How to maintain
and repair
fiberglass on a boat

Used the stripper that PoliGlow sells. Really easy. In terms of work no worse than washing the hull or deck with a scrub. I used 400 and 600 grit wet sand paper to clean around deck fittings and any stains that may have been on the boat. The only problem is that when the deck gets this clean and shiny, boy, do you notice any imperfections you have. I am not sure if there is silicone in the product but I don't think so [confirmed by PoliGlow; no silicone]. Call the company; they have been very helpful. One thing I would note is don't put on more than recommended. It doesn't make a difference. Doing it in the direct sunlight was best; dried in less than 30 seconds and ready for the next coat. We did the hull in the early spring and I had some streaks that I had to smooth out. They tell you not to go over a coat until it dries, takes longer than 30 seconds when its colder and no sun which is when I did most of the hull. The reason for the number of coats first time is to make sure you have even coverage. I used more PoliGlow than necessary because I tried to cover everything 100 % with each coat. Not necessary. I would also suggest that after the initial deck cleaning if you don't put the PoliGlow on the same day, you take a wet cloth with the stripper on it and wipe down again just before you apply. You don't want any surface dirt.

Read your details of prep and application of PoliGlow. You did not mention protecting non-skid and teak trim while doing so. We have a huge amount of non-skid, which is surrounded by narrow areas of smooth fiberglass. We could tape the teak, but I don't see how we could tape all that non-skid. Our cabin trunk is 90% non-skid, as well as the seating areas in the cockpit. Any suggestions?

I have I believe the same amount of non-skid areas. I did not tape. I used the hand chamois around the non-skid areas and was pretty careful. After I finished I took some of the stripper on a cloth and went around the deck where I got any on the non-skid. Worked fine.

We have PoliGlow on the non-skid and we like it. It can be slippery if you are barefoot and the non-skid is wet. You have two options. First, if you don't like it on your non-skid, you can strip it off with the PoliPrep and have your fiberglass the way it was. Or, you can go over the area lightly with Soft Scrub. That is an abrasive cleaner that will not remove PoliGlow but will rough it enough so the area won't be as slippery. Your seal will still be there so you can keep your non-skid looking clean.

Lady at PoliGlow had a great suggestion for application in small areas. Take small applicator and staple it to one of those small, foam, throw-away brushes.

I am not a polishing/buffing type of girl! ... my arms get too tired ... a 26 ft boat is 26 ft on both sides! I have used Poliglow for several years and I love the way my hull shines! There is a cleaner that also comes with the kit to help "unoxidize" the hull. After I have cleaned the hull, I apply 6 coats of the Poliglow on each side ... the stuff dries quickly so as soon as you're done at one end of the boat, the other end is dry ... however, I have deviated a bit from the directions ... there is a chamois-type roller included to which you put the Poliglow on and then apply to your hull. I have found that the Poliglow tends to roll off, so I put the Poliglow in a spray bottle and sprayed it on the hull and wiped it in as I went down the side of the hull ... worked so much better and you don't waste any of the product ... you would not want to do this when it's too windy however. The stuff is great and the hull looks so good. You're suppose to apply it yearly ... 3-6 coats depending on how the hull looks. I think you'll like the ease, convenience and results.

I used it and it is an amazing product. My boat feels like it has a layer of plastic on it now. Before it was dull and made you itch. It has a very nice reflective finish. I love watching the water ripple reflections on her topsides now.

The product was very easy to apply.

[PoliGlow and others] work, as long as your expectations are realistic. They will definitely make a dull finish shine and - if you've been thorough about compounding and/or polishing - you can get your boat fairly close to a new boat appearance ...

... should provide reasonable gloss for a season in almost any climate. You'll have to apply three maintenance coats a year ...

Fiberglass "restorers" are best thought of as remedies for weathered hulls rather than preventatives. If your boat is already shiny, just wax it. And if it's really gone, paint it.

I applied PoliGlow to the topsides and deck three months ago. This is a 2 part system (PoliPrep and PoliGlow) that completely cleans and polishes the fiberglass without the pain of buffing (you just rub the prep on and apply the Glow with a chamois). This is great stuff, easy to apply and looks great for at least a year (so I'm told by those in our marina who have used it for 3 years now).

Poli Glow remover alternative:

The product of choice for me is liquid Zud.
http://www.instawares.com/Zud-Liquid-Cleaner.74610-1.0.7.htm
I have used it, but never purchased from the link. I can buy it at my local boatyard. My boatyard uses it to prep a boat for Poli Glow and to take it off. Apply with a 3M Scotch Brite pad after spraying the hull with water. Work on an area about 4' long at a time. I tried Poli Prep and it did not work as well as Zud. Give it a try, it's cheap. Works really well to remove rust stains on metal and fiberglass. Great stuff.

Original gelcoat was tired. And I was not looking forward to a compound/wax job. I like technology! I found Poli Glow. This stuff is very easy to work with.

I did not like their Poli Prep solution as well as this stuff that I found at my local yard ... Zud. Zud will remove stains, including rust at the exhaust much easier than anything else I tried. Comes in a liquid and a powder. I like the liquid. Put some on a nylon pad from the dollar store, and wipe it on a wetted surface. Wait a minute or two, then go back over it with the pad to remove the oxidation.

Preparation is the key. You must remove the oxidation or your finished look will be spotty. For tough stains, I used a Scotch Brite pad and Zud. I had a perfectly clean topside with only one bottle for a 30' boat after about 16 hours of light scrubbing.

... I lost count how many coats I wiped on of Poli Glow, I think it was six coats. I will reapply another coat of Poli Glow this summer to maintain it. For the non-skid, I use the liquid Zud, and no wax or Poli Glow. I leave it plain but very clean.

Zud contains oxalic acid plus strong scouring abrasives.
Bar Keeper's Friend contains oxalic acid plus citric acid plus much gentler abrasives.
Cleaners such as Ajax and Comet rely more heavily on chlorine bleach, powdered detergent and moderate abrasives.
Bon Ami combines a biodegradable detergent and mild abrasives.
So Zud is the most powerful, for the toughest scouring jobs.

[PoliGlow] sounds like another product called Vert-Glass [Vertglas ?] by another maker. Basically these are acrylics like acrylic floor "wax". I've used Vert-Glass and like the results. I got two seasons out of the stuff in salt water and this year I'll strip it all off and do it again. On horizontal surfaces, I noticed it started to flake off toward the end of last season. Like others said, preparation is 95% of the work. The shine is awesome and people cannot believe I didn't spend days with a buffer and fine sandpaper. Does a very nice job on older oxidized gelcoats.

I've used Vertglas for four seasons and like the results very much. Some people hate it as eventually you have to remove it and start over, but in the meantime, it is very easy to maintain. Nothing is forever and you either wax often or strip poly coatings every four or five years.

Removal is not that bad, just use a commercial floor wax remover and it will come off. I used a lot of paper towels and rags and some laquer thinner and had it stripped in one afternoon (26' boat). The laquer thinner was needed to remove the glue from my old stripes.

The shine these types of materials produce is beyond what wax will give and it stays that way for at least an entire season (I'm in the northeast). I've had people tell me the boat looks brand new (1982 Searay).

The key to getting good results is to follow the directions as to preparation and application. Just like painting, preparation is important. Don't skimp on the number of coats, more is better. I use a 10" applicator and it makes the hull sides go quick. I start at the stern and work forward and when I get to the bow, I go back and apply another coat. Thin coats are the goal, no runs that way. The first two to three coats will have you wondering what you're doing because it looks smeared, but the shine builds with the coats, and after about five coats it looks great. I restriped my boat last season and stripped the old Vertglas at that time so I put ten coats on and it looked like new. I can do the entire boat in a full day. This year I'll wash the boat and apply about two maintenance coats and I'm ready to launch.

I would highly recommend this for an older boat especially one with a dull oxidized hull. Newer (read shiny) boats will not benefit as much as older boats. This material works especially well on dark colors and stripes.

PS I got a quart bottle as the kit was a bit shy for my boat, also got the 10" applicator from Lovett Marine at the same time. They will sell it direct to you.

I second the Vertglas for older heavily oxidized gelcoat. It does an amazing job in restoring the color and shine. The only downside is that you will need to strip it and redo it in about 4-5 years. A small price to pay compared to the fantastic results you'll get.

NewGlass2 will restore the gloss and sometimes the color to faded gelcoat, but it is not an alternative to polishing. Rather, the product is a water-based emulsion of acrylic resin that dries to a smooth, tough film. But there is no free lunch; if you want new-boat gloss, you have to remove all the surface oxidation. That means polish-compound-polish or sand-compound-polish, depending on how weathered your gelcoat is. If you already have a clean, polished surface, you should be pleased with the results of a NewGlass2 application. But plan to renew the coating at least annually.

Used Poliglow on an old Searay once. It looked good for a couple of months, but terrible once it started to peel off. A real bear to get completely off. I would think waxes would speed up the deterioration of the Poliglow. I'd never use it again unless compounding with a rotary buffer wouldn't bring the gloss back.

...

The problem I had with it was that it didn't hold up well to washing. I wash my boat at least weekly with boat soap. The Poliglow won't hold up well to that. I can't stand a dirty boat though so this product isn't for me. If you're into shortcuts, go for it.

Watched them demo the Poliglow down at the Miami Boat show a few years back. The following week I ordered a case of the stuff. Be sure to get the kit with the cleaner. I used the first kit on my old 75 Chris Craft and made the blue hull look new. You have to be sure to apply several coats to get any life out of it. When it does start looking bad, you have to use the cleaner to remove the old coat before re-applying. An easier way is to wet-sand the boat and have someone spray clear-coat on the hull. Just as good and lasts for years. Same principle.

I used PoliGlow on my faded hull (1984 vintage) three years ago. It did improve the look significantly and have not had any peeling. Stayed good looking for 2 years and put another two coats on last winter. It does put a bit of "yellow" into the white hull, but it is not unpleasant at all. Beats the "faded washed out" appearance I previously had, and it is not too tough to apply - warning - follow the instructions precisely. About the third coat you wonder if you've made a big mess, but by coat 5 it starts looking good. My 36' hull took about a day and a half to do (6 coats).

I've been using a similar product called VertGlass and have had good results with it also. Follow the directions carefully. Just like painting, preparation is the most important step.

Re: Peeling: I don't know much about polyglow but with Vertglass, you have to use a soap with an acidic pH. Highly alkaline cleaners like dish soap and black streak removers will cause the material to yellow and/or peel.

I've used Poliglow on 2 boats - one a blue hull and another a white hull. Product looked great on both. Each spring I either recoat the entire hull or do touch ups. To touch up, wash the hull and then simply spot-apply more coats of poliglow until the touched up areas blend into the rest of the hull.

The stuff is easy to work with. I can easily apply 4 coats to an entire 26' boat in about 4 hours.

Problem noted above about not standing up to washing is correct. My transom gets a coating of soot that I periodically wash off. Last year I was using undiluted Simple Green. It took the soot off as well as some of the poliglow finish. As far as the rest of the boat, I find I do not have to wash it nearly as often (as compared to a wax-coated hull) since the poliglow creates such a slick finish and most dirt washes off with pressure from the dock hose.

I have been the vertiglass route and I can tell you also that the product does not like washings of bird droppings. Vertiglass was probably the hardest thing to get off my boat once on, their remover didn't work at all basically and I ended up going to the local marine store and trying to find things to take it off. I ended up with "fiberglass solvent remover/dewaxer" by Interlux. In MY opinion, once you use these on your boat, you're committed to it for life, I NEVER want to do what I had to go through again, luckily it wasn't on my boat.

Poliglow, glorified acrylic floor wax at 10 times the cost!

Rommer is right on! Tried it on my previous vessel (dark blue stripes) and it looked terrible. It was also miserable to remove. Found later it is basically the acrylic floor coating as Rommer mentioned.

I'm on my fourth season with this particular application and have not had any problems. I apply four or five maintenance coats per year, and wash with their soap after every outing. I will say that the flat deck on the bow starts to look a bit gray by end of season, but I just strip it in the spring and reapply six coats and I'm good for another season. I have not had a wax last that long on anything.

As for stripping it off, Rommer is correct, it is basically acrylic floor coating, so it follows that acrylic floor stripper should remove it (and it does) with very little effort and at a reasonable cost. Just visit a commercial janitorail supply company and get a bucket of the stuff cheap.

I used the Poliglow product for a few years and went back to wax. ... In general I found it was unable to hold a shine anywhere there was sea spray, like in the bow. Removal of the product is somewhat labor intensive, so be sure you want to do this. ...

Clean off the stains with CLR or something, scrub the surface with white pads, and then a few coats of PoliGlow. That would keep it for 6-8 months before needing another application of PoliGlow.

I use the Scotch-Brite™ Light Duty Cleansing Pad 98 to get the loose surface stuff and chalk off the surface, and then hit it with PoliGlow.

I think it is an awesome product. But as with anything else, prep is the key. Some people talk about 400/600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. I used the Scotch-Brite pads because they were easier to hold, lasted tons longer, and I got better feedback as I was cleaning the fiberglass.