With the addition of my husband’s new-to-him Eddyline, we now have two thermoformed kayaks. Question for those of you with experience with this material: what is better, wax or 303?
Neither boat will be stored outside.
Thanks for your insights.
Wax
It seems to last longer than 303. I bought liquid boat wax at West Marine and use it on my thermoform hulls and on my canoe’s gelcoat.
I don’t know that it is necessary, really, on the thermoform, but it sure makes them slide into the Malone SeaWings real easy.
Which Eddyline did he get?
I second the wax
Use a good carnuba one.
Jack L
Thanks
I was leaning toward wax, so your advice just confirms it. I know it probably doesn’t need anything, but I’m really anal about cleaning and caring for our boats, even if the hubby isn’t. My boats are probably cleaner than my house. Make that definitely cleaner than my house.
Sissy, he got a good deal on a used Eddyline Equinox. His other boat just got too heavy to get on and off the car anymore, so we’ll have to find a new home for that one soon. Funny how boats gain weight as we get older 
Any plastic can degrade in UV
so while “thermoplastic” is more resistant than poly, a wax that absorbs UV isn’t a bad idea. I use a 3M yacht wax.
303 is good, but it was acquiring a reputation as the “only good” that isn’t justified by any data I know of.
Neither
Get Klasse http://www.autogeek.net/klasse.html
Acrylic sealer. I used to own an Eddyline and spoke to one of the guys there at Eddyline and he also used Klasse on his Eddylines. Wax is inferior to Klasse.
Neither
Why would you waste your time, money, and pollute the water? Unless you are storing it outside or it is on the water every day, I would not worry about it. The shine will be there for many years without any special care. And the waxes will not protect you from deep scratches anyway. Might put some on any rubber hatches every now and then, but that’s about it. For the 2 years I owned an already 5 year old thermoformed boat I saw no signs of aging, other than the scratches I put on the bottom…
really
I have seen plenty of both fiberglass/gelcoat and thermoformed faded kayaks.It does prevent fading. Up to OP if he wants a nice looking kayak 5 years down the road or not.I would think thermoform would degrade from sun exposure over time. Maybe not for 10 years but still.I also use Klasse on my cars and after 10 years the paint looks like new.Higher resale value, cha ching.
I sort of agree
I’ve put some 303 on my Eddyline about twice in four years. The deck still looks great with more or less no care. I do find 303 very useful for tight hatch covers, but use the minimum necessary because it can make the covers too loose.
303 used by Kayak Manufacturers
– Last Updated: Sep-12-13 9:02 PM EST –
303 has gotten plenty of endorsements from the Kayak Industry.
It is a polymer - that when applied to a dry kayak - and given time to bond
- does not wash off and is NOT water soluble.
Once applied, 303 can be buffed, if one desires.
Wax is a pretty complicated substance.
Ask anyone who does serious cross country skiing.
It can come in low, medium, and highly fluoronated.
The higher the "fluoro", the more hydroscopic the wax.
303 is applied in seconds and you are done.
http://303products.com/product-uses/kayaks-and-canoes/303-protectant-for-paddling-sports
You can use the stuff on your PFD, your skirt,
and dozens of other gear materials that
WAX simply doesn't work upon
Well, I’ve waxed my car 2x in 13 years
To each their own, but when I sold the Camry after 13 years of garaged ownership, the last thing the buyer was looking for was shiny paint - we had the front corners and both sides nicely “rounded” and “per-scratched” for the new owner. No amount of waxing would take care of these… The rest of the paint looked just about as good as when it was new.
I also don’t wash our cars more than a couple of times a year too in normal city use - the rain does it pretty well for me, so my clear coat stays intact and ones not get rubbed off by waxing and scrubbing with harsh chemicals (I only wash the undercarriage in the winter to remove salt a few times during the winter and in the spring). But again, my cars are daily drivers, not showroom pieces, just like my boats are usually pretty scratched-up by the time I sell them (if I like them, only the ones I don’t like get sold in “like new” condition and too soon to get a chance of any fading).
You are of course right that just about anything will fade in the sun, but the way I use my boats, a few hours a week (the rest of the time - garaged indoors), it does not seem to make a difference.
In fact, I’ve heard more than once from owners who complained they buffed out their paint-thin gel coats off their shiny new superloght boats when waxing, so effectively, they achieved the opposite effect from what they were after…
Mine stay on the car for weeks at a
time, so some added UV protection seems prudent. But, any particular boat may not spend more than a month total on the car in a year.