[DuckNut]

I am trying to polish up an all white hull that is slightly oxidized (when I wipe my fingers over it there is only a trace of white on my fingers).

What should I use to polish it up and get it all prettied up and how do I do it. I am fat and lazy so suggestions like elbow grease will be ignored.

I have always had utility boats that never needed polishing or new boats that I sold before they needed polishing so I do not have any experience with this.

 

[Brett]

Rubbing compound, avaricious neighbor's kid and 20 bucks made my last skiff shiny.  ;D

The next weekend and another 20 bucks gave it a coat of wax too. 

Locally, car detailers will also buff and wax hulls.
Cost depends on size of hull and compound/wax used.

 

[cvilt]

I used Buff Magic followed by Pro Polish (sealer)used a orbital buffer and it turned out like glass with a little effort, less than expected. In the past I used Poly Glo. The cleaner provided was like a miracle at removing stains just spray, scrubby pad and wipe on the Poly Glo, 6-8 coats similar to applying varnish on wood. Nice shine and very durable, lasted about a year in direct sun. There is a thread somewhere here with pics

 

[firecat1981]

After the year did you just reapply the poly glo?

 

[cvilt]

I applied a light wash with the cleaner to make sure it was clean and reapplied. Much easier the second time. One thing to watch for is anything you see will still be there. Water stains etc so cleaning is vital. It is great on very oxidised hulls where buffing would kill the normal man. Youtube has videos of both

 

[cvilt]

I like the look of the buffed and polished glass, looks like new. I am thinking of doing my nonskid with the Poly Glo for easy cleaning.

 

[paint it black]

3M's Imperial compound is what I recommend. It's a rubbing and finishing compound, so it's good to go. This stuff buff's out some really bad stuff. It'll look as good as new, if not better. Go to Harbor Freight Tools and pick up a cheap buffer/polisher. They range from $20-40 depending on the sale they have going on. Get the insurance on it, and it'll last forever. lol

Get a wool pad, some 3M Imperial compound, and a foam pad and some foam pad glaze (3M perfect it step 2). If it's really oxidized, I'd advise giving it a light wetsand with some 1000 grit.

 

[ethan.weber]

i have some oxidization on my hull and i was wondering what i should do to remove that? should i buff it and add poly glow or would just poly glow work? also if i needed to wax what is a fairly easy wax and buff to use?

 

[paint it black]

i have some oxidization on my hull and i was wondering what i should do to remove that? should i buff it and add poly glow or would just poly glow work? also if i needed to wax what is a fairly easy wax and buff to use?

You could use Poli OX to remove the oxidation, and Poli Glow to bring it back to life.

Or do it the right way and wet sand the oxidation, then bring it back to life with compound and finishing glaze/polish. Then wax it if you'd like.


Poli Glo is more like a DiY at home project type deal. For the guy who doesn't have the tools or know how to do it the other way. I have never seen any shop ever use Poli Glo rather than just buffing out the shine to bring the gelcoat back to life.

 

[ethan.weber]

i have some oxidization on my hull and i was wondering what i should do to remove that? should i buff it and add poly glow or would just poly glow work? also if i needed to wax what is a fairly easy wax and buff to use?

You could use Poli OX to remove the oxidation, and Poli Glow to bring it back to life.

Or do it the right way and wet sand the oxidation, then bring it back to life with compound and finishing glaze/polish. Then wax it if you'd like.


Poli Glo is more like a DiY at home project type deal. For the guy who doesn't have the tools or know how to do it the other way. I have never seen any shop ever use Poli Glo rather than just buffing out the shine to bring the gelcoat back to life.

thanks for the help. im not really the guy with the tools and know how to wet sand and buff it so it looks like ill be using the poli glow. im also limited on time too.

 

[topnative2]

2 coats of nu- finish !

 

[cvilt]

Here are a couple after photos using Buff magic and pro polish. It sounds like buff magic and the 3m product are the same or similar. It was explined to me the buff magic was similar to jewlers rouge as it starts aggresive and wears down to a fine buff. The hull was chalkey when I started.
http://s1075.beta.photobucket.com/user/curt5962/media/Polished%20hull/polishedboat003.jpg.html#/user/curt5962/media/Polished%20hull/polishedboat003.jpg.html?&_suid=136191678935504569520105013801

 

[cvilt]

Here is the only photo of my old boat with poly glo finish. The current owner is a member here he can tell you how it is holding up for him or held up
http://s1075.beta.photobucket.com/user/curt5962/media/15t001.jpg.html?sort=6&o=1#/user/curt5962/media/gelcoatrepairs001.jpg.html?sort=6&o=2&_suid=13619182285470404019350265956

 

[cvilt]

I just checked the links I attached and I hope they work it is difficult for me to attach photos on this forum. I blame the 70s

 

[ethan.weber]

thanks for the help. i guess now the question is what product will last longer buff magic and pro polish or poli glow? also would i have to buff with another product before i use poli glow or could i just use that?

 

[cvilt]

Along with the poly glo comes an cleaner that works great on the oxcidation (they sell a stronger oxcidation remover but I havent needed it) and a scub pad. Spray on and scrub a little let dry and apply finish. It takes several coats to get there I have done up to eight but it goes on like water. If you are looking to get a better than factory finish buff magic and pro polish is the way to go. If you want a easy durable finish poly glo works fine. Dont get the poly glo on your stainless it looks like a run in varnish. Just my opinion.

 

[Snookdaddy]

I'm fairly confident that Polyglo justs put a polymer barrier over the oxidized gelcoat and doesn't remove much.. I would not use it on anything I care about..

PIB's method is the correct way to really bring back gelcoat to factory new.. If it isn't crazed or in horrible shape, you shouldn't have to wet sand..

My Gordon 16' is black and the gelcoat was looking a little dull when I bought it 2 years ago.. I used an straight orbital buffer (not the random orbital, that takes twice as long to do the job) with Buff Magic and then applied 2 coats of Rejex, waiting 24 hours between coats.

This method made my black gelcoat look factory new.. This year I just used a light automotive polish, and applied 2 more coats of Rejex..

My 2005 Gordon Waterman shines like new..

Here's what I did:
1) Washed the entire boat with dawn dish detergent to remove the old wax.
2) Wiped the entire hull with rubbing alcohol, changing rags often to make sure my skiff was 100% wax free.
3) Applied Buff Magic per the directions until I achieved the shine I was looking for. Buff Magic starts out like a medium duty rubbing compound and the grit breaks down finer and finer until it is more like a polish... Great Stuff!
4) Removed all traces of the Buff Magic with clean dry rags.
5) Applied one coat of Rejex (Polymer type wax) and buffed with a finishing pad.
6) Applied a second coat 24 hours after the first and buffed again.

Shiny like a new dime!

 

[DuckNut]

Here is where I am. I bought some oxalic acid to get the crap off and some barkeepers friend. I mixed up the acid powder with water, wet it down and sprinkled some barkeepers on and began to scrub. Because I am too fat and lazy to scrub I did it the easy way - I bought one of these http://drillbrush.net/Drill_Brush_Medium_Bristle_Yellow.html. The boat is clean clean clean.

Wondering how much work the hull will take I took a rag and just started rubbing a spot on the hull and the rag was able to put a fair shine where I rubbed. I did not use any compound or anything other that the rag. I do not believe it will be hard to get a good shine with some compound and and the right power tool.

I have a couple spider cracks to fix and then I will get to buffing it out.

 

[cvilt]

Post spme pics Mr Nut if you can

 

[DuckNut]

I will do my best. I already have the hull cleaned no there won't be any true "before" pics.

But I can paint a picture for you. Been sitting uncovered under huge oak and hickory trees for 18 months. So by the end of six months the boat had "grown" a cover of leaves and sticks and nuts.