Rubbing up the right way

So what do others do to polish their ski?

A couple of weeks after I got my ski I polished it with some car polish that I had lying around from back when I cared about my car.

This is pretty much disappeared from the constantly wetted hull now, so I want to do it again to stop the general stains and things forming on the hull.

Any personal favorites out there?

Best polish going.....saltwater ! go paddlin and a quick hose off after !

I ocaasionally polish mine; I carried ungalvanized steel on my racks 1 year back, and black gunk is still rubbing off on the ski,mostly on the deck, despite attempts to clean up the roof bars.

Polishing: I use regular car wax, difference OFF the water is suprising, ski slippy to handle, can't rest anything on it without the object slipping off, got to hang on when carrying it!

ON the water: it does not last long, maybe 2 good paddles?
Boat feels slippier in the water, I reckon faster, and definitely more tippy.
Visibly, water beads on the deck, that's about it.

So it's good when cleaning up the ski from time to time, but that's about it.

(secretly tip-toes out to garage, for a last-minute, pre-race, ever-hopeful polish...)

Zebra wrote:

Boat feels slippier in the water, I reckon faster, and definitely more tippy.


(secretly tip-toes out to garage, for a last-minute, pre-race, ever-hopeful polish...)

Placebo

So RightArmBad: why ask a question, then dismiss the feedback!

As I stated, "So it's good when cleaning up the ski from time to time, but that's about it."

Greg Barton, on the Epic Website:
www.epickayaks.com/news/news/to-wax-or-not-to-wax

As Greg states: "One reason it may help, is by keeping your hull cleaner. If you are the type of person that doesn't like to clean and dry your boat, then wax will keep it cleaner (allowing water scum and other grime to slid off more easily), resulting in a faster hull."

Otherwise, no real effect.
Cheers

I wasn't dismissing the feedback, just the tongue in cheek response that it could make you faster or tippier

All I'm after is a boat that keeps itself clean and doesn't stain.
I don't think anything else can be achieved.

You can check what product gives the best results pretty easily. Turn your ski upside down, and put on an angle, polish several strips down the hull with different products. With a small amount of water, see what strip water moves over the fastest. The difference isn't much, and it may not be significant, but some products are better.

About the short term coating put on kayaks that Greg Barton spoke about in his post (above), there is a readily available product (for a different purpose)in the fibreglass industry that performs the same function, and it works, its faster, but it doesn't last long. Water ski boats use it, claiming significantly better speeds.

I'm too lazy to test and it won't tell me how long it lasts either.
I also don't want to spend the dollars to try them all when somebody out there already knows a good product.

Water ski boats operate at significantly higher speeds and I doubt that there would be a detectable effect at the typical surf ski speeds.
That's assuming that there is an effect on ski boats and not just some hearsay and folklore.

I like the use it, rinse it, wipe it routine.
But a product that stops staining when you don't have water to rinse, or simply have no time, or forget, would be nice.

Its disappointing that you are too lazy to give these things a go. You might be surprised what you find. Not in the habit of helping those who won't help themselves.

+ 1, Red.

Could not have said it better myself; he should maybe change his online name to 'Cynical' or 'Skeptical'

A liquid car wax is easy to apply and not hard to buff off so not real hard work. If nothing else a clean ski looks fast.

Oh but don't be like me, the first time I polished the seat area as well. Couldn't understand after why suddenly I couldn't stay in the boat.

I think you fellas are kind of saying the same thing: the speed boat wax treatments really DO make those speed boats go faster, but it's because they reduce the growth of algae, barnacles, etc. which would otherwise increase drag:

www.auroramarine.com/aurora/catalog/11120/

I don't think that the speed of water beads running off a waxed surface translates to drag in the water. The water bead speed involves water tension and probably ion force interactions whereas surface drag in the water relates to boundary layer thickness - given the same hull.

On a ski, clean Gelcoat alone is an awfully fast surface. Applying wax to the clean gelcoat would slow it down by increasing the boundary layer and thus the drag. But, (stay with me now) a clean waxed gelcoat would likely be marginally faster than a gritty non-waxed gelcoat surface. So, if you don't bother to clean or rinse your hull regularly, the occasional application of wax might just keep the hull cleaner and thus faster.

I hear you, Mr. Moll. And applying Armor-All to your bicycle seat is also not a great idea - from personal experience. Erik

It's a simple question, does anybody know of a polish that will stay put for months or a year that is cheap and definitely works through their own experience?

I can web search forever or get caught up in many debates over speed enhancement, but all I want is a proven polish so I don't have to buy heaps or waste my time.

It's called standing on the shoulders of those that have gone before me.
Instead of wasting time relearning what is already known by my more experienced peers.

NO

For some placebo:

Mr. Sheen (or similar aerosol furniture wax: easy to apply as only lasts ~1 paddle!)

Rain-X (that hydrophobic stuff you put on your windshield when you don't want to use your wipers for as long as possible, for some reason...)

Chamois after every freshwater rinse after every paddle

Rightarmbad wrote:

It's a simple question, does anybody know of a polish that will stay put for months or a year that is cheap and definitely works through their own experience?

I can web search forever or get caught up in many debates over speed enhancement, but all I want is a proven polish so I don't have to buy heaps or waste my time.

It's called standing on the shoulders of those that have gone before me.
Instead of wasting time relearning what is already known by my more experienced peers.

I use this for good UV protection..................

303 AEROSPACE PROTECTANT UV SCREEN

not for extra speed!!!!

I use "star Brite" Marine Polish with PTEF & UV inhibitors. Seems to only last about 2-3 paddles.

Think I'll try the 303 stuff next.

I just paddle.....

Sometime ( and I know it gets me into trouble ) I really worry about these discussions.

I guess I `free` paddle too much where times dont matter,and these insequential seconds that can be gained over 20 k + dont matter - shave your legs maybe too.

dont punish me - just making a point.

The point of this post was what people use to polish thier boats, not how to make them go quicker! That was just slipped in there as a remark on percieved effect I think

I would be interested to know from anyone who works in this industry or has chemistry background whether the expensive compounds that are sold especially for gel coat are worth the extra dollars, or am I just doing my dough (using marine polish for gel coat)

I always get worried I am using the wrong stuff for the wrong surface given the various processes used today!