Alan1
Member
Does anyone know the best way to polish blue hulled boats so they do not fade or at least fade slowly over the season.
Any help appreciated
Any help appreciated
Blue hulled boats
- Thread starter Alan1
- Start date
Grampus
New member
I've used Auto Glym Super resin polish on mine for the last 6 years and our dark blue hull is indistinguishable from a brand new version of the same hull on the adjacent pontoon.
It's the polish with the red label and it gets done once a year but I do polish out any scratches from rafting up etc as they happen.
galps
It's the polish with the red label and it gets done once a year but I do polish out any scratches from rafting up etc as they happen.
galps
VicS
Well-known member
Like my red hull I think... they fade!
The only way to get a finish that lasts any significant length of time seems to be by compounding ( even very fine wet sanding in severe cases) to remove the faded/oxidised layer and then polishing.
I found ( with a red hull ) that first time around it lasted several years before it need doing again but that each subsequent time was slightly less effective.
Maybe a really good seeing to would now produce longer lasting results but boats are for sailing not polishing.
Snake oils look great when first applied but are no substitute for hard graft.
Twister_Ken
Well-known member
Red has always been what is called a 'fugitive' colour. Look around and you'll see lots of red cars that are faded - my red Civic ended up pink on the side that received most sunshine when it was parked.
Blue doesn't have the same fading problem, but like all dark colours it show marks, stains and deposits pretty obviously. Keep it clean and keep a good coat of wax on top of it. Hard work, but if you want your boat to look sexy...
Blue doesn't have the same fading problem, but like all dark colours it show marks, stains and deposits pretty obviously. Keep it clean and keep a good coat of wax on top of it. Hard work, but if you want your boat to look sexy...
Seajet
...
My dark blue boat faded - ' chalked ' with paler patches - after about 20 years in the sun.
' Owatrol ' used to be sold as a finish, but is now just marketed as a paint brush treatment, wiping it on with a cloth does restore the deep colour and gloss of the gelcoat.
For a few months !
After a couple of seasons it formed a finish like old aged varnish and was a pain to remove.
I'm wary of severe polishing, so painted my boat with International 709 primer then topcoat.
This stuff was quite temperature sensitive and when applying it on the limits one Spring it went on like pudding...
I have since learned to use International Toplac 1 part paint, this still requires a lot of thinning but it's easy to touch up the odd scuff mid-season.
As VicS rightly says, boats are for sailing, if I'd wanted to spend my life polishing something I'd save up for A P-51D Mustang !
' Owatrol ' used to be sold as a finish, but is now just marketed as a paint brush treatment, wiping it on with a cloth does restore the deep colour and gloss of the gelcoat.
For a few months !
After a couple of seasons it formed a finish like old aged varnish and was a pain to remove.
I'm wary of severe polishing, so painted my boat with International 709 primer then topcoat.
This stuff was quite temperature sensitive and when applying it on the limits one Spring it went on like pudding...
I have since learned to use International Toplac 1 part paint, this still requires a lot of thinning but it's easy to touch up the odd scuff mid-season.
As VicS rightly says, boats are for sailing, if I'd wanted to spend my life polishing something I'd save up for A P-51D Mustang !
richardbrennan
Well-known member
I have a dark blue hull that is now 15 years old and still looks good. I did a serious compound/polish/ wax job on it with 3M products about three years ago when it was beginning to look a little chalky and it came up very well. However, for the last couple of years I have been using Meguiar's Flagship Premium Marine Wax which really seems to soak in and bring back the deep gloss shine, particularly on the transom which suffers most from the UV. It's not cheap but is, in my view, worth it; I have not tried the Auto Glym product but there have been comments in the past on this forum about the advisability of using automotive products on fiberglass hulls.
pvb
Well-known member
Dark blue gelcoat will inevitably fade and go "chalky". The blue hull stripes on my HR went like this, and I also found that Meguiars products were quite good - I used 2 applications of Polish, followed by 2 applications of Wax. But the improved appearance doesn't last more than a couple of months, so if you want a better solution it's paint the hull!
pcatterall
Well-known member
I reported on the forum my own experience with a blue hull. Basically you need to use an abrasive 'polish' to cut away the chalky/faded/haze and then a few coats of quality wax polish to protect the surface and then maintain the protected wax each season.
I used T cut and then a quality wax ( use good buffing cloths for the wax)
I used T cut and then a quality wax ( use good buffing cloths for the wax)
Jr7710
New member
From my experience working for a company that specialises in gel coat and paint protection on Superyachts.
Get it looking right first with a compound, ( if its really bad you can even wet & dry it with an orbital and then work through the various grades of compound).
Once you have got it looking great you need to seal it, as you have made the surface porous.
At this stage forget anything designed for cars or sold in most chandlerys. If I wanted a long lasting result, personally I would only use Aglaze polymer sealant 2 coats min, or G techniq nano sealant.
Anything else on blue and you will be doing it again quite soon.
Even the awl grip polymer sealant only last 6 months, but we used to give a years guarantee on anything we had Glazed knowing if applied correctly, it would last 18 months min.
Get it looking right first with a compound, ( if its really bad you can even wet & dry it with an orbital and then work through the various grades of compound).
Once you have got it looking great you need to seal it, as you have made the surface porous.
At this stage forget anything designed for cars or sold in most chandlerys. If I wanted a long lasting result, personally I would only use Aglaze polymer sealant 2 coats min, or G techniq nano sealant.
Anything else on blue and you will be doing it again quite soon.
Even the awl grip polymer sealant only last 6 months, but we used to give a years guarantee on anything we had Glazed knowing if applied correctly, it would last 18 months min.
Quandary
Well-known member
I think I see where you went wrong there, Owatrol is indeed a very useful paint additive and is also good for sealing rust and if you rubbed it on you hull it might look shiny for a short while, but the coating made by the same company for restoring faded GRP is called Polytrol. I have seen it applied with apparent success but not sure how long before you have to rub it over again.
Seajet
...
Quandary,
no in the dim and distant past Owatrol was marketed for this sort of thing; Merlin told me to use it.
doug748
Well-known member
An interesting post, jr7710.
At the risk of hijacking the post......what product would you recommend for a professional respray?
Quandary
Well-known member
Bad advice or perhaps insufficiently clear.
Polytrol has been marketed for at least 40 years so someone somewhere must be using the right stuff successfully. This is not the first time that I have heard someone claim that Owatrol was a sealing coat but it is only ever been an oil with quite specific properties, perhaps the makers need to put a warning on Owatrol drawing attention to Polytrol.
Owatrol is great stuff when you are painting and tipping off, makes it much easier and smoother.
Polytrol has been marketed for at least 40 years so someone somewhere must be using the right stuff successfully. This is not the first time that I have heard someone claim that Owatrol was a sealing coat but it is only ever been an oil with quite specific properties, perhaps the makers need to put a warning on Owatrol drawing attention to Polytrol.
Owatrol is great stuff when you are painting and tipping off, makes it much easier and smoother.
johnalison
Well-known member
I too have had the same problem on my HR blue stripe, now 14 years old. For the last couple of years I have had some success by treating the worst area with a rubbing compound (Starbrite), followed by polish and then a couple of coats of wax, followed by International wax sealer. I allow a couple of days for these jobs and it is something of a pain to do but lasts much of the season with one re-waxing in the summer. It seems to be the UV sealant that helps most.
pvb
Well-known member
In the end, I got my 20 year old stripes painted...
pvb
Well-known member
Polytrol is awful stuff! It builds up a nasty yellow coating which is practically impossible to remove. Don't ever be tempted to try it.
AllanG
Well-known member
In the end, I got my 20 year old stripes painted...
That's a brilliant finish....may I ask what paint was used, who applied it and was it sprayed on?
Many thanks, Allan
macd
Active member
If it's any consolation, white grp goes chalky, too. It probably takes longer and you obviously can't see it so easily, but...
...hang on, here comes the man with the Awlgrip quote...
...hang on, here comes the man with the Awlgrip quote...
gjgm
Active member
The important thing to realise is that it is the preparation that brings up the shine. Depending on the age and condition of the gel, wash and then compound. This is time consuming, and you need a proper polisher and decent wool bonnets. On 34ft boat, think of about a whole day. You should have a pretty good finish and shine, so now you improve that further with a fine polish. Both compound and polish are cutting the gel to a super fine, flat finish. Imagine your old gel surfce is like a sheet of 80 grit sandpaper, and now it is as smooth as a sheet of glass. Not only will it shine, but water and grime is far more likely to run off.
Now you can apply a decent wax- which is only there to provide UV and water beading- by hand and buff off by hand. This is quite quick in fact.
Now your shine will last all season, and on vertical surfaces, so will your wax.All being well, you might get away with just the polish and wax the following season.
There are plenty of guides on Youtube. Products a plenty too. 3m and Farecla (marine) are readily available and both good.
Some of the car finishes actually have fillers in them to hide swirls in car paint work. Problem is that this isnt then getting a good finish on your gel- it is just patching it up. Looks shiny though, for about a month.
It is a bit like decorating at home.. if you slap some paint over a rubbish wall surface, it isnt going to last .
pvb
Well-known member
Yes, the blue stripes were sprayed. I specified Awlgrip 2000, as it can be touched up easier than ordinary Awlgrip. The white gelcoat is the original. I'm not happy to say who did the paintwork, as there's no way I'd recommend them (they had about 4 goes before they got an acceptable finish!).