Poli-Glow

wm61356

When I purchased my new-to-me 320, the black hull was faded and had some oxidation. I used a wheel and 3M compound followed by Meguiars polish and then 3 coats of Meguiars marine wax. I think the hull came out pretty good. since then, I've kept after it during the summer by washing with a car soap that contains wax. About halfway through the season I apply another coat of Meguiars wax. Then when the boat is hauled in the fall I polish and wax again before the boat is stored. The picture below is what she looked like when I put her away last fall. I've never tried a clay bar on the boat but have used them on my corvette with good results. I'm not sure that using a clay bar on the Vette would yield the same results on a boat though...Corvettes are fiberglass with color and clear coat paint (base coat/clear coat) and most boats are gel coat.

raybo3

Nice looking ride.......... Good luck with her....

Michael T

@wm61356....Beautiful boat! Awesome care taken and it shows. One of the few boats of any make I have seen where the black hull sides run right down to (or under) the bottom coat. IMO it makes for a much better look! That boat looks, lean, mean and fast, even on its blocks!

wm61356

Thanks Michael T...she does have a silver stripe at the waterline which made a great cutoff point for the black bottom paint. I get compliments on her from time to time but, comments from people on this forum like you who keep their boats to a high standard, really mean a lot more.

randy56

Great looking boat, you take pride in it and it shows.....

Michael T

@wm61356...yes, saw the stripe but unlike 99% of the other boats out there it is parallel to the gel coat and bottom coat which looks cool. What makes me crazy is what I see on many boats (like Cruisers Brand) where the gel coat side, the white bottom and black bottom coat are all different widths and go at different angles to each other so in effect there are three different angles - right out of the factory - imo that looks bad and gives me vertigo just looking at it! LOL

summerx

After a few hours with the buffer, I am really impressed with the presta ultra cutting creme, followed with PBC crystal gloss. http://www.amazon.com/Presta-131932-...ilpage_o00_s00

I used a wool pad for the compound and then a light foam pad for the wax. The compound starts as a light compound, but then with continued work, finishes as a polish. You have to go over the area sufficiently, but then there is very little residue to wipe off. Only negative is it does create a bit more dust than I was expecting.

I still have to do below the rubrail, but it is showing much less oxidation than above, so the results should be even better...

not a bad shine for an outdoor kept, 15 yo boat. that is the shore power stand you can see in the reflection....

wm61356

Noe that...looks very nice indeed. Great shine!

06Rinker270

@Michael T Your black hulls are still shining because you were the original owner who didnt mess everything up for those after.  The main variable with most of these guys, myself included, is we are fighting the ignorance of those owners before us.  Research is one powerful tool that many boat owners dont use.  

Finally after two seasons of fighting back my hull is glistening I am onto the "keep it shiny stage''.  Its now late July and she's still beaming because I have taken care of the hull all season, but it hasnt been easy.  I was in a stinkin kayak, one arm with a boat hook in my hand pulling me towards the boat while the other arm is waxing.  Torso at a 45 degree twist.  

Now my question for you @Michael T that I have not gotten to is the hand drying.  How the world do you hand buff your hull if your in the water?  First time last week I finally used Imar Yacht soap which apparently does not strip wax.  After the hull dried I saw very little hard water spots.  But I like the idea of hand drying.  

Last, from my research I dont think polish will protect your hull.  If you go through all this hard work and dont put on wax, your wasting your time. 
 

Liberty44140

Hey DanD2, how did the poliglow work this year? Right now I am planning to do the poli cleaner/prep, poli ox and poliglow on my rather oxidized black hull this spring. Wanted to see where you stood after this summer. Thanks 

Liberty44140

Great info Al. Have you done any dark hulled Rinkers like Dans and mine?

DanD2

I'm happy with how mine held up. I've done some touch ups here and there during the summer....real easy to do when I'm backed up to a sandbar. Use the prep and pad to work the area and then just re-poli. Much easier than re-waxing.
This is the 2nd year that I've done it and will continue until I get rid of the boat.

Liberty44140

Thanks guys. What is the best process for starting from scratch on a heavily oxidized boat? Poly ox then poli prep then poli glo? 

frenchship

The best result for me was after de-waxing, then poly ox, then wet sand with 800, this should remove all water stains then applied poly. It was a long process but result are lot better then compound and wax that no matter the way it was done it did not last all summer After two summers still look good. I did not have to do any touch up where the fenders rub against the hull since my fenders have boots on them. The instruction sheets are on line

califco

Anyone have experience with reel shine cutting compound restructure
http://charlestonyacht.com/shop/reel-shine-cutting-compound-1
Then Mazerna Medium cut polish
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/menzerna-po83-super-intensive-polish.html?productid=menzerna-po83-super-intensive-polish&channelid=FROOG&utm_source=CSEs&utm_medium=GoogleProductSearch&utm_campaign=CSE#.WBFSiYb3aaN
Next step Mazerna super finish
http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-super-nano-polish.html
and finish with Maguiars flagship premium marine wax as indicated in this video?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fpxQ-XYL2hg
as mentioned in this post there is so much information out there and so many products that it is difficult to decide. This is my first time doing this type of work and after watching hours of video and reading lots of info I'm at square 1, lol... still don't know what will be the best choice, I like this video because the boat looks just like mine, same color same oxidation. So my choices are narrow down to poly glow or the products explained in the video. 

Michael T

I have been using Meguiar's Flagship wax on my Rinkers with all black hulls since the 2011 and they look fabulous.

frenchship

 Sure a good compound will bring the shine back, but on a black hull.or red or dark blue it will not last. Over the years owning boat I try so many ways and product with always the same results on those colours. Even up here in Ontario or Québec where summer don't last more then few months it does not last . And even Al like this poly glow product.
Do make sure you follow the instructions carefully.

Liberty44140

Some interesting and great feedback here. As I said I'll be using PoliGlow this spring. @frenchship I find it interesting that you wet sanded and used PoliGlow. I was looking at this as a way to avoid having to wet sand since they have the oxidation remover and cleaner. @alswagg have you wet sanded oxidized rinkers when using the Poli Glow system? Or has anyone else? Thanks!

frenchship

Poly ox and Poly prep will remove all the old wax and dirt,but after a good wash take a close
look at the condition of your gelcoat if the colour is not completely uniform or you still see some water spot  or the colour is not uniform .Then I would wet sand. Yes it could be a long process but to me it was worth it . After the only thing is to maintain it with a touch up.

DanD2

Please remember that PoliGlow is just a sealer, if you don't get the oxidation out, it will show through the PoliGlow. PREP IS KEY to this product, take the time to do it right and the reward will be amazing. Maintenance after is as french mentioned, just touch up here and there year after year. Re coating in spring is very quick and easy. Each coat with and applicator or mitt dries in a couple of minutes.

If I have time, I'll do a couple of coats before I wrap it up and I'll post a video of it. If not, I'll do a video in the spring.

Liberty44140

This is what I am dealing with. Ive got no problem with prep, just would like to avoid wet sanding. Dan if I recall some of your oxidation was this bad but I was assuming poly ox got it out. What do you think?

frenchship

It is possible that poly ox would remove some oxidation but don't be surprise if you have to wet sand. As I said before when your done with poly ox and poly prep the color has to be uniform if not there is where sanding come in any imperfections oxidation or deep water stains  as Dan said will show up thru Poly Glow. 
All the negative thing you heard about this product has to do with preparation.
Good luck

DanD2

@Liberty44140 ....you could just do a small section and see how it looks. Remember that the first couple of coats will not look good. You'll need to do at least 4 coats before you start to see good results. FYI, I did not have to wet sand mine

luvinlife

luvinlife

Waxed with Bass Pro cleaner wax with a 10 inch orbital polisher yesterday. Looks great. The gel coat had been well cared for it appears and it's the white hull so less difficult. Done in less that 3 hours. 

sullyman

I use to use Poli-Glow, and realized it looks just like commercial floor wax !  So, at 1/5 the price, I used floor wax instead and I have to say, IT CAME OUT JUST AS GOOD !  And lasts just as long as Poli-Glow .  I still cannot believe it, My boat was 10yrs old, never waxed, when I got it, put Commercial floor wax on it, from "Lowes", buy a gallon for $17. !!!    People saw the results and were amazed at the shine. It looks WET !

jhofmann

I have been using Poli-Glow for several years now on my boat, and my fathers, both of which are white hulls, and we have been very happy with the results. Don't get discouraged when after the first or second coat that is looks spotty, once you get three to four coats on, it will look awesome! Make sure you follow the directions, and apply it like a stain, even strokes in one direction, not circular overlapping strokes, like a wax. If you need to correct an area, use the cleaner/prep to remove the Poli-Glow, and reapply. It should be easy to test a spot and remove if there is oxidation that needs to be wet sanded, then reapply. 

DanD2

@sullyman ....yes, people have used ZEP instead of PoliGlow on Gel Coated trailers for years with the same results. They have also used RED MAX PRO floor finish but I think this product is no longer available.
I almost went the ZEP route but decided to stick with PoliGlow

rasbury

well, working on mine as well....I have read countless threads on this and all these products seem to work well but yet none of them seem to last more than one season before your doing it again. I did mine last year and doing again this year. I'm just using 3M for heavy oxidation and then I follow up with a Marine was (can't think of the name) and expect it to last for a year as well. I have a tan hull that was in very bad shape when I purchased and last year did a lot of sanding to get it back to life- probably should have done more to really get that color out an even but figure I'll save the gelcoat for when I sell it and then really get it looking nice. My hull was still "shinny" this year, had a lot of blotchy to the color and above the sides took a beating. None of the surfaces were chalky. So I'm curious with all the effort and expensive stuff everyone is using, are you really getting any better results than I am. This was last year result. 

Liberty44140

@luvinlife you have it very easy with a white Rinker. Can't compare the ease of keeping a white Rinker to a dark Rinker hull. Apples & Oranges. Ras that looks good. Not to be a downer but I got mine to look that nice with some very heavy compounding last spring, there is a thread her of me talking about how awesome I got it to look. It lasted weeks at best. Hope yours lasts longer!