# Dewax Solvent



## Finallybuyingaboat (Aug 28, 2007)

I am frequently coming across references to using Dewaxing Solvent. Well, what exactly is this stuff? I check the websites of my local marine stores in Canada and nothing comes up. I check West Marine and they have it as a thinner/dewaxer.

Can I just use my regular thinner or is dewaxer some magical product?

I need to use it for 2 reasons:

1) I am removing a through hull and will be glassing over it. I need to dewax the area around the through hull beforeI grind it down.

2) I am painting the entire boat, and the hull above the waterline has a few spots where I had to sand right back downto the glass (no gel coat left at all). The surface is definitely going to have to be dewaxed prior to it holding primer.


Thanks for any inputs.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I'd highly recommend using Interlux's Fiberglass Prep Wash 202... It really works better than a lot of the other stuff you could possibly use and not all that expensive.... 

Don't forget to use a two-rag system with it... wipe it on...and then wipe it off before it can dry or it will just re-deposit the wax it has lifted off the surface.


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## jimq26 (Nov 7, 2001)

*PolyPrep will also remove any and all wax.*

Readily available locally.
Here's a link - Poliglow Boat Polish Not a Boat Wax - Welcome to Poliglow Products - The Manufacturer for Over 15 Years!


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

PPG also sells a good line of PPG DX Cleaners BUT if you compare it in price in gallons it will not be much different


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## Capnblu (Mar 17, 2006)

If you are doing generic things, go to your local Lordco, or most any paint store, and get wax and grease remover. If you are using a specific system, of paint etc. Use their recommended wax and grease remover. In many generic situations, I use acetone. But it is not a do all solvent. Use caution, that goes for the other removers as well.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Pretty much any "mineral spirit" will dissolve wax to some extent, but different ones work better/faster. And these days "wax" or "polish" is often not wax but a silicone or other synthetic that the cheap spirits won't really lift, which is why it pays to use a more expensive "prep wash" from 3M or any of the other big brands, if you want to make sure that any contamination is gone, and you don't know what the contaminants might really have been.

If you mix your own, using the same solvents, odds are it will cost just as much. "Thinner" is damned expensive these days!


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## MtHopeBay (Jul 10, 2008)

*strong detergent to start*

If you're doing a wide area, like preparing the hull for paint, then starting with a wash of Dawn dishwashing detergent will get most wax off. Then use the dewax solvent and you'll be more efficient with it.

Dawn is actually very good at degreasing and dewaxing I use it for cleaning engines and to remove oil stains from my driveway after oil change.
Mike


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I'd use TSP instead... 


MtHopeBay said:


> If you're doing a wide area, like preparing the hull for paint, then starting with a wash of Dawn dishwashing detergent will get most wax off. Then use the dewax solvent and you'll be more efficient with it.
> 
> Dawn is actually very good at degreasing and dewaxing I use it for cleaning engines and to remove oil stains from my driveway after oil change.
> Mike


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## jgeissinger (Feb 25, 2002)

What Sailingdog said in his first post. Interlux Fiberglass Solvent Wash 202. It smells awful, but nothing else works as well for removing wax and mold release, which can remain on your boat for many years.


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## Finallybuyingaboat (Aug 28, 2007)

sailingdog said:


> I'd highly recommend using Interlux's Fiberglass Prep Wash 202... It really works better than a lot of the other stuff you could possibly use and not all that expensive....
> 
> Don't forget to use a two-rag system with it... wipe it on...and then wipe it off before it can dry or it will just re-deposit the wax it has lifted off the surface.


I would love to use interlux 202, but the stores in Canada (Montreal) do not carry it. My frustration is that I do not have access to a lot of the products that are talked about on this forum. Sure I can order them, but the shipping/customs adds up fast. We all know when you are rebuilding a boat you are unable to predict what you will need next. If I have to make multiple internet orders, the costs become silly>


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Speaking of products, Liquid Tide (laundry detergent) is also a fine one, it even removes Cosmoline, which is a bear to clean. Still, I'd finish with a commercial prep solv.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Call Interlux and ask them if they have a canadian distributor, and call them and find out who stocks it locally.



Finallybuyingaboat said:


> I would love to use interlux 202, but the stores in Canada (Montreal) do not carry it. My frustration is that I do not have access to a lot of the products that are talked about on this forum. Sure I can order them, but the shipping/customs adds up fast. We all know when you are rebuilding a boat you are unable to predict what you will need next. If I have to make multiple internet orders, the costs become silly>


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## MAnDaRIn (Jul 2, 2010)

I'm sanding down my interior taking off most off the gel-coat and i'm going to repaint it with pettit easypoxy. Do I need to use a de-waxer on the interior and hull liner? What about the bilge if i wanted to paint it? will mineral spirits work well enough?


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

For all you know "mineral spirits" could be diesel fuel. That's the generic name for "cheap stuff that probably will clean your paint brush". If saving ten bucks is worth gambling that your new expensive paint job may come off in six months, use the cheap stuff. Using a "prepsolv" that is designed to remove wax and other problems can be cheap insurnace. Ditto for using lots of clean paper towels, not rags that may have detergent residue or laundry softeners (wax) in them.

The bilge? Probably will have oil residues in it as well. Prep is 90% of any paint job, if it isn't clean enough to eat off, it needs more prep.


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## SVCarolena (Oct 5, 2007)

Use a dewaxer (any of those discussed, we use Interlux) before you start sanding. Otherwise, you risk pushing the mold waxes and any other grease and grime into the fiberglass. You do want to dewax anything you are going to paint first, particularly the bilge. The boat mold had a release wax in it when the boat was built and you need to get that off the surface.


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## MAnDaRIn (Jul 2, 2010)

hellosailor said:


> For all you know "mineral spirits" could be diesel fuel. That's the generic name for "cheap stuff that probably will clean your paint brush". If saving ten bucks is worth gambling that your new expensive paint job may come off in six months, use the cheap stuff. Using a "prepsolv" that is designed to remove wax and other problems can be cheap insurnace. Ditto for using lots of clean paper towels, not rags that may have detergent residue or laundry softeners (wax) in them.
> 
> The bilge? Probably will have oil residues in it as well. Prep is 90% of any paint job, if it isn't clean enough to eat off, it needs more prep.


I just spoke with a friend of mine who's been working on boats for awhile and he said acetone would work fine. Would acetone be better than mineral spirits and as good as pettit fiberglass dewaxer or interlux 202 fiberglass prep?


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## MAnDaRIn (Jul 2, 2010)

SVCarolena said:


> Use a dewaxer (any of those discussed, we use Interlux) before you start sanding. Otherwise, you risk pushing the mold waxes and any other grease and grime into the fiberglass. You do want to dewax anything you are going to paint first, particularly the bilge. The boat mold had a release wax in it when the boat was built and you need to get that off the surface.


how does that work? how does it de-wax the fiberglass through the gel-coat not to mention the paint that someone applied over it?


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## SVCarolena (Oct 5, 2007)

I missed that part - many boats, including ours, do not have gelcoat in the bilge. If it has gel and paint, then you are only dewaxing that surface. Acetone would work, but I don't like working with the stuff unless I need to - very flamable, will do a real number on your hands, and I have yet to find rubber gloves that it won't destroy in short order. But it would work, as would all the other options that have been mentioned.


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## obelisk (May 23, 2008)

along the lines of the post above, i use MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) to clean anything before glassing--it's something like acetone on steroids and available at any home improvement store. MEK will definitely let you know if you have any cuts on your hands so be sure to wear gloves.


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## MAnDaRIn (Jul 2, 2010)

I was talking about the interior and cabin liner being painted over the gel-coat. 
I'd like to use the name brand stuff but its expensive and I'm wondering if i really need it? so I've all ready sanded down a lot of the interior because I didn't know I had to de-wax it first. I guess I'm gonna try and get away with using MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) or acetone if its any cheaper. Does anyone know if i have to use the undercoater primer for pettit eaxypoxy work and not peel off?


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