Water Spots

PapaChip

Recommendations for removing water spots that are too stiff for Ducky, but not a totally neglected boat? Liquid Wax? Rubbing compounds that are not too aggressive?

dave2ball

Vinegar and water. 50/50 mix

Mastercrafter

Hot Sauce is pretty darn good with a little elbow grease.

3M “light compound with wax” also does good for heavy water spots if you have a machine and a yellow wool wheel.

Horton

@dave2ball why cut with water? Why not 100% vinegar?

skihacker

For years I've been using 50/50 vinegar and spray wax, "light" hard water spots it works pretty well and leaves some wax protection behind.

dave2ball

@Horton we do t have a heavy water spot hard water issues like some of the lakes do in your area. 50/50 works best down here. It also cuts some of the acidity.

Horton

@dave2ball is there a real worry that 100% would damage gel coat?

dave2ball

@Horton not sure. Possible over time

markn

Vinegar is an exceedingly weak "acid" and if it does not cause harm to humans, doubt gel-coat would be adversely impacted. Hard water stains are caused by mineral deposits which result when the water evaporates to dryness leaving the minerals (such as iron, calcium, magnesium) behind. The stronger the acid, the more quickly the mineral deposit will dissolve and the less required.
I have used muriatic acid (HCl), a strong acid on gelcoat with no adverse outcome. Lime-away is phosphoric acid which is "less strong" and also works well. Both are much "stronger acids" than vinegar. Simply apply, let minerals dissolve and rinse.
Heck, as a reference, Coke has a pH of 3.65 and vinegar has a pH of 2 to 3...both are "weak acids" despite the pH. You can ingest both with no consequence. Lime-away has a pH of 1.2 to 2.0, but is a much "stronger acid so hence will dissolve minerals more quickly. It is the "alkalinity reducing ability" of the acid which determines strength, not pH. Maybe TMI, sorry!

BrennanKMN

I've used lime-a-way and a dual action polisher with amazing success for very stubborn water spots. Make sure you wax again after as it strips everything.

LoopSki

@Horton i use 100% and give it a good bath in it. I don’t wipe my boat down after every use like I should. Other than smelling like a salad afterwards, I don’t notice anything bad. I follow up with griots blue stuff.

Bruce_Butterfield

I'll wager that Texas has the absolute worst water for "water spots" and associated film. Our water is VERY muddy and high temps make it a bitch to keep a boat clean. Lime away, vinegar and water, etc don't put a dent in it. I've resorted to a 50/50 mix of muriatic acid and water (plus lots of elbow grease) to clean my boats near the end of the season. Yep, nasty stuff that requires goggles and gloves, but that's the only thing that takes the spots and film off. And yes we always spray and wipe down the boat after every use. Bottom line is that the gelcoat more than handles that stuff with no damage.

skierjp

Vinegar and windex 50/50 then Top Coat F11 Pro. You can thank me later. Been doing this a long time!

Horton

the babe's spot remover works very well

swbca

I used 50/50 muriatic acid on my old ski nautique for years. Never affected the gel coat. But its nasty to inhale the fumes or spray.

cp

I have had great success with Boat Bling Hot Sauce and a clay towel

skierjp

The advantage of Windex / Vinegar is no effort and speed. As fast as you can spray it on and wipe it off the spots are gone

BGrow76

I'm going to try Windex/Vinegar, thanks @skierjp.

jjackkrash

Everyone who owns a boat with gelcoat ought to have a rotary buffer and a gear-driven orbital and a set of wool pads, compound, foam pads, and polish. I hit my boats as needed, when needed and they pretty much always look showroom. Gelcoat is about a 1000 times thicker than paint and there is no good reason I can see to shy away from using a mechanical polish to deal with tough water spots if the vinegar mix is not working. Followed by a good wax like Collinite 925 or some sort of ceramic coating.

brettmainer

The correct answer varies by region and water supply. Well fed lakes in northern CA require a jackhammer to get water spots off due to minerals brought up from the ground and fast evaporation due to low humidity. Years ago at Bell Acqua when we were river fed prior to a flood control project that ruined the river feed, water spots were a non issue. Now that we are well fed, it takes a strong acid or the aforementioned jackhammer.

I skied with @dave2ball for a couple of weeks this spring in Orlando and was amazed at how clean, clear and soft his water was. I don’t think I showered the entire trip (not really, but close) and his boat just needed a towel wipe, if that. So, water spot cleaning varies by water supply and mineral content.

As a side note, the best part of this sport is the friends you make. Dave’s site is fantastic and his hospitality is the epitome of what makes waterskiing and friendship in general such a great thing.

dave2ball

@brettmainer that was good time. just call when your coming back down.