Poliglow - anyone tried it?

[Guest]

The olive green gelcoat on Madeira's is incredibly difficult to keep in good condition, a couple of days spent polishing and waxing will leave a shine which lasts for about a month, then it goes back to looking dull. Mine has got a lot worse over the past 18 months, I now have milky sections and the rest is very dull. I tried using Mer polish a few weeks back, it didn't bring any sort of shine.

So I ordered the Poliglow kit (not cheap at £60). It has rained every day since it arrived, but I did manage to try out the cleaner, Poliprep. You spray this on and rub with a foam block. It seems to do a good job of cleaning and did make the boat shine a little on it's own. When it stops raining I will finish cleaning and put 6 to 8 coats of Poliglow on.

Has anyone tried this stuff? It seems to get good reviews, so it will be interesting to see what happens.

[Jim]

I can'y say I've heard of Poliglow but I remember a company that would visit your boat and use some expensive stuff which they claimed was the best available and would maintain the gelcoat shine.

My mate had his Fairline Holiday treated and told me after a couple of months, it was as dull as ditchwater again. I've tried all sorts over the years and got the best results using Auto Glym resin wax and polymer sealant. As as cleaner, I'm really impressed with Muc Off which I'm sure you can buy in Halfords. It's the same pink stuff the BA rangers use I believe and is "Broads Friendly".

Best of luck

[Mowjo]

Never used it Jim, but this guy swears by it and looking at the results it seem to do what they claim,, http://www.our-cassie.co.uk/boat/restor ... ery_7.html

Regards Frank,,,,

[GrantS]

If it stays as shiny as Cassie all season and just needs water & a quick wipe, then thats pretty impressive.

Mind you, that was after a compound 1st. Looks like you will be the Guinea Pig with this stuff and it will be interesting to see how it lasts.

How much do you get for £60 ?

Grant

[Guest]

£60 is for the kit, which is enough to do a 30ft boat. This includes a bottle of Poliprep (more than you need), a bottle of Poliglow, a scrubbing pad and handle, gloves, one large applicator pad and one small applicator.

You get a bottle of poliprep, which is a strong (acid based) cleaner, you dilute this 1 to 3 with water and use a spray bottle to apply to the boat. They give you a cleaning pad to use for this. I have so far cleaned about 1/4 of the boat with this, it is a very good cleaner. The boat must be totally an before using Poliglow, otherwise it seals the dirt in. The cleaner also removes Poliglow, just in case you want to take it off at some point.

I'd estimate it would take about 4 to 5 hours to clean the whole boat. You then apply Poliglow with the supplied pad, it needs about 8 coats, each dries in a couple of minutes. So probably another 4 or 5 hours to do this over the entire boat. At the end of the season you don't need to use the cleaner again, you simply wash the boat with soapy water and apply two more coats of Poliglow.

[Guest]

I tried applying the Poliglow to a couple of test areas yesterday and have hit a problem. It makes the Gelcoat lovely and shiney, but shows blemishes in the gelcoat.

Does anyone know what these patches are and how I can treat them?

Nice shine on the sides

[Guest]

If anyone is thinking of using Poliglow, I discovered that you need careful preparation before using it, it's not really the wonder potion it claims. The instructions say not to compound before applying, that might be the case if your gelcoat is in good condition. In my case I wet sanded the gelcoat with 600 grade wet & dry paper, then used compound, then washed with Poliprep. I let it dry and still had a few patchy areas, so sanded and washed again. Once it was all an even colour I applied Poliglow. I only did this on the aft cabin roof (as it took hours). The result is fantastic. No I just have to find time to do the rest of the boat.

[Guest]

The final result.

I'm very impressed. It isn't quiet the quick fix that Poliglow claim as I spent several hours wet sanding, compounding and cleaning before putting the Poliglow on. I have done the cabin roofs and sides and still have over 3/4 of the bottle left, so there is certainly enough to do the hull as well.

The test now is how long the shine lasts. So far I'd certainly recommend it. One tip though, get some proper rubber gloves, the ones supplied split and I got a nasty allergic reaction that caused my arms to come up in bumps.

BTW, ignore the sorry state of my woodwork, I started sanding it and run out of time today.

[jillR]

looking good

[wayneakp]

The shinyest boat in our marina is done with a regular wash and el cheapo furniture polish - and she always looks great.

[Guest]

The shinyest boat in our marina is done with a regular wash and el cheapo furniture polish - and she always looks great.

Doesn't work on really poor condition gel coats like mine. Neither does traditional wax.

I'm pleased to say the shine has held up so far, I still have 3/4 of the bottle left and will apply a couple more coats before winter.