Q&A How Often Should I Wax?
It’s a big job, so only do it as often as necessary.

Q: I am a new boat owner in Victoria and I curious about something. How often do I need to wax it to keep it safe from corrosion? Thanks for your help!

Keeping your boat looking clean and operating at optimal condition is a lifetime commitment. You don’t want the preparation to go out on the water to be an exercise in bringing your boat back from the dead, so be prepared to invest some routine elbow grease every time your boat hits the water. Each time your boat is on the water means it’s exposed to damaging ultraviolet rays, ocean sediment, salt, toxins in the water, and constant action of the wind and movement of the water surface.

Cleaning your boat should be top priority before and after every marine adventure, and to maximise the beauty and functionality of your vessel, you should consider integrating a waxing component to the routine maintenance of your boat, paying attention to the deck, the fiberglass hull, and the superstructure.

The Waxing Dilemma

There are several schools of thought on the frequency you should wash, detail, and wax your boat, and which products are recommended for the job. “How often should I wax my boat?” is actually a trick question, because the frequency of your wax application is individual to every boat owner, and depends on factors such as how often you take your boat out into the water, for how long, and under which conditions. As a rule of thumb, you may only need to wax your boat once a year if you keep it above water or in the garage. If you keep your boat in the water year-round, though, you may want to think about waxing your boat every three or four months, amounting to about three times per year. Exposure to the sun is another variable too—and keeping your boat freshly waxed with the proper wax can protect from UV rays.

With this in mind, there are at least three steps in the wax-and-buff ritual:

1. Clean, clean, clean your boat. The first step before you wax your boat is to clean the surface thoroughly. If you’re diligent enough to rinse your boat off with freshwater after every trip, you’ve already laid the groundwork for a good looking boat. Scrub every surface, making sure to eliminate the salt and mineral deposits, unwanted marine growth, grease, and mold with a commercial cleaning agent or marine soap. Remember that polishing and waxing a dirty vessel will drive contaminates into your gelcoat.

2. Polishing: This is the step that creates the smooth, glossy surface that requires protecting with a layer of wax. Your gelcoat is a thick surface that protects your fiberglass boat from all nicks, scrapes and UV rays, so don’t buff it to death, but polish it enough that the surface is smooth and ready to be sealed with a protectant.

3. Waxing: Now is the step when you apply a thin layer of either a polymer sealant or a natural wax substance to lock in your achievements with the previous two steps. Natural wax will provide a deep, beautiful shine that will make your boat’s surfaces appear almost three dimensional. The benefits to polymer sealants are they are plasticized, providing extra durability and minimising the need for frequent re-application.

The key to extending the beauty of your boat is keeping it clean, polish when necessary, and keep it waxed. Investing in these steps will provide many years of enjoyment on the water.

Why Does Cheap Marine Tint Rust?
This is such a common problem, and such an easy one to avoid as well.

Over the years, window films have changed a lot. Major innovations in the underlying technology have made modern window films more reflective, reject more heat, block nearly 100% of UV rays, all while lasting longer and being more affordable. Why is it, then, that marine window films are still so prone to rusting when out at sea? This is a question we hear often, and it formed the basis of the marine film line that we carry from Hüper Optik Canada.

First, let’s look at a few different types of films on the market to see why traditional films are not suited to marine window tinting.

Dyed Window Films

Dyed film is the most economical type of window-tinting film. It is the least expensive and decidedly less functional than the others. It blocks light rays by the addition of dye to the film; the dye is placed in a layer next to the adhesive, and then applied to the window. Solar heat is absorbed by the dye in the film, thus preventing some of the heat from entering through the window. However, dyed window-tinting film is used primarily for appearance. From the outside, dyed film looks flat and opaque, providing some privacy while still permitting visibility from the interior; when used on the windows of a boat, it will appear black. The dye does tend to fade with time, however, which means it is not suited to boats sitting on the water for the entire season. The heat-reduction provided by most varieties of dyed film is not particularly high either, so it has no performance benefit.

Verdict: Not Suitable for boats.

Metallized Window Films

Like dyed film, metallized film keeps heat away from interior space by reflecting it away. This is this achieved by very small metallic particles being embedded in the film. This metallic content strengthens the window, which means that it will be more shatter resistant than from the factory. When used on a boat, however, metallized film has a tendency to interfere with cell phone and GPS transmission, not to mention radio reception. The metal particles will also corrode when they come in contact with the salty ocean air, meaning that your windows will be begin to rust over in no time. To avoid this, installers used to come back after the film had cured to use silicon caulking to seal the edge of every window. This amounts to double the install time, increased room for error, excessive cost, and less than optimal appearance.

Verdict: Not suitable for boats.

Ceramic Window Films

Ceramic is the highest quality window film material on the market. It contains neither metal, dye, nor carbon, but instead a kind of ceramic particle that is both nonconductive and nonmetallic. Ceramic film has only recently appeared on the market, but has already proven its worth in terms of performance and reliability. Ceramic window-tinting film cuts from 45% to 50% of the solar heat that enters through the windows in the form of infrared light, while allowing maximum visibility both by day and night. Ceramic window-tinting film allows maximum efficiency in the functioning of radios, cell phones, GPS systems, and all other such devices being operated from inside the protected space. It surpasses the other types in its resistance to glare and fading, and renders windows highly shatter-proof. Ceramic film is also most effective in its blocking of UV light from the interior; in the case of ultraviolet light (the kind of light rays that contribute to sunburn and skin cancer), ceramic window-tinting film can block up to 99% from entering the interior.

Since it is non metallic and contains no dye, it does not fade or rust when on the open seas. This makes it a perfect choice for marine tinting. Our window film lines at both price points are Ceramic, meaning they are guaranteed for life against corrosion and are perfectly suited to marine window tinting. Check out our premium films right here, and our Edge XP Ceramic Films here.

Verdict: Perfect for Marine Window Tinting!