there was a very interesting article in 'on the wire' currently defunct ezine about polish, wax, etc. the author , an engineer, argued convincingly that boat wax/ polishes are better than sanded surfaces. sounded good to me! some waxes protect the hull from uv and help keep the surface clean. besides, one blown tack or layline overstood is much more costly than surface prep. just make sure your bottom is clean and wax wont hurt.