefty fine.

With some gentle sanding and an application of matching
touch-up paint, your engine will shine like new again.

One last tip: It's easier to keep your boat looking new if you have an ongoing program of washing, waxing and cleaning. Postponing your maintenance chores not only creates more work, but it causes the boat to look tired, too. Divide the work into manageable projects, do them regularly, and your boat will look new for years.