Hard water stain remover

[scbruet]

So, I'm an idiot and I guess I used a hard water stain remover that was too harsh on the gelcoat. It left these scratch type marks. You can only see it in certain light / angle, but I notice it all the time now. Luckily it's only in a few minor spots, so I guess it ruined the gelcoat? Is there a product that I can fix this with, or do I have to take it to professional?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

The scratches are most likely from what you used as a scrubber with that product or the product just settled into the existing scratches. No biggy....you just need a rotary buffer and wool pad and some tlc to bring back the gloss.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

There's a few threads on the forum that detail how to remove those scratches and swirls.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/trying-to-polish-the-gelcoat-on-a-2011.33333/

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

FWIW,

I use cleaning vinegar and water 1:1 in a spray bottle… spray on, lightly scrub with very soft bristle brush, rinse off and dry.

It looks like what ever you were rubbing it with got a piece of grit in it, otherwise those scratches would be all over.

 

[Dixemon]

Agreed, the vinegar solution is about your best bet for removing hard water. Scratches that aren't all the way through the gel top coat are easily buffed out. wool pad + some 3M finesse it compound. Look on the bright side, now you have an excuse to buy a new buffer set up!

 

[212s]

I agree...they'll buff out. And we use water/vinegar mix in a spray bottle and microfiber cloth in the parking lot to remove hard water spots before we leave.

 

[AZMark]

I use boat bling hot sauce. It is probably just water & vinegar with some scent to partially cover up the vinegar odor, which I despise.

Agree something physically scratched that, not chemical.

 

[drewkaree]

I use boat bling hot sauce. It is probably just water & vinegar with some scent to partially cover up the vinegar odor, which I despise.

Agree something physically scratched that, not chemical.

Also a Hot Sauce user, and you must have covid nose ?

DEFINITELY vinegar in the mix, but Hot Sauce also says (& seems) it has some small wax/sealant properties - not enough that it's all you would want to use, but perfect for use immediately after pulling the boat out.

Spray on when the boat is wet, and wipe/buff off immediately after, couldn't be easier to use. It DOES work (for me, anyway) later on, if you can't get to it right after haul out, but it's definitely harder to deal with.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I use Hot Sauce all the time and it works great for the hard water spots. Seems to be going up in price though continuosly.

 

[drewkaree]

I use Hot Sauce all the time and it works great for the hard water spots. Seems to be going up in price though continuosly.

Bought me a gallon from Amazon in 2019 for $50. Just checked it out again, still the same price. I never bought the 32oz bottle, I simply bought some great spray bottles and started off with the gallon. Buy it now!

While you're there, pick up these spray bottles too

 

[HangOutdoors]

Good thought. I bought the Spray bottles. During the summer and early fall the price kept going up. Still have some left in the boat cabinet. Probably should be buying all of these products in larger quantities. I just checked my amazon orders and last time I bought the 32 oz in May of 2021 it was $14.95

 

[Farny]

Babes makes some great products- I use the whole kit. Spot Remover is great. Just don’t let it sit on your seats!! But I also wipe the hill down after almost every time we pull it out which def helps.

Babe's Boat Care Products-7500 Care Kit for New Boat Owners https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IV8CH...t_i_KGF1V0WYA1QQKNYR5VZQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[scbruet]

Thanks for the responses! I'm going to try and buff them out this weekend see how it goes. Glad I didn't screw it up too bad.

 

[drewkaree]

Thanks for the responses! I'm going to try and buff them out this weekend see how it goes. Glad I didn't screw it up too bad.

Post up some more pics, and maybe a wider angle so we can get a better idea of what the whole area looks like. @mrcleanr6 often has some great advice, as well as many others on here.

 

[RobbieO]

Babes makes some great products- I use the whole kit. Spot Remover is great. Just don’t let it sit on your seats!! But I also wipe the hill down after almost every time we pull it out which def helps.

Babe's Boat Care Products-7500 Care Kit for New Boat Owners https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IV8CH...t_i_KGF1V0WYA1QQKNYR5VZQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Agree, and I like the Babe's Boat Bright as well. The wife loves the smell. I'm currently using most of the Babe's products.

 

[Nivekot]

Good thought. I bought the Spray bottles. During the summer and early fall the price kept going up. Still have some left in the boat cabinet. Probably should be buying all of these products in larger quantities. I just checked my amazon orders and last time I bought the 32 oz in May of 2021 it was $14.95

There is a website called www.camelcamelcamel.com that you can search most products and find pricing history (via graph over time). You can also set alerts (via email) if a product falls to a certain price point you set. I use this website all the time when researching products that I’m interested in purchasing.

 

[drewkaree]

There is a website called www.camelcamelcamel.com that you can search most products and find pricing history (via graph over time). You can also set alerts (via email) if a product falls to a certain price point you set. I use this website all the time when researching products that I’m interested in purchasing.

Check out Keepa and Capital One Shopping as well. Camelx3 may have fixed their issues, but they pissed me off enough with shite alerts, LOTS of them, for when things supposedly dropped below my set price, only to find out when I went to check them out, there wasn't a single vendor offering it at that price. They went absolutely nuts one weekend with alerts for a Trend Airshield. I disabled the alerts, sent an e-mail to them, and heard absolutely nothing from them. Still waiting to this day for a response. That's what set me off to looking for similar price tracking. Keepa has been working great for me, and also shows me right on an Amazon page what historical pricing has been. Not integrated with other sites as well, but Amazon is the first place I typically look, and Capital One Shopping will also alert me to what the current best price is, and where, and will also let me know if I'm on the site that has the current best price as well.

No idea what Capital One Shopping used to be named, since that's how I got started with them, but Capital One bought up the app and rebranded. Still works just as well as it used to. Those two add-ons have served me quite well over the years, with nowhere near the problems Camelx3 gave me. YMMV, I'm just giving other options