Is Your Colored Hull Chalky?

vquad

above picture is a "before"

Michael T

P.S. I missed the reverse side of one of the small note pages I had made. I asked the guy about the areas on some of our boat hulls, I have one in a black area and a white area that almost look like a repair had been made to the area as there is a different sheen. I liken it to a "patch". He said there are accidents at factories ranging from scratches to actual holes getting punched in. These are repaired and re sprayed. In these cases it is really impossible to match the gelcoat as the edges of the spray the "spray margins" as he termed them will never buff evenly in shine with the original gel coat next tgo them. Therefore these will look like what i called "patches". When you look down the hull using the light you see these "duller" or slightly off colourareas. He said repairs due to damage in transit will have the same outcome. He also repeated that any of the factors he mentioned above no matter how good the gel guy is or how careful the factory is can result in uneven colour to one's gelcoat. He said he had a "patch" look in one area of his gel coat that he has fried to buff out and just resigned himself to. He said the whole process is part science and part art and there are many factors that can disrupt it. Our best hope to keep our hulls looking good was to avoid mineral laden water when washing,  towel off the water, hand wax and buff, and try to protect from constant sunlight. MT

rob_boater

Any updates?  How does this stuff hold up?  I am thinking about it for next spring.

vquad

I did the island girl products on my 270 and it still looks good.(so far)

im not ready to sign off on this product yet as I need more time to assess it long term

also my boat is not a marina boat...we trailer and it stays under a carport when its not in the water

 

explore7425

My boat has been out at the slip the whole time. It still looks good. It gets dirty and dull but it washes up pretty easy.I get a lot of black streaking below the canvas and I used to have to use cleaner wax to get it off completely in the past but now I just wash it with soap and it comes off. I really like what it has done for the blue hull but I have to tell you I am actually more impressed with what it has done for the white topsides. My boat is very shiny and it washes right up. 

Serenity

Everyone-so far everyone seems to like the product. One question I have. Has anyone found out what the process is to re-apply and how often? I may do it in the Spring at this time of the season but would like to hear from anyone in the southern sun as to how it is holding up.

vquad

I would think reapply as needed for your conditions???

make sure you let this product dry or cure...I added the "simply brilliant" as a final coat and I didn't let it sit for the recommended 24 hours.

I had a lot of energy 1 morning before we headed out for a 3 day weekend and  just after applying we got caught in a huge thunderstorm.not good.

my hard work was pretty much washed off in a matter of minutes...this product needs to sit and soak in for 24 hours prior to polishing off the residual.

explore7425

I was told by the manufacturer that I would probably need to apply a thin coat on an annual basis but they also said that the product is tested and mostly used in tropical conditions on sail boats. We are on the Chesapeake so I figure I won't have to do much more than touch it up as time goes by. 

 

Serenity

That is really good to know-I am on Long Island and the boat is covered 5 months of the year down to the waterline. I am going to give it a shot. I was looking into having it painted but this may band aide it for a while. Did you do the area above the rub rails? I assume it will make the white look really good and above I read it helped with the black streaks. Thank you.

explore7425

It works really good on the white.

rosanna342

I'm looking to do my 342 black hull with island girl, has anyone experienced any downside to this product?Any suggestions on what or not what to do? HELP!!!

explore7425

I started with this mid season so I do not have a lot of time under my belt with it. The only down side I see right now is that you have to really consider what products you use to clean and maintain your boat moving forward after using Island Girl. You just have to make sure they are compatible. Things like cleaner wax will just take Island Girl off. Actually cleaner wax will take anything off. The problem I foresee is that you don't want it to go blotchy from using a myriad of cleaners only to have to strip it down and start over. So far I have been able to keep the boat looking real good with just soap and water. 

Michael T

I have had two all black hulls - go to Rinker Photo Gallery forum and click on Bye Bye Baby! - that's my latest black hulled Rinker. I'm getting a 2014 EC 360 in the spring. It too will have an all black hull from the rub rail down. All of the hulls were washed with either soft water or lake water to avoid chlorine and/or hard water. They were towelled-off and then Meguiars Flagship Wax (black bottle) was was rubbed on and towelled-off. That would make 5 years of black hulls with no chalky look, no streaks, no uneven marks. Just a deep black gloss. BTW you can click on that picture and then move your cursor to anywhere on the hull and click again for a real close-up look ..... and remember it was just power washed and not even towelled dried by the dealer..... and it still looks great! That's because it was waxed correctly in the spring before it hit the water and 6 months later it's still shiny. Sooooo - soft water - towel dry - Meguiar's Flagship Wax (or a high quality carnuba based wax) - and some sweat equity. No fancy PhD. chemical bonding polymer flash cure cr*p needed..... just the old fashioned way as in KISS. My 2 cents MT 

TikiHut2

I was always careful about what soap (if any) we used so the wax wasn't stripped off but after MT mentioned a soft-water wash I gave it a try and it's definitely a permanent part of my new gelcoat upkeep regimen and should help with those who go with the Island Girl finishes too. It makes sense that it's just less mineral to add micro scratches (gelcoat death) and less micro debris to screw up the finish.

The TikiHut shines like the day it came off the showroom floor and all it took to bring it back from the previous owners chalky mess was an OCD surface prep, two high quality coats of wax in the fall and spring, and with a soft-water wash/rinse it's even easier to keep it that way. Good tip MT.

KISS is the right term but my shoulders still ache when my semi-annual wax is done. Mike

Michael T

Mike, that process has worked extremely well for my and my friend's boats. As I'm sure I mentioned (ad naseum) in one of the many disussions about this topic on several threads, a top gel coat man gave those tips at a seminar years ago. Unfortunately, for my shoulders, too,  there does not seem to be a magic alternative to "elbow grease". MT

Serenity

MT--how did you get the soft water? My boat sits in the water 6 months a year at a slip. The water is terrible and I see it every time I rinse the boat off and do not dry right away. There are water spots all over the hull and windows. Do you have something you attached to the hose? And if so--what do you use?

Michael T

There is no short cut to a "spotless result" - wash the boat with lake/river water and dry it off with a towel or chamois. Sun drying will usually leave spots. I use softened water and the Admiral and I use chamois to dry the boat. This always leaves it spotless and doesn't take that much time. A cool drink and some work in the sun - it's all good to me. As for the water filter and water softener "system" I use please go to the Rinker Express Cruisers Forum on this website and click on Progress Report - In Line Filter and Water Softener. P.S. It's on page three, at the moment.  Regards. MT

explore7425

Our water is so brown up here on the northern Chesapeake. It leaves a tea stain all around the water line that only comes off with hull cleaner. It's a real pain. As for drying the boat I'll give you props on that. What an undertaking. The way our marinas are set up you would have to swim just to clean the hull let alone dry it. Once and a while I'll put the dinghy in and do it but it's a lot of time. It's times like that when long for days when I had a trailer-able boat. I see a lot of Rinkers up here and most are colored hulls and they look pretty bad. I believe there is something wrong with the way they do things. 

Michael T

Hey explore, I hear you! We used the dingy to clean the hull a couple of times and it was really hard - between the balancing and cleaning I spent most of the time trying not to fall overboard. When we want to wash or wax our hull we loosen the mooring lines clean one side then I pull the boat out and back in to do the other side. I guess I'm lucky in that my slip is easy to get in and out of , particularly with axius. You are 100% correct though - it is a lot of work keeping the boat clean. It did get a little easier after we retired and had more time so that we weren't spending prime boating time cleaning! For a second we considered getting an all white hull instead of the black one for our new 360 until the Admiral reminded me that I'd want to polish a white one anyway. Take care. MT

Glassguy54

We have a 246 Captiva with Black gelcoat from the rub rail to the chine. After putting it on the trailer, while still at the ramp (in the parking lot, out of the way) I fill a bucket with clean water from the transom shower and use a soft car wash style brush on a telescoping rod to thoroughly swab the boat down everywhere I can reach. We then use a synthetic chamois, and it looks great. The boat lives in a climate controlled building, so I do any other necessary detailing there such as a good waxing with carnauba based wax 2-3 times/season. I also use a product called "Ducky" water spot remover. I wish my truck received the same level of attention!

explore7425

Most marinas here don't even have a full finger pier. Maybe 10" if your lucky.  It's a real PIA!

Michael T

Hey Explore. I will never complain about my slip again. This year they extended the slips to 40 feet. My new one is "only" 2 feet wide. The old one used to be 4 feet wide, that cheesed me off a bit. A decent slip makes keeping the boat clean a lot easier! MT   

Michael T

Shocked today! I did the end of season clean-out on the filter/watersoftener combination that I use to fill the boat's water tank and wash it. Because we have filled-up with water and washed the boat at five or more locations I don't know which one or ones were the culprits, but the cr*p that came out of that water softener when we back washed it and flushed it with salt to regenerate it before winter storage was amazing. The water ran dark iron color and there were grit and mineral deposits. The Admiral, who was helping, just stared at the mess. Her comment of thank God we didn't put that in our tank or on the boat said it all. I thought I would see some crud come out of the softener but had no idea. In fact the filter media bed of the water softener too so long to clean that I may just pitch it and buy a re-fill kit for next year.I hate to think what my hull would have looked like if I had used some of the water at culprit locations to wash the boat - if left untreated. This is the first time I have had a non trailerable boat. I always used to wash my other boats at home with fresh filtered softened water. That new filter/water softener and I are now fast friends! ;-) MT

gvigrass

Great topic....I have had the merlot (red) hull twice now...first on a 2005 270, and now on my 2006 342.  It got so difficult to maintain that I had it done in Awl Grip.  Best decision I could have made....looks fantastic, low maintenance and expected to hold up a minimum of 10 years.

Greg

Serenity

Greg--this is great. I own a 2005 320 with the Blue hull and real faded even though I wax 2 times a year and shrink wrap to the waterline every winter. I have a few questions. Have you had to touch up after and if so-how hard was it to fix. Also did you do the arch? Do you still wax the Awl Grip? I am looking to do mine in the Spring.

gvigrass

I did not do the white...that is still gel coat, and being white, easy to maintain.  I painted (Awl Grip) the colored part of the hull, merlot (red) in my case.  That is super easy to maintain....do not wax it at all....only wash it with a mild soap.  I have not had to touch it up at all...its battleship hard and no fading, etc.

gvigrass

Serenity, here is a pic of the hull.  The boat was not washed/cleaned prior to this pic.  At the time of the pic, the hull paint is probably 2 1/2 years old (or so).  Should be able to click on the pic and enlarge it.

Greg 

Serenity

Greg--that looks incredible. And with your Florida sun  it looks like it was just done. Do you wax it a few times a year?

gvigrass

NO WAX....that is a "no no".  All you do is clean it with a mild soap....awlwash.

The Red is what I had painted, the white is still gel coat, but white gel coat is pretty easy to deal with (easier....although if I get a wild hair or extra $$ maybe I'll paint it too!!).  Clean it on a regular basis to avoid build up of oils, grease, etc.  If I get any stubborn stains or smudges, like a rub rail smudge or something, they recommend warm/hot water mixed with vinegar....seems to work well.

I highly recommend it to anyone with a colored hull....I'll walk over and get you a close up pic in a little while...luxury of working from home!!

Greg

Serenity

Thank you Greg. Was that the original color of the boat? That is amazing--what is the life span of the paint especially there in Florida?