Poli-Glow

rasbury

I think if I re wax once during the season it will hold up better but not sue it is worth it. Took me a day to buff one side out,used 3m as stated but it is the one that has wax also- I will put down another coat of wax and move to the other side tho weekend. Just seems from what I read, no matter what you do, this is an annual deal!

Handymans342

My blue hull is chalky again. Lasted 8 months in the shade!!!!

Liberty44140

I was big on Aquabuff, never tried it but there are some great posts out there on other sites showing black or Navy hull's coming back nicely on other brands of boats. After more research though I think that this is just a Rinker problem. I love my current and previous Rinkers and would buy another bu for whatever reason the colored hulls seem to go chaulky and are nearly impossible to buff back and keep for the summer. The most success I've seen so far is this post from DanD2 on PoliGlow and you can't argue with his results after 2 seasons. 

rasbury

Mine never really went chalky from last year but I'd guess it's close...it was still shinny, but blotchy which drives me crazy...

luvinlife

I definitely prefer the look of the dark hulls. My other boat is a 23 foot Monteret with a black hull that looks great. It is a trailer queen and I pribably wax the sides 4 times a year in my driveway. Now that we moved up to the 270, the white hull is probably better for me. I am meticulous and could see myself in a dinghy waxing with one hand if it got chalky. 

luvinlife

Liberty44140

Pretty happy with the poli glow treatment i did this year. Cleaned with poli prep, did some poli ox on the stains but not the entire hull, then lots of coats of poli glow (more than 10). 
Before close up:

After:

DanD2

@Liberty44140
Looking good......just started mine today, got the Port side done.....it held up very well over the winter

Liberty44140

Looks good!

reneechris14

Looks like we are rubbing the same boat.

Liberty44140

Renee based on the bottles in the reflection it looks like you compounded? Or did U poli glow?

reneechris14

Compound with presti products and black wax.boat was in pretty bad shape when I bought it in Sept. from the Bronx NY.The stuff on the table is just a lot stuff I have in a box.

reneechris14

Bottom paint next week and then splash week after.

Liberty44140

Looks good, packing up the car now to go do bottom paint today...

Liberty44140

Really could not be happier with poli glow this season. After 6 1/2 months in the water it looks great. For $75 you can not go wrong if you have a dark hulk Rinker. Will clean with soap in spring and wipe on a few more coats. You can see a few posts above what it looked like last October!

Dream_Inn

Wow, looks like it has held up really well.  I see many boats that look oxidized a month or two after cleaning.  Glad to hear it has worked out and will save you time in the spring!

Dude_Himself

I wanted to ask the experts here. I bought my 10 year old Rinker in May. It's stored outdoors in the sun (I know) with the cockpit cover on and the bimini off. After just 4 months the boat looked old and oxidzed. The white gelcoat was dirty, the non-skid was mildewing in areas. I took the pressure washer to it last night and got it pretty again, and noticed a lot a white hue to the puddle that formed under the boat. I've polished up 30 year old sailboats with 4-5 levels of compound, cutting, wax, and polish - but I've never pressure washed on first (used an acid hull cleaner).

1. How can I keep the boat from looking dirty again that fast? Do I wax the whole thing, non-skid included?
2. Does pressure-washing the gelcoat do any damage?
3. Do they make covers for the 280EC with the radar arch that would keep the sun off it?

Liberty44140

If your boat is white/cream (not dark) you can use a great product called flitz. I had a white center console that came from Florida and was very chaulky. Flitz made it look new again. Flitz did not work on my dark Rinker, however. Flitz is not too difficult, you paint it on with a paint brush lightly and then use a high speed buffer like a DeWalt or Makita and work it in with a wool bonnet. No buffing, you work it in and out with the bonnet. For the non skid there are products out there that you can coat it with to keep it nice, PoliGlow makes a non skid product for keeping bird crap and blood from staining. A cover is the best way to keep it nice but that would probably be a custom job. Oh and I dont pressure wash my boats, a lot of people do, but I dont think that much pressure can be good for anything other than the bottom. 

reneechris14

@Liberty44140 that really looks good for 6 months mine is pretty close to your 1st pic. So I guess the poli glow is the way to go. Like to see what @DanD2 looks like he just came out to dry land this week.

randy56

@Dude_Himself
IMO here my answers
1. Clean it up monthly
2. Does not hurt your boat.
3. Yes @Cableguy has one, as others. 

jhofmann

I have used wax in the past and it makes everything smooth and slippery including the non-skid. Poli-Glow does look slippery, but it is not, and works well on the non-skid.

Dream_Inn

Well, I believe the last 4 comments on here really cover it best.  I can't disagree with any of it.  I definitely would not pressure wash, at least no more than once a year.  As far as anti-skid, I use the stuff by I think starbrite that has the ptef in it.  Nothing else and it works great.  Washing it often is best.

Cableguy Greg

@Dude_Himself, I have a Fisher Canvas winter cover for my 280EC. It covers the boat all the way to the waterline, which helps a ton in the winter. They have a pattern for your boat. The Fisher cover is rather heavy, 85lbs, because it is made out of duck canvas. They have started making them with a lighter material, which I will get when I replace mine in a few years. @coverguy is a Fisher dealer, so he will be able to get you a quote if you want to go that route.

rasbury

That's a nice cover!

Liberty44140

A guy I know has a gorgeous Sea Ray, it always looks freshly detailed and he does it all himself. He doea Flitz on the white gelcoat that is not nonskid and he wipes future floor wax on the non skid. The floor wax is a light acrylic coating like poliglow. I did the floor wax on the non skid of my center console and had no adverse effects, the boat did stay cleaner and didn't absorb as many stains. I may do the poli glow non skid treatment on the non skid this summer, we will see...

Dream_Inn

I may have to try the flitz thing here.  So you mentioned applying it with a brush?  I know when I use it to clean metals that I just use a towel.  Then you buff it out?

Liberty44140

yea I painted it on with a paint brush. You could wipe it on with a towel. Then I use a makita buffer with 7" wool bonnet from Harbor Freight and just buff it in at around 1500 rpm. Just keep working it in until its gone and shiny. Lasted all summer on my chaulkey white Mako! 

Dream_Inn

Very interesting.  How large a container did it take to do your 342? 

Liberty44140

I believe I needed 2 quart cans to do my entire 342, hull, above rub rail, transom, etc

Liberty44140

They sell smaller tubes, if you have a buffer and bonnet you may want to just get a small tube and test it out