I am contemplating using Poli Glow to restore the lustre and a protective finish on my 30 year old hull topsides, and looking for pros & cons from anybody that has used this product or a similar one. My main concerns are: 1-Difficulty of preparing the hull for the protective coating by a handy amateur 2-Ease of application of the protecting finish by an amateur 3-Approximately how many "seasons" does the finish last 4-Is the finish removed with the use of "On Off" or similar acid in case it is needed for periodic cleaning 5-When topsides needs "rejuvinating", how is this accomplished, and is it necessary to do the tedious "initial preparation" all over again 6-If "seasonal rejuvination" is required, can this be done for several seasons without fear of "building up" too thick a finish
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poli glow
David, i did not use poli glow but I used a similar product called new glass 2, once all the prep work was completed the application was simple and fast, reaplied again after 2 years and this past summer decided to strip the boat. This is where the fun begins, very, very hard to strip. The up side is the boat looked great, and the 2nd application took about 2 hours, while all my friends where still waxing I was relaxing, There is no miracle cure for the boat in the spring, except wax on wax off.
David, i did not use poli glow but I used a similar product called new glass 2, once all the prep work was completed the application was simple and fast, reaplied again after 2 years and this past summer decided to strip the boat. This is where the fun begins, very, very hard to strip. The up side is the boat looked great, and the 2nd application took about 2 hours, while all my friends where still waxing I was relaxing, There is no miracle cure for the boat in the spring, except wax on wax off.
Just did mine
My boat has a dark blue hull and white deck. For a number of years it was stored in a barn, so the glass is in better than normal shape for a 30 year old boat, but the gelcoat had some oxidation, and the dark hull showed many streaks from the chalky runoff. I followed the Poli Glow directions exactly - washed the boat first, then treated with Poli Prep, wet-sanding out deep color variations with 1000 and 2000 paper. The trick is to get the color even - on my boat that took some doing, and if you look closely now you can see some variation, but overall it's about 95% and friends can't believe how well it turned out. The white was much easier to do than the blue, because of the preparation necessary for the latter. I don't know how well it will last, but others on this site have said one to two years. I'll not mind at all doing some touch-up or retreating after a year. I was mostly wanting some UV protection from further degradation and chalking, so the shine is in my case a bonus - the deck looks almost like new, and my dog was alarmed to look up and see her own image looking back from the shiny topsides. The Poli Glow itself is easy to apply and it is interesting to see the shine come up with succeeding applications. Read the instructions several times and follow them exactly.
My boat has a dark blue hull and white deck. For a number of years it was stored in a barn, so the glass is in better than normal shape for a 30 year old boat, but the gelcoat had some oxidation, and the dark hull showed many streaks from the chalky runoff. I followed the Poli Glow directions exactly - washed the boat first, then treated with Poli Prep, wet-sanding out deep color variations with 1000 and 2000 paper. The trick is to get the color even - on my boat that took some doing, and if you look closely now you can see some variation, but overall it's about 95% and friends can't believe how well it turned out. The white was much easier to do than the blue, because of the preparation necessary for the latter. I don't know how well it will last, but others on this site have said one to two years. I'll not mind at all doing some touch-up or retreating after a year. I was mostly wanting some UV protection from further degradation and chalking, so the shine is in my case a bonus - the deck looks almost like new, and my dog was alarmed to look up and see her own image looking back from the shiny topsides. The Poli Glow itself is easy to apply and it is interesting to see the shine come up with succeeding applications. Read the instructions several times and follow them exactly.
polymer finishes
I hate to be negative about this but I know two people that have used this polymer stuff with the same unsatisfactory results. The finish looked great the first season, not as good the second. By the 4th season both boats begun to have the same oxadized look they had prior to the treatment A big problem that both owners encountered when they decided to paint their boats. The polymer is very difficult to remove One alternatives is to wet sand the entire boat to take off the top oxadized surface and then keep it well waxed. Another alternative is to paint the boat with a brush using one of the new paints availabe today Good luck Bob 1975 P26w #74 whitecap
I hate to be negative about this but I know two people that have used this polymer stuff with the same unsatisfactory results. The finish looked great the first season, not as good the second. By the 4th season both boats begun to have the same oxadized look they had prior to the treatment A big problem that both owners encountered when they decided to paint their boats. The polymer is very difficult to remove One alternatives is to wet sand the entire boat to take off the top oxadized surface and then keep it well waxed. Another alternative is to paint the boat with a brush using one of the new paints availabe today Good luck Bob 1975 P26w #74 whitecap
Maintenance
Bob is right about those sailors but the directions clearly state for poliglow you should apply 1 or 2 maintenance coats per year. I used Island Girl. Hated it. Moved to Poliglow and my boat looks great every season, all season. See the pic below. http://treilley.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album08&id=Final_port_side1_jpg Yes, that is a 30 year old boat. Tim R.
Bob is right about those sailors but the directions clearly state for poliglow you should apply 1 or 2 maintenance coats per year. I used Island Girl. Hated it. Moved to Poliglow and my boat looks great every season, all season. See the pic below. http://treilley.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album08&id=Final_port_side1_jpg Yes, that is a 30 year old boat. Tim R.
Some answers
Hello, I bought my boat, a 1986 newport 28, July of 2004. In April of 2005 I decided to use Poliglow to make the topsides look better. The topsides were dull, dirty and oxidized. I read the poliglow directions and followed them carefully. I was very happy with the results. It took about 4 hours to use the poliprep, and 3 hours for the poliglow (3 coats). Applying the poliglow is as easy as the directions make it appear. You just sort of paint it on. The poliprep was tough - rub rub rub, scrub scrub scrub. The good news is that you only need to use poliprep once. The next year (this year for me) you may only need to touch up a few places with poliprep before putting a new coat or two of piloglow. I'm very happy with it and I will use it again this spring. One final thing, Poliprep is supposed to remove pologlow. Barry
Hello, I bought my boat, a 1986 newport 28, July of 2004. In April of 2005 I decided to use Poliglow to make the topsides look better. The topsides were dull, dirty and oxidized. I read the poliglow directions and followed them carefully. I was very happy with the results. It took about 4 hours to use the poliprep, and 3 hours for the poliglow (3 coats). Applying the poliglow is as easy as the directions make it appear. You just sort of paint it on. The poliprep was tough - rub rub rub, scrub scrub scrub. The good news is that you only need to use poliprep once. The next year (this year for me) you may only need to touch up a few places with poliprep before putting a new coat or two of piloglow. I'm very happy with it and I will use it again this spring. One final thing, Poliprep is supposed to remove pologlow. Barry
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