Polishing and waxing

[mcneilms]

Seeking opinions, especially from Professional Detailers.

When polishing and waxing the top sides on a large catamaran (like a Leopard or Lagoon), do you work your way from bottom to top or top to bottom?
My thought is to work from the bottom up. From the top down, debris, splatter and dust will settle on to the deck from the cabin sides and top into the non-skid and adhering to the unpolished gelcoat. If from the bottom up, the deck and non-skid are already polished and wax so the debris will not adhere. And a quick wash down after you are finished is all that is necessary.

Your thoughts....

Thanks,
Scott

[tkeithlu]

Hopefully polite question: Why are you waxing a boat that has debris waiting for you? Clean carefully first. Wax "dust" is just wax, so don't worry about it.

Then, comment. Your logic is that gravity is the only acceleration to debris caught by your buffing bonnet. The bonnet will throw it upward, too.

Boy, I wish I had a boat you could wax. I settle for white paint rather than rust. I hope the outcome is very pretty.

[mcneilms]

Dont worry. Good question. If course I would clean thoughly prior to compounding & polishing. My thought was more on the line of build up of compounding & polishing material adhering to the chalky gelcoat on the deck below (if I worked my way down from the cockpit/saloon roof).
My thought is that if I worked my way up, instead of down, the deck would already be slick from polishing and waxing and any compounding / polishing dust would be carried away when I washed down the roof after polishing and not adhere to the deck and build up.
Hope I make myself clear.
It's a big boat and I want to be as efficient as possible as I have to rent a slip in a marina and also pay for water. The boat is in the Caribbean and water runs 20 cents a gallon. So washing several times, not only takes extra time in the marina, but costs more money. There are pro detailers out there that do this all the time, but I can't find any where I am. So, instead of trail and error, I thought I would get other opinions and not re-invent the wheel.
Oh and I agree, about the wax, not really worried about it, it was more for compounding and polishing dust and splatter. Anyway, thinking of ceramic coating.

Cheers,
Scott

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Hopefully polite question: Why are you waxing a boat that has debris waiting for you? Clean carefully first. Wax "dust" is just wax, so don't worry about it.

Then, comment. Your logic is that gravity is the only acceleration to debris caught by your buffing bonnet. The bonnet will throw it upward, too.

Boy, I wish I had a boat you could wax. I settle for white paint rather than rust. I hope the outcome is very pretty.