LP after use of polimer

[Jeff10620]

HI and Happy Holiday's. I have a 1980 fiberglass sail boat and was consideging the use of a polimer such as Island Girl products to make her look better. I know at some time in the future i will have to LP the boat. I was wondering if any of you have had any experience with having LP'd a boat that had previously use Island Girl Products or similar polimers? Thanks, FARB

 

[Ross]

FARB, I think that the first thing I would do with the Island Girl products is to take them to the chemical lab and have someone run a scan on them. They are advertized like snake oil.

 

[sailingdog]

I've heard good things of PoliGlow, bad things about NuGlass2...nothing about Island Girl.

 

[Tim R.]

For an older boat, Polyglow is the best. IG works better for newer boats. You can remove either one in preparation for paint. See my link below and navigate to my Pearson photos(projects/bottom strip) to see what PG can do for a 30 year old boat. I had previously tried IG and was very disapplointed. PG was much easier to prep and apply. The current owner of the Pearson still uses it every season and loves it.

If you want to do it "right" then try wet sanding, buffing and polishing. Maine Sail has an excellent write in the archives here. I think you can find it by searching "no short cuts". If the gelcoat is too far gone then I would go for the PG. You will still need to do a decent amount of prep though. PG is clear and it amplifies any imperfections in the gelcoat so make sure it is as clean as possible before applying. If you do end up going this route one tip I can give you is do not expect it to look any good until you get to the 3rd coat. The first couple look very blotchy and uneven.