THE Best Fibreglas Polish?

Deadline · Nov 14, 2011

Archives

There's a lot on this in the Archives on this site.
One criticism is that poli-glow turns yellowish.
I myself prefer Island Girl, which is a resin.
Check it out on islandgirl.com

Don S/V ILLusion · Nov 14, 2011

It isn't a polish or a wax. You'd be wise to read the archives as suggested.

tomlang63 · Nov 14, 2011

Re: Archives

There is gobs of information about Poli-Glo on this site and others. Some people swear by it, others despise it. I had so-so results with it in the past, and have not used it since. I use Scotchguard Marine Wax, top-rated by Practical Sailor for years, and relatively inexpensive. Prep is always the key with wax, I use 3M Finesse-It religiously every year before the wax, and my 30-year hull looks really good after a good buff with 3M and two coats of wax.

sailcruiser · Nov 14, 2011

I have used it but on a very chalky boat with very tired gel coat. Did it work? For the most part but was hard to control streaks. Its still there a year later but half the year was in storage. Would I use it on new gel? Absolutely not. It is essentially acrylic floor wax. I would use the products recommended in the forum Musings with MaineSail topic 'tips for a great buff wax'. A search will take you right to it. This process makes very tired gel look great so I can't imagine ow it would o on new gel and of course you'd skip to the last couple steps having good gel to work with. That's my nickel's worth. SC

Steve Dion · Nov 14, 2011

Poly-glo is not a product for a new finish. It is normally used when a boat is in bad shape.

I would suggest that you take a look at the Island Girl products. You may want to contact them regarding a new finish. You mention that your gelcoat is new. Did you have the hull re-gelcoated or is it paint? It makes a difference.

BillyK · Nov 14, 2011

What do you think about using Islandgirl MH Superglaze on an aluminum mast after polishing all the oxidation off..

Steve Dion · Nov 14, 2011

Re: THE Best Fiberglass Polish?

Billy:

I have no idea about the Island Girl product for that purpose. Contact Island Girl and see if they have a recommendation. Their products normally work best on gelcoat and plastics. That is not to say they wouldn't work on aluminum.

brian3820 · Nov 14, 2011

I have just refinished the exterior of my boat following MaineSails tips for a great buff and wax found on this forum. In regard to PoliGlow... I have ONLY read about it, and overall I have found people are unhappy...ONLY in the respect that that getting it off in near impossible. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, IT IS ONLY WHAT MEMBERS HAVE POSTED... I do NOT have any personal experience with this product. PLEASE do research on this forum to get accurate information. The only reason I say this, is , it was a very rough job bringing my gelcoat back to life.. it was badly oxidized and took multiple sandings, then 2 different rubbing/cutting compounds, then polish, then wax... The point...very labor intensive... So.. bottom line, do it with the most information you can find in order to meet your needs... if your boat is 3 feet long, you have room to try and start over..Mine was 34 feet...you only want to do it once..ya know. Good luck in the search for the right product and it still wouldn't hurt reading MaineSails tutorial... it truly is awesome..very in depth and very helpful. Good luck polishing!

monkeybars · Nov 15, 2011

you have new gelcoat, you dont need a polish,just go to walmart and get a wax,any wax and use it twice a year and you will not ever need a polish

Sanfelice · Nov 15, 2011

Neither

I have used both Poliglow and Island Girl and they are both not without their problems. The Poliglow does work well on older boats but you need to keep after it. It tends to peel like a clear coat. If you rub against a dock you need to come back and reapply. The prep is very time consuming but it does make a hull look good. They have their own stripper which works well and not that hard to remove the poliglow. I never saw any yellowing. I'd use it if I was trying to sell a boat quickly.

The Island Girl is very expensive and is time consuming to apply. Several steps and several products . The directions to use are anything but straight forward. I tried it years ago and was not happy with it. Then , after a lot of good reviews, tried it again last year and find it to be less than optimal. On my transom it attracts dirt and exhaust soot. I did use the Silk and Seal and that didn't help. There always seem to be another expensive product they have to use in addition to the Island Girl Elixer or whatever they call it. I can not recommend it.

This last summer a owner in my yard had an older Beneteau he shipped in. It was severly chalked and looked extremely faded. He used some compound, finesse and wax and in all honest I thought he had just Imroned the hull. It was unbelievable how good a finish it was.. It took a lot of work but the results were fantastic. There are no shortcuts to restoring an old hull or keeping a new hull looking good.

Since you have a new gelcoat I agree with others and just use a good wax every year and your hull will look good for years to come.

jsalley · Nov 15, 2011

I bought my boat new, and used Island Girl on it after the first season. It was very easy to apply and looked great - for the first month! I found it attracted dirt like a magnet, and didn't clean easily (especially the black streaks on the hull below the deck where the decks drain overboard). Not to mention the cost and unbelievably poor and confusing instructions. I've gone back to traditional wax, and am much happier with the overall results. Plan to do the MaineSail treatment in the spring, minus the wet sanding.

Tom Hoffman · Nov 20, 2011

I have a 1978 fiberglass American 8.0 she had been stored inside for the last 23-24 years of her life. When I got it, it was mildly chalking. I went to an Auto Body Paint supply house and spoke with a young man there and his recommendation was a product called Insulator Wax. There is also a pre cleaner you use before application.

I have also found out that this wax is used in fiberglass production as a release agent to get the parts out of the molds.

I bought some and wiped it on by hand and then took a variable speed buffer to it and got a nearly new finished look. Was easy to do. I just completed the second sailing season and it still looks great.

The young man from the paint store said that he used it on his Black Corvette and it had been on for 3 years so far and had not needed to be buffed out again after the first application.

http://www.amazon.com/Collinite®-Insulator-Wax-16-oz/dp/B000JK2D06

Tom...

Hawk4661 · Nov 20, 2011

Re: Archives

I too have recently had my 1993 Hunter 23.5 professionally cleaned, 3M compounded,and automotive turtle waxed/ buffed out.
It has turned out awesome look like new.

watercolors II · Nov 21, 2011

Time and labor is the answer

Years ago I read an article in Practical Sailor about gel coat waxes and that the wax with carnauba held up the best in their tests.

When I started waxing my hull I used the best automotive wax with carnauba I could find that did not have the word boat on the label. I polished and buffed the hull with a gel coat restorer and then applied the wax, buffing the wax out was quite a chore. After a couple years with a couple coats of wax a year the application became much easier. My 24 year old hull matches up with the new boats at the marina.

A friend used Poli-Glo and a couple years later when he moved his boat to the Chesapeake and contacted a professional refinisher the first thing they had to do was scrub the boat down with acetone to remove the poli-glo before waxing. They also said that it would take a couple waxing a year for a couple years to achieve a very high gloss.

So, it’s like doing a military spit shine on leather, the polish must be applied again and again to fill the pores in the surface. Time and labor is the answer.

I was at Lowes Sunday afternoon, a Steeler’s bye week, and while looking in their cleaner’s and polisher’s section I noticed a polish for fiberglass and plastic countertops. This item listed carnauba as a major ingredient.

http://www.autogeek.net/carnauba-wax.html

Crazy Dave Condon · Nov 28, 2011

Alot has been said on this subject but the first question is the age of the boat and what needs to be done. I have waxed and compounded boats for over 45 years.
Depending on the gel coat if oxidized, wash it well, then use either a course compound and then 3m Finese It. Get the paste rather than the liquid. In most cases, using the Finese It paste is the only thing you have to do. Make sure you use low speed with the buffer and clean off the pad from time to time. Make sure you do not hold the buffer in one place as you could inadvertenly burn the gel coat.

Once done, I used 3M cleaner wax again with the buffer followed with a coat of Melges Pure Wax. Once you have done this, a slight hand wax twice a year topsides and one per year on the hull will do just fine.

I would invest on the above items as this is what worked well for me over the years. You can purchase the stick it pads individually from Harbor Frieght.

Crazy Dave

heymagic · Dec 4, 2011

Crazy Dave Condon said:
Alot has been said on this subject but the first question is the age of the boat and what needs to be done. I have waxed and compounded boats for over 45 years.
Depending on the gel coat if oxidized, wash it well, then use either a course compound and then 3m Finese It. Get the paste rather than the liquid. In most cases, using the Finese It paste is the only thing you have to do. Make sure you use low speed with the buffer and clean off the pad from time to time. Make sure you do not hold the buffer in one place as you could inadvertenly burn the gel coat.

Once done, I used 3M cleaner wax again with the buffer followed with a coat of Melges Pure Wax. Once you have done this, a slight hand wax twice a year topsides and one per year on the hull will do just fine.

I would invest on the above items as this is what worked well for me over the years. You can purchase the stick it pads individually from Harbor Frieght.

Crazy Dave

I just wanted to add a little something.
Since prep of the boat is so important to the results, I have noticed that some "trailer sailors" have a common problem found in the clear coat of other vehicles. When I was dewaxing my Sanibel 17, I felt some tugging on the wrists of my rubber gloves where they dragged on the gelcoat. I put on a "baggie" glove to feel the surface, and was surprised to find metal brake flakes in the gelcoat! I used a clay bar(at first on the bow 'cause I'm lazy I guess), but ended doing the whole boat. I dewaxed, degreased, compounded etc. It came out nice. I helped a friend with his boat and saw the same problem although not nearly as bad. His boat is 11 years newer so maybe that is part of it.
So my point is prep is a big deal as many of you have said before.
MikeB

Stu Jackson · Dec 4, 2011

Go to Forums, Featured Contributors, Musing with Maine Sail. Collinite #855.

esterhazyinoz · Dec 4, 2011

As was said before, if you have a new boat you shouldn't need polish, just wax. I use an Autogylm liquid wax that the the boat yards use here. It lasts a long time, it's very easy to apply and wipe off.