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Originally posted by Derek Crawford

Why work hard to get the shine that you can get with just a wipe? Use PolyGlow. It comes in a kit with the PolyPrep which cleans off all the oxidation. You apply about 5 coats of the PolyGlow with the supplied chamois and block. Each caot takes about a 1/2 hour - just do one side and by the time you finish the other side, the first side is ready for another coat. I would put the finish I had on "This Side Up" against any waxed hull for a mirror-like finish.

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Originally posted by TakeFive

I've used both Poliglow and done Maine Sail's polish/wax procedure on different boats. I posted my detailed opinions in the thread shown in the last link above. Proper surface prep is critical with both methods, and IMO it's not that much easier to prep the surface properly with Poliglow. I continue to be of the opinion that a mid-90s C250 is new enough that polish and wax will get a great result with nominal effort. I like Presta Ultra Cutting Cream because it goes all the way from heavy compound to fine shine in one step. And if you do that right, the Collinite 885 Fleetwax is an easy wipe on/wipe off process that will last a LONG time.

I've learned more about the chemistry of Poliglow in the few years since then, and it's very heavily loaded with UV inhibitors. I've been doing a lot of work with the same UV inhibitors in my job the last couple of years, and they definitely cast a yellow tint (because they absorb the UV spectrum and a little of the blue visible spectrum, causing the yellow color). If your hull is already a little yellow, you won't notice. But most people will notice on a C250 with its whiter gelcoat.

Many swear by Poliglow, and I've been generally satisfied with it on my older boats. But those boats were so chalked up that I had to use wet sandpaper to get the chalk off. A C250 should polish up just fine without sandpaper, and is a great candidate for the more traditional polish/wax process.

Also, since my prior post, I bit the bullet and bought a Makita polisher to replace my cheapo Harbor Freight polisher. The result is much better because the RPMs stay where you set them with any runaway problems.

In my opinion, an "orbital buffer" is a waste of money. It's not strong enough to do polishing, and wax should easily wipe on/wipe off if you've polished correctly. If you need an orbital buffer to get the wax off, then you didn't polish sufficiently. However, I'm just one voice among many.

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