Poli Glow

[Dangen]

I applied Poliglow on my boat last spring. I started doing the port side, I cleaned the topside thoroughly with Ploy prep as per instructions. Result was very nice, however when I got to the starboard side, I did not put as much effort in the Poly Prep step and end result was not as nice as on the Port side. Couple months later I washed the decks with a product called Mag non skid cleaner( not sure it’s distributed in the US) and this product stripped the poly glow along the drip holes when I rinced it. Next spring, I’m planing to strip the polyglow and do a proper buffing job.

[sailorboy1]

Did the other side. It looks good and my dock mates are jealous. In a year I’ll post how it did, or sooner if it fails.

[JPA Cate]

Go for it sailorboy!

In fact rubbing and waxing gelcoat opens its microscopic bubbles, which in future will collect grime. That is why the polymerization of the 2nd coat of PolyGlow works so well. We had white gelcoat, and we never experienced any yellowing whatsoever, and we used it for years.

The trouble with paint, imo, after having gelcoat previously, is that it is fragile in comparison, subject to nicks and damage, and a fairly large pita to repair to as new. To say nothing of the cost of having a boat painted. Big dollars to this little girl.

Ann

[Tetepare]

After watching others "experiment" successfully with Poliglow, we did our boat four years ago. In short, where we did the job correctly it is beautiful and holds up well. I get many compliments on how beautiful the hull shines.

The boat is in fresh water, out of the water six months per year.
White gelcoat with blue boot stripe.

Successful application of Poliglow is, unfortunately like everything else in life, all in the preparation.

We bought the kit, and started with the included cleaner/ stripper. After three cleanings there was still a film of wax. So we used comet on the entire hull then cleansed with Simple Green. 2 people, 8 hours, two days = 32 man hours to clean the hull.

Applying it is stupid simple and one coat takes less than an hour.

Poliglow instructions warn that the first coat will look awful, and that's true. It scared the bejesus out of me. We did another four coats for a total of five coats, each one looking better. Total time four hours.

So impressed with the hull, I (yes, my decision) decided to do the toerail and cabin sides. I did a half-assed cleaning, which still took three hours. This was a big mistake, because when done I could see previously hidden dirt and way underneath. And within a year it had yellowed and started flaking. I let it go for the next three years to see what would happen, and it continued to wear off to about 50%. Last month I put two coats over the old stuff (and trapped dirt) as an experiment. I anticipate that next year I'll have to strip it all off and do it properly.

Each Fall it takes about 2.5 hours to properly clean the hull (figure have to do that with wax anyway) and maybe 40 minutes to apply one coat of Poliglow. Previously, waxing in Fall would take close to 3 hours, and waxing in Spring (big mistake) closer to 8 hours. I don't know how the Poliglow would differ if done in Spring when it's cold and damp.

Areas that have heavy runoff will stain, but this will clean off rather easily. Areas that experience abrasion (fenders rolling back and forth) get the dirt ground in. This year for the first time it was so bad I had to scrub down to the gelcoat and re-apply the Poliglow. No big deal; a bit more work than wax repair, but still only a 30 minute job.

Powerboat wake popped my fenders and put the hull into the dock pretty hard, chewing through the Poliglow. This too was a fix-it job, scrubbing off the Poliglow (which, by the way, took the mark instead of the gelcoat) and re-apply, which was done in that same 30 minute window.

We did not do the cockpit because it's such a high wear area, and I'm glad I stuck to wax there. I believe keeping up with 100% coverage of Poliglow in the cockpit would take far more time than pulling out the 3M restorer wax.

I recently cleaned and waxed (3M Restorer) my new-to-me 1967 Sunfish. The oxidation wasn't too bad, but the 3M really disappointed me- it didn't look much different than before. In hindsight, I should have used Poliglow. I've seen oxidized hulls done with Poliglow, and the results are a magnitude better than wax.

So that's the long and short of my experience with Poliglow. It is ALL in the preparation! And, at least in my case, the Poliglow cleaner didn't do the job, so keep that in mind.

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

though it wasn't as easy as hoped it was pretty easy.

Is anything ever?

[Quadrille in JB]

I have to agree with most of the previous posts.
The previous owner used poli glow 11 months previously and it looked like it had a bad case of dandruff.
I'm trying to remove it using stripper but after 2 scrubbings with a scotchbrite pad it's still not all off. And when you try to compound it out you can still see evidence of it thru the gloss. I'm afraid this will turn turn yellow in a year.
Does anyone have something that works well to remove it. My awlgrip painted hull is in great shape. I don't know why poli glow was ever applied in the first place.
Thanks
Bill

[Gary Mc]

What strength mixture of their cleaner are you using. I found I needed it at least half and half or close to full strength to get mine off.

Careful with the compounding it might take the gloss off the Awlgrip.

[Quadrille in JB]

Thanks. I'm using it full strength. I think I'll try the Zep floor stripper. It's rough stuff
Enjoy your turkey.

[Flyingriki]

The stuff is junk, threw mine away. Use good waxes and sealants not something you have to strip!

[sailorboy1]

Well I based my decision on a much larger review base than here. But even here there numerous are positive reviews.

I’m never going back to waxing, it’s just way too hard on my body to do it, and I’m never going to pay marina rates for such unskilled work.

[Stephen Fascian]

I used Poli Glow for years on my 1977 Bristol and I am very happy with it. The gel coat is getting thin, so compounding would not work. I've been using it for 8 years.
I used on n off hull clearner first, this stuff gets the stains of n brightens the white of the top sides, then poli prep, then multiple coat, lots of thin ones.
Every year I do a Maintenance coats. I use poli prep and more coats of poli glow when the boat was in Maine. For the past few years the boat has been the Caribbean and I clean and reapply twice a year. Looks good.
Fenders rash can be a problem but mine are in fleece so that helps a lot.
I like the stuff and it works well for me. Only once I stripped it all the way down to gel coat. It's a pain to get off but an ammonia base clearner works.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Flyingriki

The stuff is junk, threw mine away. Use good waxes and sealants not something you have to strip!

What does it mean when it works so well for us?

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

What does it mean when it works so well for us?

Often it means that the denigrator has had one bad experience, likely from poor practice when applying the stuff, or had a neighbor whose friend had a bad experience, and then extrapolates to a universal declaration that the product is junk.

Jim

[Quadrille in JB]

Thanks to the forum member who suggested Zep heavy duty floor stripper. It works like a champ. When spraying it on the poli glo just melts off.
Here's a photo showing how the 33-year-old hull looks after stripping the poli glo and buffing and waxing.
I do have to admit though, the poli glo helped keep the gelcoat in great shape.

[Dangen]

Originally Posted by Quadrille in JB

Thanks to the forum member who suggested Zep heavy duty floor stripper. It works like a champ. When spraying it on the poli glo just melts off.

Here's a photo showing how the 33-year-old hull looks after stripping the poli glo and buffing and waxing.

I do have to admit though, the poli glo helped keep the gelcoat in great shape.

Did de drippings destroy your antifowling?