Hi,

what is the best way/product to clean up and
restore shine of fiberglass that is a bit dull,
i.e. the topsides of an older fiberglass boat?
Possibly without too much polishing?

Thanks,

Chris

I use 3m's brown rubbing compound first, followed by their Finesse-it
white polishing compound, then Collinite fleetwax paste. I use a Sears
orbital polisher. Elbow grease (helped by a polisher!) is the only way
to bring back dull fiberglass.

wrote:
Hi,

what is the best way/product to clean up and
restore shine of fiberglass that is a bit dull,
i.e. the topsides of an older fiberglass boat?
Possibly without too much polishing?

It depends on how bad the damage is. If it's really superficial, one of
the commercial "restorer/renewer" products may be enough, but will still
require buffing. If the damage is bad, wet sanding with 320-1200 grit
followed by buffing may be necessary in order to remove the damaged
gelcoat and get down to the original color. While I've done this on
kayaks and the results were pretty amazing, I wouldn't want to have to
do it on a larger boat, as it's a LOT of HAND work.

" wrote:

what is the best way/product to clean up and
restore shine of fiberglass that is a bit dull,
i.e. the topsides of an older fiberglass boat?
Possibly without too much polishing?

We used a product whose name escapes me at the moment for awhile, but
it got scruffy looking as it wore off, so now I think Bob uses
Penetrol. It takes 3 or 4 coats, but no buffing.


This is before
http://p.vtourist.com/1669765-Rosali...ted-Oxford.jpg

This is after
http://p.vtourist.com/1343947-Rosali..._Augustine.jpg

Low tide after Isabel in 2003
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasle...fterisabel.jpg

And a couple more - pictures that I think show reflections in the
hull.
http://p.vtourist.com/1258033-SV_Ros...abeth_City.jpg

http://p.vtourist.com/1301986-Rosali...rtle_Beach.jpg

http://p.vtourist.com/1327261-SV_Ros...t_Pleasant.jpg

http://p.vtourist.com/707669-Rosalie...y-West_End.jpg


grandma Rosalie

Peg,

You may be referring to "Poli Glow". Takes several coats on
an older boat, but the results are amazing and no buffing.
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 12:17:56 GMT, Rosalie B.
wrote (with possible editing):

" wrote:

what is the best way/product to clean up and
restore shine of fiberglass that is a bit dull,
i.e. the topsides of an older fiberglass boat?
Possibly without too much polishing?

We used a product whose name escapes me at the moment for awhile, but
it got scruffy looking as it wore off, so now I think Bob uses
Penetrol. It takes 3 or 4 coats, but no buffing.


This is before
http://p.vtourist.com/1669765-Rosali...ted-Oxford.jpg

This is after
http://p.vtourist.com/1343947-Rosali..._Augustine.jpg

Low tide after Isabel in 2003
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasle...fterisabel.jpg

And a couple more - pictures that I think show reflections in the
hull.
http://p.vtourist.com/1258033-SV_Ros...abeth_City.jpg

http://p.vtourist.com/1301986-Rosali...rtle_Beach.jpg

http://p.vtourist.com/1327261-SV_Ros...t_Pleasant.jpg

http://p.vtourist.com/707669-Rosalie...y-West_End.jpg


grandma Rosalie

L. M. Rappaport wrote:

Peg,

You may be referring to "Poli Glow". Takes several coats on
an older boat, but the results are amazing and no buffing.

No that wasn't it.

grandma Rosalie

I've found that ignoring it workes best.

From: - Find messages by this author
I've found that ignoring it workes best.

I did have pretty good results with this
technique up to now, just wanted
to ty something else for a change.

Thanks a lot for all the replies!

Chris

Is poli-glow the same as VertiGlass?
The question is how old is the fiberglass boat and how big? What type of
gelcoat was used? Some gelcoat have been exposed to UV and rubbed many time
with compound restorer. A 15 to 25 years old boat if rubbed with compound
every 2-3 years may not have too much gelcoat left. You have to asses the
situation and come up with the best solution.
The best way is to make tests with different method on small areas.
Many people have had success with VertiGlass/PolyGlow.
For reason not known many of the VertiGlass users ended up painting their
boats after several years.
In Europe people are not uneasy about painting their fiberglass boat with a
brush or roller.
Since Allgrip many new two and one part epoxy paint have surfaced the
market.
At one time spraying was the only way to have a good job. Now with the new
self leveling agent added to newer paint the job is more acceptable.
I have seen an old fiberglass boat painted with a brush with one part
polyurethane
and the result was good.



"Red Cloud©" wrote in message
...
On 24 Aug 2005 09:15:09 -0500, Dave wrote:

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:30:07 GMT, Red Cloud© said:

Annual topsides maintenance consists of a quick
wash with very diluted poli-prep,

Just curious--how much do you dilute it for the wash? I don't want to
remove
the initial 5 or 6 coats in the process.

I put maybe a half pint or less in a bucket of water. It's enough to
remove any contaminants from the surface without really degrading the
poliglow. Full strength, it pretty much "melts" the poliglow and
completely removes it! I don't trust soap to rinse off as completely.
I don't let the diluted poli-prep sit long, either. I do a small area
at a time and rinse well immediately. If I have a heavy black streak
where someone has banged into me, or something like that, I have used
poli prep full strength in just that area to remove most the poliglow
along with the mark in that small area. I find that it's no big deal
to blend new poliglow back in over just the bare spot with a few
coats, followed by the two maintenance coats over the whole boat. The
resulting repair is completely invisible.

I've been using poli-glow for many years, and I will never wax a
fiberglass boat again. Why the heck would I?

rusty redcloud

Rosalie B. wrote:

L. M. Rappaport wrote:

Peg,

You may be referring to "Poli Glow". Takes several coats on
an older boat, but the results are amazing and no buffing.

No that wasn't it.

Finally remember - it was NewGlass.


grandma Rosalie