Polishing the black around the windows

[EricM26]

I just got my M26 in the water yesterday. After a number of delays she's in her slip now where she belongs. Her blue hull polished up really nicely, but I can't seem to get the black that surrounds the windows to look anything but dull. Armor All was a mistake and wax doesn't do it either. Any suggestions how to get her looking shining again? Thanks

[rwmiller56]

Try Poliglow.
I use about 2 applications per year, and it works wonders.
It comes as a kit, and I bought it at http://www.myboatstore.com

It's important to clean any dirt and oxidation off the surface before applying the Poliglow.
For this, I recommend Mr Clean Magic Eraser with water. Available in any grocery store.

Roger

[pokerrick1]

This sounds like a job for:

ILLEGAL ALLIEN MAN

Rick Less

[Québec 1]

I used Poly-glow the first year and it did a good job. I did not like what it looked like the second year and then used 3m heavy oxidation and scratch compound which really got the black stripe clean and then 1 layer of macguires deep crystal finish no. 2 and 2 layers of collinite fleet wax . This is, I think, the best solution for my 7 year old blue hull.

after 3m,macguires and collinite

after 3m and macguires
Q1

[mallardjusted]

I used Poly-glow the first year and it did a good job. I did not like what it looked like the second year

Amen to that!!!!! I applied Polyglow last year and it looked great. Looked awful this year, but I had one heck of a time getting the old coats off!!! And I bought their strip/preparation stuff.

After many hours of getting the old stuff off, I decided to try what had been mentioned by someone here .... Penetrol (from Home Depot). I put a couple of thin coats on, wiped off, then waxed with a high quality wax. It now shines pretty good, and I don't have to worry about getting coats of polyglow off it every year!!

[rwmiller56]

I don't think the Poliglow is meant to last more than one year........

[mallardjusted]

I don't think the Poliglow is meant to last more than one year...

....

That's correct. One year is all I expected. What I didn't anticipate was how hard it was to strip off and prep for the 2nd year. That's why I went a different route (penetrol and wax).

[40Toes]

After many hours of getting the old stuff off, I decided to try what had been mentioned by someone here .... Penetrol (from Home Depot). I put a couple of thin coats on, wiped off, then waxed with a high quality wax. It now shines pretty good, and I don't have to worry about getting coats of polyglow off it every year!!

I am getting the distinct impression there is NO magic formula...... This from a quick web search......

Want to make that boat deck look shiney-new, right?
Try a product called Penetrol™.
(The test has been completed.)
I was considering the job of putting a protective wax coating on the deck areas, by using Weather Wax™, Turtle Wax™, or Nu-Finish™. Each is good and would likely last a year, even in the Florida sunshine. However, they all share a common fault. Wax on, wax off. Doing something twice in the sunshine here is just plain crazy.

I read, in a magazine or web site page somewhere, about an experienced boat owner's once-a-year system for using Penetrol. This is a liquid product that leaves a coating that behaves similar to Thompson's Waterseal™. However, it dries much quicker based on my experience with Thompson's.

WARNING: This project requires the use of flammable materials and may harm you. Use adequate safety procedures and protective gear.

Job Part "A", prep the surface:

Bucket
Scotch Brite™ pad (mine had a sponge on the back)
Non-abrasive cleanser (safe for plastic tubs)
Water hose
Job Part "B", seal the surface:

Penetrol, 1 Qt
White rag, washcloth size terrycloth, disposable (3 or 4 rags is good)
Getting down to work:

[1] Wash the deck surface with the non-abrasive cleanser. If you have a dull and powdery surface, use the Scotch Brite pad on it with the cleanser. If your surface is still shiny or new looking, or you cringe at the thought, then just use a sponge or cloth. Be sure to rinse thoroughly.

[2] After the surface dries, apply the Penetrol™ with the soft cloth. Resist the urge to pour the Penetrol™ on the surface. Soak the rag center instead, and apply in circular motions (wax on) while keeping the rag wet. Do not be stingy with the Penetrol™ because you will get poor coverage on the first coat. I put two coats on a 20-foot sailboat with a cabin, andstill had plenty for touchup work.

[3] Plan your route of escape and do not paint yourself into a corner, so to speak. Do not walk on the coated surface! I did, with sneakers, and had to remove the shoe prints the next day. Although the can says thin with Mineral Spirits, I found Denatured Alcohol could remove the footprints and dried quickly.

[4] I waited until the next day to apply a second coat so the surface would be reasonably hardened. Dust off the surfaces and apply the second coat the same as the first.

[5] Do not forget that the dull surface provided some traction when wet.

[6] The job went much quicker than I expected. It was like putting on liquid car wax, without having to remove the haze (no wax off).

The finished result was much better than I expected. It worked wonders with the upper surfaces of my 1981 Mirage 5.5 sailboat and rain water actually beaded up on the deck surfaces. The deck also reverted back to its original color, a rich darker eggshell white. As the surface of the coating ages in the weather, I will give periodic reports on how it looks.

27 Feb 2003

Periodic Report #1:
Discovered an interesting aspect of Penetrol™. It is a lot more like Thompson's Waterseal™ than I thought! After about two weeks, the boat looked DIRTIER THAN I had EVER seen it. When I wiped it off with my hand, it appeared the dirt was stuck to the surface coating I had completed two weeks earlier. The Penetrol must have still been soft for a while. I guess not all good ideas are brilliant ones.

I used soft scrub cleanser and my Sponge-Scotch Brite™ combo pad to see if I could remove the dirt. It came off easier than I expected, but the water did not bead up as it had previously done. Round two goes to the boat.

I guess I now have to see if it is a dirt-magnet again. If so, I will scrub it good with regular cleanser and the Scotch Brite, and then give it a coat of Nu-Finish™. This is probably what I should have done in the first place.

29 March 2003

Periodic Report #2:
Well... I was able to recover nicely from the Dirtier Than Ever fiasco. I decided to AJAX™ it, actually Soft Scrub™ it, with a sponge and was able to remove the dirt much easier than I thought. I did not even have to wax the surface. The shine apparently survived the cleaning. Now I get to see how long it actually lasts.

9 April 2003

Final Report #3:
How long it actually lasts? In Florida, apparently not a whole year. My last observation, after a good water hose rinse, detected large areas where the Penetrol had disappeared. In 6 months, half of the shine was gone, but unfortunately not evenly. I would now question its effectiveness as a crack sealer where the hardware stresses the deck areas.

I would rate this product as "average", and not suitable for long-term (one year of more) protection in the brutal Florida sun.

13 Nov 2003



Mike Hembrey
Tampa Bay

[Hardcrab]

40toes,
I think you are right, there is no good longer term answer other than a good paint.
I've tried many products in the never ending quest to keep the blacks nice.
All attempts and products work well at first, but it's a longer term answer I'm after.

My best results so far, and by a HUGE margin, are two products from Collinite.
The first is a cleaner type product that preps the surface for the application of their wax product.
Both are found at WM.
I forget the product numbers, but the cleaner is a liquid and the wax is a paste.
I'm getting two months between normal waxings now, and have quit looking for better results.
The rewaxings are much easier than the first time was.
I still do the cleaner follwed by the paste wax, but much less elbow grease is required.
It's more like just waxing a car now.

Granted, my boat is uncovered and in the nasty So Cal sunshine 24/7.
You guys in more northern locations with cloud cover 50% of the time may not relate so well.

I have convinced myself to bite the bullet and rewax every two months if it needs it or not.
It's easier to keep it up rather than let it go to h#ll, then have to bring it back time and time again.

If gone to h#ll is the case, then Soft Scrub is a good way to get the chalky grey stuff off first.
Much better than a rubbing compound, (to aggressive), IMHO.
Then follow with the 2 Collinite products and results will be good.
Just add elbow grease and plenty of it.

The next bullet I need to bite is do a good prep and paint the blacks with the best paint out there and kiss the problem goodbye forever.
Oh joy.

[mallardjusted]

I agree the best long-term option is probably repainting the black

Since I waxed on top of the Penetrol, though, I'll see how it does over the next several months.

[DaveB]

I tried Penetrol on my Pottter 19 dark Blue hull, Lasted 6 mo.and waxed it 2 mo. later after applying it,striped it off, Than put on 6 coats of Polyglow and 2 coats every season. Thats down here in SW Florida, up North 4 coats than 2 coats every season. Make sure you prep with the kit first.
Dave

I don't think the Poliglow is meant to last more than one year...

....

That's correct. One year is all I expected. What I didn't anticipate was how hard it was to strip off and prep for the 2nd year. That's why I went a different route (penetrol and wax).

[Bumpcity]

I tried a few things that required a lot of rubbing and buffing...I found a product that I like that worked very well...it is called Nu Shine. My black was very oxidized and I thought I was going to have to take her in a shop to get this stuff to shine again. After applying, wiping and using a regualr buffing maching the black looks great again! It needs to be done once a year per the product instruction...but the ease and less hassle of using more than one product was worth it to me...By the way, I did this YESTERDAY afternoon in a couple of hours! here is the website...

http://www.nufinish.com/

Lorenzo

[Oskar 26M]

I too have tried Poliglow on the black stripes with no success. It improved their appearance at first but the coating deteriorated rapidly in the Western Australian sun, becoming dull within a month or two and yellow and scalely after less than a year. I had great difficulty removing it with their stripper, and ended up having to rub the surface back with fine Wet n Dry paper (used wet). I re-buffed the surface with a mild cutting compound then finished with two coats of wax. The black stripes came up like new and the shine has outlasted Poliglow's by several months so far.

[ralphk]

I just finished polishing up my '97X yesterday.

The blacks look awesome especially the stripe under the rubrail and at the waterline. I think that was an exceptional
factory gelcoat mix.

The toughest area is of course, the big RACOON EYES zone around the windows.
Here's my recipe. #1 & 2 are rubbing compounds

1) Two applications of Mother's California Gold Scratch Remover (Automotive store)
2) 3M Finesse-IT II
3) Two applications of Collinite's 870 Special Heavy Duty Fleetwax for Marine & Aeronautical Finishes.


Being rather frugal, and since the kids were helping me this year, they did the balance of the stripes with
only one application of Mother's and NuFinish paste. For the last 2 years, I've also put NuFinish on the vertical and curvy white zones from the rubrail to the
cabin top. It's kind of a thankless exercise since you don't see any improvement during the 1/2 hour of elbow grease, but it really keeps
those grubby little dark spots from accumulating throughout the season.

I've done this three years in a row now and never stripped off any old coatings.

For what it's worth, of course we sure don't get the same sun as Florida or California.

I'd post photos, but had too much fun sailing this evening! Beautiful sunset on Lake Ontario tonight.

[40Toes]

I'd post photos, but had too much fun sailing this evening! Beautiful sunset on Lake Ontario tonight.

I heard on the news that it was beautiful in Canada from coast to coast this past weekend with crazy hot temperatures. I looked outside and checked the temperature gauge just to confirm, Yep, RDF and 6 degrees C, there must be another east coast of Canada because the one I'm on ain't sunny and hot. 5 weeks I have been waiting for two nice days in a row to finish my bottom paint - my whine for today! - enjoy your nice weather!

I have tried every wax and rubbing compound (test areas), both Marine and Automotive, that I have accumulated over time and I have come to the conclusion you can use EAR wax as long as you buff it long enough. I am not sure sun deterioration is the major factor for if it was I would only have to wax once every ten years

Rod