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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Advice on Poligow application

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Jack Schafer
Navigator

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USA
112 Posts

Response Posted - 04/13/2014 : 14:11:20

I used VertGlass in 2003 on the entire boat, hull and deck. Looked great for 3 years with a new coat each year. The deck started to yellow and peal after that. the hull still looked good. I removed the Vertglass from the deck with their remover. It really worked well. I then switched to Ployglass. I applied it over the vertglass after a cleaning and had the same good results. However, I wax and polish the deck above the rub rail. Every year I wash, remove scuffs and scrapes and reapply polyglass. Usually takes 2-3 hours for complete job. I am very satisfied with the results. On the other hand, deck is an ongoing project all summer.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9017 Posts

Response Posted - 04/13/2014 : 14:27:37

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Jack Schafer
 ...I then switched to Ployglass... Every year I wash, remove scuffs and scrapes and reapply polyglass.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Do you mean Poli Glow, or is this another product? (I think Goodyear has the trademark.)

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 04/13/2014 14:32:27

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 04/13/2014 : 17:46:35

I went to polish and wax the boat yesterday. When I arrive, before I applied the first drop of polish, two different guys came up to me and complimented the appearance of the hull. They were surprised to find out that I had not yet begun. They were complimenting the lasting results of last year's application of WM's cleaner/polish with PTEF. That's a pretty good endorsement in my book.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3370 Posts

Response Posted - 04/14/2014 : 04:02:07

While I use Poliglow on the sides, I wax the cockpit & smooth deck areas and use non-skid cleaner/polish on the deck non-skid areas. When I initially used Poliglow back in 2005, I used it also on the cockpit area and did not like the look - as it was noticeably tinted but for whatever reason, never had same feeling about the sides. I removed the Poliglow from the cockpit area which took some time and did not happen all in one day. Then applied pure wax.

I would probably go the wax route for the sides as well but have found that with a boat that is virtually in the water all the time, it is just too much of a bear to go the wax route. This is not only because of the extra hand or machine buffing required but after a season or year, there is usually oxidation to deal with and so the extra muscle needed for that initial prep is just a bear for a boat in the water. If I had my boat out after the season, then perhaps waxing is the better route to take. But Poliglow on the sides especially when a boat is in the water all year is definitley the way to go with minimal oxidation issues and mostly only rain contaminants to deal with year after year.

The cockpit, since it is so much easier to work in that area, waxing is the way to go for the brightest and shiniest surface throughout the season and continually all year long if you go about it the right way. What I have found is that after removing the initial oxidation or in my case, I had already removed the oxidation but then had to remove the initial Poliglow I had applied, then I would would hand buff pure wax on the smooth surfaces of the seats (non-skid cleaner on the seats non-skid surfaces), cockpit sides and adjacent smooth deck surfaces. Then every 2 months, I would thouroughly wash and remove any rain contaminants and then re-apply pure wax. I have found by doing this, I minimize areas that need to have any oxidation removed and generally only wash, remove stains and pure wax it on a continual yearly basis every 2 months or so. The Poliglas on the sides is basically attacking one side at a time consisting of about a 1/2 hour to wash the side including removing rain contaminants and spot oxidation/extensive cleaning. Then 2 coats of Poliglass applied by shimmying along the finger slip doing about 2 feet at a time and then starting the 2nd coat as soon as done with the 1st coat application. The 2 coats takes about 1/2 hour, maybe abit longer. So, one side from start to finish is not more than say 1 1/2 hours. But since I usually wash the whole boat to start of Poliglassing the one side, that's about all I do for the day and attack the the other side when I get around to it another day, docking my boat turned around, so I can get to the other side alongside the finger slip. The one exception to the very little time to prep and apply Poliglas year after year is that having done this every year since 2005, I find that I sometimes will use the Poliprep ona portion of the side to remove past layers/some of the tint. When I do that, it adds perhaps a 1/2 hour addl for say Poliprep off some of the past layers for approximately a 4-5 foot section of the side. I have done this perhaps 4 times duirng the past 8 years. Also, in the beginning when I was not as experienced using the Poliglas, I tended to put it (which only takes a swipe of the applicator) and did not immediately swipe it again. This then sometimes left drips which once dried were like permanent. To remove those drips, those areas needed to be gone over with Poliprep to remove. But that is not such a big job to accomplish and if one just swipes top to bottom and then back over bottom to top, the drips are minimized/eliminated.

So, I enter the debate regarding whether to Poliglas or wax the sides as follows: If you keep your boat in the water all year-long and your boat is more than say 5 years old, it would seem a no brainer to go the Poliglas or Vertiglas route - Saves a lot of time, lasts a year till time to renew. If you trailer your boat or it comes out after each season, then the decision whether to Poliglas or wax becomes more of a balance between the extra time to prep/wax with a near perfect waxed shine vs less time prep/Poliglas with a coated shine. The cockpit and smooth deck areas - prep/wax is the way to go.

Edited by - OLarryR on 04/14/2014 04:25:50

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/14/2014 : 09:40:44

I cannot imagine using anything other than Softscrub on a deck or cockpit. Shine is the last thing I want on a deck or cockpit, I want a nice matt NON-REFLECTIVE finish so the sun neither bakes me nor blinds me. Shine belongs on the topsides.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3370 Posts

Response Posted - 04/15/2014 : 03:54:48

My post may be a little bit mis-leading regarding the cockpit. Giving it some more thought - Most of the cockpit area that I wax turns out to be the sidewalls of the cockpit above and below the seats, stern and the cabin/companionway bulkhead. The seats are almost entirely non-skid surface as is the adjacent narrow deck surface which I use the Boat US/Starbrite non-skid cleaner/wax which leaves a non-slippery surface. I still have multiple bottles of the non-skid cleaner at home, half of which I bought from the now non-existing Boat US/West Marine store that was adjacent to the Boat US Hqtrs in Alexandria, VA. For a while before they closed up shop, they were selling the bottles which at that time were about $12/ea for $1 - $2 until their supply ran out. (It was the Starbrite product but sold under the Boat US name.)

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2271 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2014 : 07:53:13

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by britinusa
 Following up on prep for the buff-n-polish.
Now the proud owner of a Makita buffer.
Spent over $150 on pads and polishes.
Trying to follow the pro on sailnet for the equipment, not easy finding supplies locally.
Wally world next for micro fiber cloths.

Going conservative and not using compound initially, will see how it goes.

Paul

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Quick comment on microfiber cloths. I found that it's easiest to wipe off the wax (Fleetwax #885) in two steps - first use a large terry cloth to get the bulk of the wax off (leaving a slight haze), then follow up with microfiber to get the rest off. Using microfiber alone tires out your arms quickly because it provides a lot of resistance to wiping.

Using this method, I was able to apply a 2nd coat of Fleetwax yesterday. I did the entire hull below the rub rail in about an hour.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2014 : 16:04:50

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by pastmember
 I cannot imagine using anything other than Softscrub on a deck or cockpit.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Softscrub will damage gelcoat.

Edited by - on

pastmember
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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/20/2014 : 13:37:10

It removes oxidation and leaves a matt finish. I only use it when oxidation is an issue, otherwise soap and water is fine.

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britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 04/20/2014 : 14:22:13

Results of first 'Polishing' test on JD.

<center>[url="https://www.catalina-capri-25s.net/cgi-local/MBR_gallery.cgi?Album+1000+174"]

The Polish[/url]
Bypassing the Sanding and Compounding phases and going straight to the polishing. Conservative route but easy to go back a phase than fix regret.</center>

Paul

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5241 Posts

Response Posted - 04/20/2014 : 18:21:05

Weinmann makes a fiberglass cleaner and polish available in many supermarkets and dept stores that we use on the fiberglass shower stall. It cleans and shines fiberglass and the gelcoat finish but claims not to scratch the surface like sofscrub or Comet cleaner. I have a bottle of it that I plan to use on the top sides. I'd guess its the non-boatshop version of the 3M product pictured above, and without the boatshop price!!
Works fine on the shower, I'll let you know how it works on the boat.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9017 Posts

Response Posted - 04/20/2014 : 19:13:12

Bruce... How much UV does your shower stall have to withstand?

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britinusa
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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 04/21/2014 : 08:39:52

With all the reading I have been doing regarding the fiberglass polishing process, one thing jumped out at me...

The process of polishing the fiberglass reduces the surface area that can be oxidized.

The Buffer certainly does that!

When I wiped my hand over the polished section into the adjacent unpolished section, the feel is like going from silk to sack! Yet both areas look clean. The polished section looks .. well .. 'Polished' and has a much higher gloss then the un-polished area.

I'm actually looking forward to getting the hull shined up, it has not looked that good since new and it's a delight to see the hull looking so purdy on the test section.

The pic showing the polish above is clickable to the Album of pics.
Here's the before and after pics.
<center>

The Test area
The Port side round down is totally dull Not sure if it is oxidized or just dull. So this will be the test area</center>

<center>

The test Result
Very pleased I spent maybe 5 minutes learning how to handle the Makita (and not splash polish everywhere!). Initially set the speed to #1 to spread the polish, mist with water and up to #2, buff for a few seconds. Mist again and buff at #3 and then repeat for #4.</center>

Paul

Edited by - on

Kim Luckner
1st Mate

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USA
96 Posts

Response Posted - 04/21/2014 : 09:17:32

Why is it you think there is any UV protection in the Finesse It product? Far as I can tell it's a very fine rubbing compound.

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2271 Posts

Response Posted - 04/21/2014 : 09:42:33

Looks great, Paul. The benefit of using a more abrasive compound first is time savings. You might cut through the oxidation faster. But if you're happy with the results and the time it takes, continue with the glaze only.

I bought some Meguiars glaze and tried it after the Presta Cutting Cream, but I saw no improvement over the shine I already had from the Presta. So I just stuck with the cutting cream. Maybe if I had started with the glaze I'd have gotten the same result as you.
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Kim Luckner
 Why is it you think there is any UV protection in the Finesse It product? Far as I can tell it's a very fine rubbing compound.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Polishes and glazes alone do not leave any UV protection on the surface. However, the smoother surface is more UV resistant because it reflects more light, and it has a lower surface area to absorb the UV rays. Oxidation begets more oxidation. Polishing breaks the vicious cycle. Waxing on top of the polished surface encourages oxidizing chemicals to rinse away before they can attack the surface. It doesn't last forever, but it extends the time before you need to polish again.

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