FSH 210 Sport
Jetboaters Admiral
- Messages
- 6,761
- Reaction score
- 8,017
- Points
- 482
- Location
- Tranquility Base
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2020
- Boat Model
- FSH Sport
- Boat Length
- 21
I got a few days of nice weather and was able to pull the boat out of the shop and remove the water spots from last season..
A little back ground. When I bought my boat over at River Valley Marine the salesman asked me if I wanted a permanent type of coating put on my boat. I asked him if he used it and he said yes, asked him if thought it was worth while to have it done, he said yes, so I said go ahead and apply it. Total cost for the product was $1400.
The coating is from a company called Vantage, I believe they are out of North Dakota. Over the summer I used my boat a lot, 2-3 trips a week to the lake and 12-14 hours on the water each time. I washed the boat several times, mainly just rinsed it when I got home from the lake. What I noticed after using the boat the last time in November was there were water spots on the hull.... after reading through numerous threads on the site about removing water spots and waxing I decided to go with the least chemically intensive way to remove the water spots, with vinegar and water.
I thought I should call Vantage and see what they had to say about my plan to get rid of the water spots. First I want to say that Lori at Vantage was very helpful and consulted their chemist as to how I should use the vinegar and water solution. After a very short time she called back with the direction from the chemist which was that vinegar and water can be used, but to be sure and rinse the solution off after removing the water spots so the acid that is vinegar would not damage the Vantage coating. The only two things that will remove the Vantage coating are physical force, as in a buffer wheel with a cutting compound, or chemically with acid. Soaps, sun, bird droppings, sap etc will not harm their product which is guaranteed for 5 years.
While I was on the phone with Lori, she offered to send me the bucket O goodies pictured below. The bottles are sample sized, but, there is enough in each sample bottle for several uses. I thought this was so generous and just added to the great customer service that Lori provided.
Winter being what it is I had to wait for a day of good weather to bring the boat outside so I could get after the water spots. I used a solution of water and vinegar at a 1:1 ratio in a spray bottle. I started with the inside of the boat in the bow and worked my way back to the swim deck, man there were a lot of spots in the inside! After I was finished with the inside I rinsed it all down and then dried all of it with micro fiber towels. Moved on to the outside of the boat and began at the bow working my way to the stern. I sprayed the solution on the hull liberally and used a micro fiber towel soaked in the solution and rubbed gently on the hull. 90% of the water spots came off very quickly, the remaining 10% took another spritz and a little more elbow grease to get off. After that I rinsed the hull thoroughly and wiped it all down again with micro fiber towels.
The before pics are a little bit hard to see the water spots.
Before:
After: As you can see from the pics below the hull is shining like a new dime.
I’m very happy with the Vantage product, and had I been a bit more on top of it I wouldn’t have had to deal with so many water spots all at once. Most likely these water spots would have embedded in the gelcoat and been very difficult to remove. The Vantage Diamond Ceramic coating prevented that from happening, so they could be easily removed. This next season I’ll be getting a CR Spotless de ionized water system to rinse with so the only water spots I’ll have to deal with are from the lake water.
A little back ground. When I bought my boat over at River Valley Marine the salesman asked me if I wanted a permanent type of coating put on my boat. I asked him if he used it and he said yes, asked him if thought it was worth while to have it done, he said yes, so I said go ahead and apply it. Total cost for the product was $1400.
The coating is from a company called Vantage, I believe they are out of North Dakota. Over the summer I used my boat a lot, 2-3 trips a week to the lake and 12-14 hours on the water each time. I washed the boat several times, mainly just rinsed it when I got home from the lake. What I noticed after using the boat the last time in November was there were water spots on the hull.... after reading through numerous threads on the site about removing water spots and waxing I decided to go with the least chemically intensive way to remove the water spots, with vinegar and water.
I thought I should call Vantage and see what they had to say about my plan to get rid of the water spots. First I want to say that Lori at Vantage was very helpful and consulted their chemist as to how I should use the vinegar and water solution. After a very short time she called back with the direction from the chemist which was that vinegar and water can be used, but to be sure and rinse the solution off after removing the water spots so the acid that is vinegar would not damage the Vantage coating. The only two things that will remove the Vantage coating are physical force, as in a buffer wheel with a cutting compound, or chemically with acid. Soaps, sun, bird droppings, sap etc will not harm their product which is guaranteed for 5 years.
While I was on the phone with Lori, she offered to send me the bucket O goodies pictured below. The bottles are sample sized, but, there is enough in each sample bottle for several uses. I thought this was so generous and just added to the great customer service that Lori provided.
Winter being what it is I had to wait for a day of good weather to bring the boat outside so I could get after the water spots. I used a solution of water and vinegar at a 1:1 ratio in a spray bottle. I started with the inside of the boat in the bow and worked my way back to the swim deck, man there were a lot of spots in the inside! After I was finished with the inside I rinsed it all down and then dried all of it with micro fiber towels. Moved on to the outside of the boat and began at the bow working my way to the stern. I sprayed the solution on the hull liberally and used a micro fiber towel soaked in the solution and rubbed gently on the hull. 90% of the water spots came off very quickly, the remaining 10% took another spritz and a little more elbow grease to get off. After that I rinsed the hull thoroughly and wiped it all down again with micro fiber towels.
The before pics are a little bit hard to see the water spots.
Before:
After: As you can see from the pics below the hull is shining like a new dime.
I’m very happy with the Vantage product, and had I been a bit more on top of it I wouldn’t have had to deal with so many water spots all at once. Most likely these water spots would have embedded in the gelcoat and been very difficult to remove. The Vantage Diamond Ceramic coating prevented that from happening, so they could be easily removed. This next season I’ll be getting a CR Spotless de ionized water system to rinse with so the only water spots I’ll have to deal with are from the lake water.
