Removing Polyglow ??

Pat

.
Jun 7, 2004
1,250
Oday 272LE Ninnescah Yacht Club, Wichita, Ks.
Maine Sail, thank you for your contributions!
I looked at our grey 272 LE's hull this week and noticed that a lot of the polyglow we put on many years ago still remains on the aft portside hull.....We have had our boat professionally waxed nearly every year by a fine gentleman that drives to our lake each spring, but the poly glow still remains in this one area....rather than get into a discussion about the pro's and con's
(mostly) of poly glow, I'm just wondering what I can do to remove this mess before he comes out
to our lake again this spring....we had tried to remove it using floor wax remover and a buffer and it did well in many areas, but the polyglow remains as noted above.....is there a product I can buy and apply / remove that will remove the poly glow? I have not purchased the poly glow remover as I'm not convinced it will work.....I have a decent buffer/misc. equipment....Thanks for your advice....Patrick in Wichita
 
Jan 18, 2016
782
Catalina 387 Dana Point
I'm not Maine; but there's a product called, of all things, Poli Strip. It removes poli glow.

Google it, there's thousands of hits on this since lots of folks in RVs use PoliGlow.
 
Jun 14, 2010
2,081
Robertson & Caine 2017 Leopard 40 CT
Yes Poli Strip. (Poli Prep does not work as a remover.) Follow the included directions and have a hose handy. IMHO it is the only way to go -- I earned my stripes; used it on a 39 foot trimaran (3 hulls, 2 sides per hull, times approx. 39 feet = 234 long x3 feet high).
 
Sep 20, 2015
123
Navigator 4200 Classic New Bern, NC
We had our boat's PO use Polyglow's little, and less popular, brother, NuGlass, on our boat (42' Navigator) before we bought it. It is a nightmare and their PolyStrip does not work very well, if at all. It is the same chemical as heavy duty floor stripper. So if that isn't working for you, there is no choice. The ONLY way to remove it effectively is to wait it out for six months and let it break down for a while on its own, then start wet sanding. I have done one section with very good results and am now waiting for warm weather to pick it back up. It takes patience. It takes commitment. It takes a ton of elbow grease to remove. Luckily, your area is small. Ours is 42' of topsides.

That junk is a polymer and designed to hold on tight (think: polyurethane) 800 or 1200 grit to 1500 grit to 2000... THEN follow MaineSail's steps for a buff wax on this page. And it is not an easy job. You have to acclimate your eye to see the spots, and when wet, they practically disappear.

Hope this helps.
 
Jul 1, 2010
962
Catalina 350 Lake Huron
I was able to get Poliglow off our hull (put on by previous owner) by using Zep commercial floor wax stripper and a 3-m white scrubbie. It took 3 passes to get it all off. Do small areas (2 x 2) at a time, and wash the areas before you go to the next area. If it was put on per Poliglow's directions, the hull was scuffed to a matte finish before applying, so it will first have to be buffed (and likely even wet sanded, then buffed) before waxing. I've heard that Poli-strip works, as well, but the Zep stripper is way cheaper.

Edit: I see you mentioned using stripper and a buffer. Together not a good idea as the stripper will get thrown around and the buffer will just work the stripper / poliglow into the gel coat. The white scrubbie is aggressive enough but doesn't dig into the gel coat. Follow the directions on the stripper and let it set for a few minutes (10-15?) for every area, but keep it wet with stripper and don't let it dry out.
 
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Jul 8, 2012
126
Catalina 28 North East
I tried floor stripper, Awesome cleaner, Barkeepers friend, green stuff, purple stuff and lots of elbow grease before paying for the poly strip. That finally worked (should have gone there first). It is a concentrate, read the directions, if needed make it a touch stronger. It turns the polyglo to goo; I alternated poly strip with some dawn in warm water to get most of it off. Some spots I used wet 600 grit paper lightly to break through the poly glo.
It took longer than I wanted to spend to remove the old stuff, less than I expected to compound, buff and wax.
Any polyglo left on the hull will gum up the compound buffer pads. Don't be tempted to cut corners, you'll just have to go back and do it again.