Boating USA — January 2018

36 | BOATINGMAG.COM | JANUARY 2018

BOAT DOCTOR///BOATINGLAB

PHOTOS: (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) BILL DOSTER, ZACH STOVALL (2)

CLEANER WAX

STAR BRITE

CLEANER WAX WITH PTEF

Go ahead, pick a nice day, pull the boat

out of the garage, set Pandora to your

favorite tunes, and wax away the winter

to make your boat gleam this spring. Now

is the time to use this, our top-performing

petroleum-based polish. It is neutral

beige in tone and contains UV inhibitors

and PTEF, Star brite’s trademark for

polytetrafl uoroethylene. PTEF is said to

repel water and stains, and its presence in

a Star brite deck wash has shown to make

future deck cleanings easier. It gave an

excellent gloss to the most damaged of

our test panels.

TESTING: We taped off sections of

a navy-blue boat and measured the

refl ection of a tape measure held per-

pendicular to the badly sun-damaged

surface. In our worst spot, we couldn’t

read the refl ection more than 3 inches

away from the surface. However, Star

brite’s wax did an exemplary job of

removing oxidation, clearly visible after

the tape was removed. We didn’t expect

to see so much correction so easily. It

was also top-shelf on beading up water

and preventing water spots.

TOP OF ITS CLASS:We’ve been a fan

of this product for years, and our testing

proved its competitive advantage. There

are a number of brands using this

formula, including one from Attwood

and Bass Pro Shops.

$18.49; basspro.com

More online: boatingmag.com/boatinglab-

test-cleaner-wax

TRAILER LIGHTS

SEASENSE

50080290 RECTANGULAR LED KIT WITH WIRING

We can almost promise if you hook your

trailer to your vehicle and fl ick on the

lights, you’ll fi nd a dead one somewhere

on your trailer. Let’s get that old cor-

roded system off the trailer and install

some reliable LEDs. The kit has all the

connectors, wire, and stainless-steel

hardware to replace your taillights. But

most trailers also require red and yellow

side-marker lights, sold separately. This

was one of the brightest tested, and the

electronics pod and LEDs were potted

with watertight polymer and protected

inside the Fresnel lens housing.

TESTING: The SeaSense Fresnel wasn’t

watertight like Wesbar’s, but the Fresnel

did drain quickly. We were impressed by

Wesbar’s watertight Fresnel housing,

but SeaSense chose a different tack,

shielding the waterproof potted light pod

behind the Fresnel. The housing drains

quickly, and the design might actually

provide added protection to the LEDs.

TOP OF ITS CLASS:This was a tough

call in the face of the Wesbar taillights,

which boasted tough, watertight Fres-

nels. But our testing gave a slight edge to

SeaSense for brightness, an advantage

possibly gained from its lighter lens.

Kit: $79.78; amazon.com

MICROCOR

PROTECTANT

You should be using watertight connec-

tions on your trailer wiring harness, but

for added insurance, spray them with

this product. It is designed to coat metal,

fabric, paper, battery terminals and more

with a corrosion-resistant membrane that

clings tenaciously, preventing damage

from corrosion and water. It can be

sprayed on circuit boards, battery termi-

nals, fuse panels and tools to keep them

in new condition. Best of all, it dries into a

nonsticky material that won’t rub off

on clothes or hands. More online:

boatingmag.com/boatinglab-tests-

microcor-mc-300

LED trailer

lights are bright

and reliable.

MC-300

is a poorly

kept secret

for stopping

corrosion.