Personal preference
There are more ways, methods, and products to shine up your boat than there are ways to get to Timbuktu, even in Maine where you may not be able to get there from there. Some products are generally considered excellent, while others are only good. In addition, each person has his own methodology and tools for applying wax and other shine up products which will in turn make some products better than others. Nevertheless, you may find that using less expensive automobile wax is the proverbial bee’s knees for own application. There is some trial and error involved, so such a selection process may not occur on the first attempt. For myself personally, I happen to use Mother’s Gold Cleaner Wax for automobiles that I obtain comparatively inexpensively at Wal Mart. However, I work this with one of those “plastic” scrub pads with a handle attached. The style claimed safe for Teflon finish pots and pans. I use a medium grit pad, but a fine grit pad may be wiser, although it will clog up sooner. The cleaning agents in ths wax along with the scrubbing action of the scrup pad perform for me exceptional cleaning, which is then easily followed by wiping up that polishes and provides wax protection for the vessel. A cleaning and waxing process all in one. For stanchions and other round metal parts that may have some rust on them, I use the same wax with a “plastic” scrub pad without a handle. This flexible pad wraps around the stanchion or whatever and will remove some rust. After doing this for several years I have succeeded to eliminate all rust on my metal parts. This same flexible pad and wax can also clean up life lines and standing rigging. I have found the applying this technique eliminates using chlorine-based bathroom cleaners, such as Soft Scrub, that in my opinion are inappropriate for a boat in that they leave a raw unprotected surface that must be subsequently waxed. There will be many other responses to your inquiry. Some will adamantly disparage my concepts and process. Some may even state they do the same thing. Still yet, there will be others with some sort of mixture between what I do and some other product or action. The above is what I do personally and probably should only be taken as a guide. I feel you will need to find what works best for yourself with whatever cost, tools, and application.
