Date
1 - 7 of 7
Polished----to be or not to be ?
|
ianjenkins1946 <ianjudyjenkins@hotmail.com>
Hi y'all,
A cosmetic question:
When we had our first plastic boat, 45 years ago, I used to clean and polish the life out of the hull and deck. I used Cif, a household cleaner, plus a variety of boat polishes.
I soon learnt that Cif was slightly abrasive and that boat polishes were merely car polishes in a fancy bottle with a fancy price. These days I use a non-abrasive kitchen spray cleaner to get rid of any dirt and a car polish to bring up a shine.
In her 22 years Pen Azen has been professionally polished three times---by that I mean by a guy with a rotary polishing machine using a lambswool bonnet and no doubt some cutting paste. Each time the hull has looked like new. I have only done this three times
as I am concerned about the thinning of the gel coat from such treatment.
However, a friend of mine bought a new Moody 47 about 40 years ago and had it polished every year for about 20 years with, seemingly, no damage; also, an Amel salesman a few years back told me to have no concerns about an annual polish of that sort.
By contrast, we met a Nordhavn 47, a well built trawler yacht, half way through its circumnavigation. Its gelcoat looked like new and its owner only ever washed it down with soapy water.
What does anyone else do ? Am I over cautious in steering clear of rotary polishing?
We are now ashore in Kilada, Greece. Next to us is another SM, Brigantes. She is older than Pen Azen but looks like new. Brigantes--if you happen to read this, what steps do you take to keep her is such great condition ?
Ian and Judy, Pen Azen, SM 302, Kilada, Greece
|
|
|
|
Bill Kinney
Pretty much the last thing you will ever do on an Amel is polish your way through the gelcoat!
We have the hull sides lightly polished and waxed annually, and we wax the deck, deck hardware, rig, and rigging as high as we can reach every couple months. Bill Kinney SM160, Harmonie Port Louis, Grenada |
|
|
|
Hi Ian,
I purchased Kristy when she was 10y/o. Her gel coat was intact and shiny, but not mirror-like by any means. I polished her yearly with several different polishes and waxes. I even bought a big polisher a few years ago and did what I think was a nearly-professional job on 3 occasions. Each time the shine improved, but lasted only a few months. Two years ago I read a review in Practical Sailor about acrylic finishes and gave PoliGlow a try. You use their cleaners to completely remove all wax and polish and stains, then just wipe it on with a microfiber cloth. The first application takes 6-7 coats, all can be applied in a single day after the hull is cleaned. After the first couple of coats I thought I may have made a mistake, but kept going around the boat with one coat after another.. My supply (5 bottles) allowed 8 coats, and the hull is mirror-shiny. She looks better than she ever has. The sooty mustash on the port side comes right off if you don't wait too long between washes with mild soap. About once every 2-4 weeks depending on how much you are running the engine and generator. After 15 months, it looked a little tired, but still looked better than it ever had before I tried this product. I've just applied 3 more coats after cleaning with their recommended product and she looks brand new again! There is NO BUFFING. They say the product bonds with the gelcoat and soaks into the porous surface. I have no financial or other interest in PoliGlow, but as you can tell, I'm completely sold so far! Next I'll apply it to the smooth surfaces above decks. -- Kent & Iris KRISTY
SM243 Currently on the hard in Oxford, MD |
|
|
|
Hi Ian,
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
In the West Indies when hauled out many boat owners have their whole gelcoat areas covered in wax/polish as a thick protective layer. It looks opaque and clearly protects. Then prior to launching it will be all polished up. I have never done this, but it looks like a good idea although presumably labour intensive and thus costly unless cheap Labour is available. Unfortunately I have never been able to persuade Cat, my wife to get polishing. So I only have a professional hull polish once in a blue moon. Actually twice in 5 years.. Nick S/V Amelia About to haul Leros Gr AML54-019 On 2 Jul 2022, at 02:08, karkauai via groups.io <karkauai@...> wrote:
|
|
|
|
ianjenkins1946 <ianjudyjenkins@hotmail.com>
Thanks, Kent, Iris , Nick and Bill,
One thing does seem to be the case---polishing a hull is an exclusively blue job. Wives go shopping at that point, usually with the throw away line about how come you never clean anything in the house....
Ian ( I do cut the lawn ! ) and Judy ( I do everything else ! ), Pen Azen, SM 302, ashore in London.
From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> on behalf of Nick Newington via groups.io <ngtnewington@...>
Sent: 02 July 2022 03:04 To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io <main@amelyachtowners.groups.io> Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Polished----to be or not to be ? Hi Ian,
In the West Indies when hauled out many boat owners have their whole gelcoat areas covered in wax/polish as a thick protective layer. It looks opaque and clearly protects.
Then prior to launching it will be all polished up.
I have never done this, but it looks like a good idea although presumably labour intensive and thus costly unless cheap Labour is available. Unfortunately I have never been able to persuade Cat, my wife to get polishing. So I only have a professional
hull polish once in a blue moon. Actually twice in 5 years..
Nick
S/V Amelia
About to haul Leros Gr
AML54-019
On 2 Jul 2022, at 02:08, karkauai via groups.io <karkauai@...> wrote:
|
|
|
|
william reynolds
Heavily waxing a fibreglass hull during storage is a fine way to capture Sierra dust and road dust. which will grind into your gelcoat when you polish out the wax. Bad idea. |
|
|
|
i agree...I have NEVER put wax on any boat of mine.
Only washed them with lightly soapy water and polished occasionally, but never waxed. Cheers Alan Elyse SM437 |
|
|