Poly Glow

[Bushwacker]

Fred, thanks for the kind words. In the Jan 07 issue of Powerboat Reports (a great Consumer Reports type magazine which unfortunately went out of business after May 07), which I still have, they tested PoliGlow, Vertglas and New Glass 2. They were rated Excellent, Good and Fair respectively. The article claims ". . these hull restorers consist of water-based emulsions of acrylic or acrylic/urethane resins. The resins are in the form of tiny droplets that are suspended in water. When applied, the water evaporates and the droplets flow together to form clear films. These emulsions dry rapidly and require multiple coats." These hull restorers were evidently developed specifically for use on gelcoats that were too far gone for compounding/waxing to bring back, although they can obviously be used on healthy gelcoats as well.

PBR applied the coatings to 3 separate sections on both sides of a Neptune 212 and after 3 years of baking in the Florida sun (I believe their testing is done on west coast, either in the Ft. Meyers or Sarasota area), they reported that the PoliGlow sections were actually still shiny but the other 2 "needed some help". This was better than expected, as the coating is supposed to applied after 1 or 2 seasons, so they said "Recommending Poli Glow is a no-brainer." For what it's worth, they also did similar tests on various waxes, and said Collinite paste wax was the most durable. I've used it on the cabin bunks but have switched to Poli Glow for everything else because it lasts so much longer. Denny

[2000]

i buff boats for a living. poly glow is garbage. find someone who knows what there doing(and thats tough) and they can buff it out if its not shot, if so then save money and do it right(paint it). poly glow is just a half assed cover up

[McGillicuddy]

Gee, I don't think anybody meant to take your work, brother...

[jorgeinmiami]

I know that some where down the road I will have to paint the boat, but in the meantime, I would like for it to look better than it is.

I did try to buff it out and I guess I didi it wrong or it's too far gone for it to shine.

[Blue_Heron]

I bought some Poli Glow after seeing Bushwacker's Seafari in Key Largo. I've now used it on both my 20SF and my 18 Action Craft. The Seacraft looks like new. The Action Craft looks, well, shiny.

The gelcoat on my 20 SF was in fair shape, just dull. I used a liquid rust stain remover I picked up at Lowes to get rust and tannin stains off, then pretty much just followed the poli prep and poli glow instructions. Although the instructions say it's not for automotive finishes, which I assume means any painted finish, I used it on my motor too. The lower cowl and mid section had no gloss at all, but now they do.

My action craft is a medium blue and was severely oxidized. I wet sanded it with 1000 grit and brought most of the color back, but there is still some oxidation. At least with the Poli Glow, it's shiny oxidation. Doesn't look bad from a distance of 10' or more.

So, I recommend the product. But as with any coating, and this is a clear coat, not a wax, the prep will make or break the end result. I'll try to post before/after pictures, but if you look at the Poli Glow web site, you'll get the idea. Their before/after shots are similar to my results.

Oh, and after doing both boats, I still have half a bottle of each product left. This isn't a product I would have bought based just on their advertisement. I'm a born skeptic, and their results look too good to be true. I owe a debt of gratitude to Bushwacker for his recommendation. The stuff works.

Dave

[Bushwacker]

Thanks Dave. Carla called me after seeing Dave's boat and said it looks like it's brand new! Glad to hear it worked for you as well as it did for me! Denny

[65Bowrider]

Ah, you are so right. When we stopped by Blue Heron's place to pick up some boat parts to take North for Don, NATURALLY ... we had to check out his boats.
There is no exageration to what they are saying ... the polyglow stuff really works to take 30-40 year old gelcoat & turn it into looking almost new.