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Reasonable way to clean the hull?

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doublereefed
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Initially Posted - 05/01/2019 : 21:40:59

I have never taken care of a sailboat hull. I have been reading, and have everything from hard-to-believe one step products to 12 step processes that will take me all season.

So, is the following a reasonable approach to taking care of the boat? There are many years of oxidation on the hull, it's not terrible, but not in good shine either.

Thanks in advance!

Hull:
Wash with soap and water
Use an orbital buffer with rubbing compound to remove oxidation
Wash again
TopCoat F11

Deck/Topsides:
Wash with soap and water and a stiff brush
(Anything else?)

'95 C250 WB #61
Midway, UT

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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5231 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2019 : 22:24:50

I swear by Poli-Glow products for a shiny hull. It�s an acrylic coating that goes over whatever you have and shines it up. The recommended wisdom is to use whatever scrubs, soaps, bleach, phosphate cleaners and good old elbow grease to achieve a uniform and clean hull then use Poli-Prep to give it one last cleaning, then use 5-6 coats of Poli-Glow and watch a transformation occur.

This week Defender Industries has a great sale. Also read the description on defender.com about Poli-Glow. I�m not involved at all with the product commercially, but it�s amazing for old boats with scratchy gel coats.

Top sides, clean with Bartenders Friend or Weimans Acrylic Bathtub cleaner, then topsides cleaner with TPFE. It�ll still be a 30+ yo boat but you�ll get lots of compliments. Your mileage may vary but it�s mostly in the elbow grease to prep and the final treatment to shine.

Or you could go back to the old school wax and buff. I watched a dozen boaters doing that the day I launched. They�re still at it.

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Stinkpotter
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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 05/02/2019 : 07:53:11

I used Poly Glow on Bruce's boat--that's where it all started... The 5-6 coats take just a few hours--one after the other. But the hull should be free of marks and chalking--any marks will be immortalized by Poly Glow. Some people have reported that it starts to go "amber" after 4-5 years of adding the recommended "dress coat" each year, and then must be removed and started over. They make a cleaner for that purpose--not much else will do it.

Another variation I'm using now is Nu Finish--the polymer car polish, which Practical Sailor listed as one of the best for boats. After a good compouding to remove oxidation and get a "semi-gloss" surface, a single coat of Nu Finish wipes on and wipes off by hand, lasts much longer than wax, and gives almost as good a shine as you get with paste wax and buffing. Two coats are even better, especially the first time. I have trouble with my dark green gelcoat fading no matter what I use, but the shine from Nu Finish lasts the year--I compound it off the next spring in order to restore the dark green.

Another favorite of Practical Sailor is Collinite Insulator Wax--it tested best of their good products.

On deck, I use Starbrite Deck Cleaner--wet down the deck, squirt it around, scrub with a brush, rinse off with the hose, and you have a light coating to prevent chalking--safe on nonskid (after it dries--it's a little slippery before then). Some marks and mildew require a little more--spray-on bathroom cleaners are good--Bartender's Friend is very aggressive--Soft Scrub with Bleach seems less so. On surfaces you won't be walking on, Nu Finish is a good option. (Like Poly Glow, it will immortalize marks.)

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

Davy J
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Response Posted - 05/02/2019 : 09:23:55

If you want to achieve multi year results this is the way to go:

https://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/52772-tips-compound-polish-wax.html

Once you remove the oxidation, it's just a matter of keeping it waxed.

It has been discussed on the forum a few times:

http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=28142&SearchTerms=maine

http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=28037&SearchTerms=maine

If you follow the steps, the boat will almost be shiny before you polish it.

Davy J

2005 Gemini 105Mc
PO 1987 C25 #5509 SR/SK
Tampa Bay

TakeFive
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Response Posted - 05/02/2019 : 18:28:23

I've used both Poliglow and done Maine Sail's polish/wax procedure on different boats. I posted my detailed opinions in the thread shown in the last link above. Proper surface prep is critical with both methods, and IMO it's not that much easier to prep the surface properly with Poliglow. I continue to be of the opinion that a mid-90s C250 is new enough that polish and wax will get a great result with nominal effort. I like Presta Ultra Cutting Cream because it goes all the way from heavy compound to fine shine in one step. And if you do that right, the Collinite 885 Fleetwax is an easy wipe on/wipe off process that will last a LONG time.

I've learned more about the chemistry of Poliglow in the few years since then, and it's very heavily loaded with UV inhibitors. I've been doing a lot of work with the same UV inhibitors in my job the last couple of years, and they definitely cast a yellow tint (because they absorb the UV spectrum and a little of the blue visible spectrum, causing the yellow color). If your hull is already a little yellow, you won't notice. But most people will notice on a C250 with its whiter gelcoat.

Many swear by Poliglow, and I've been generally satisfied with it on my older boats. But those boats were so chalked up that I had to use wet sandpaper to get the chalk off. A C250 should polish up just fine without sandpaper, and is a great candidate for the more traditional polish/wax process.

Also, since my prior post, I bit the bullet and bought a Makita polisher to replace my cheapo Harbor Freight polisher. The result is much better because the RPMs stay where you set them with any runaway problems.

In my opinion, an "orbital buffer" is a waste of money. It's not strong enough to do polishing, and wax should easily wipe on/wipe off if you've polished correctly. If you need an orbital buffer to get the wax off, then you didn't polish sufficiently. However, I'm just one voice among many.

Rick S., Swarthmore, PA
PO of Take Five, 1998 Catalina 250WK #348 (relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor)
New owner of 2001 Catalina 34MkII #1535 Breakin' Away (at Rock Hall Landing Marina)

Edited by - TakeFive on 05/03/2019 08:16:07

Stinkpotter
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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 05/03/2019 : 07:27:33

I agree on Poly Glow regarding newer boats like most C-250s. Gelcoat has improved over the years (except my 12-year-old dark green is a PITA).

BTW, Defender has a one week sale on cleaning and polishing products that make many of them about HALF of WM's prices. I'm stopping by for some Starbrite Deck Cleaner--I go through a lot of it. Too bad they don't carry Nu Finish. (Of course, it's a car product, and they haven't read Practical Sailor).

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

GaryB
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Response Posted - 05/03/2019 : 15:24:40

A pressure washer is a quick way to get chalk off the boat. Took me about 30 minutes last weekend to do half of my boat before the washer quit running. I could see a light coloration in the water from the chalk and probably some wax coming off.

Made a big difference in the appearance... (it was dirty from sitting all winter too).

Be back at it this weekend. LOL

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GaryB
Andiamo
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX

Edited by - GaryB on 05/03/2019 15:26:02

GaryB
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Response Posted - 05/04/2019 : 08:44:18

Can Poli-Prep and Poli-Glow be done relatively easy while the boats in the water?

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GaryB
Andiamo
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX

Stinkpotter
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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2019 : 09:53:49

quote:
Originally posted by GaryB

Can Poli-Prep and Poli-Glow be done relatively easy while the boats in the water?

Probably easier than most, since the polymer polish is a wipe-on process only--no wiping off or buffing--and comes with a chamois-like applicator that can be screwed onto a broom handle. The Poly Prep is a rather aggressive cleaner for removing old wax and marks--I can't speak to its environmental friendliness. I see they've added a Poly Strip product for removing the Poly Glow (presumably after a few years)--I don't know that you'd want to rinse that off over the water--it's probably pretty mean stuff! The Poly Glow itself shouldn't be an environmental issue--it just wipes on the boat in very thin coats--if you're doing it right, it shouldn't be running or dripping. The question might be how easily you can reach the boot-stripe in order to end up with an even finish at least down to that level (and maybe including the stripe, as I did).

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 05/04/2019 10:00:52

GaryB
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Response Posted - 05/04/2019 : 10:36:34

Thank you Dave! I might try the Nu Finish first although I already have a Poli-Glow kit with the stripper.

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GaryB
Andiamo
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX

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Response Posted - 05/04/2019 : 16:22:21

Gets a little tricky down by waterline, so if you know 3-4 200+ pounders, let them sit on the far side of the boat to heel it slightly while you coat the near side. Or wait till a windy day and use your sail to heel in the slip.

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2019 : 20:23:02

quote:
Originally posted by Voyager

...Or wait till a windy day and use your sail to heel in the slip.

Then what do you do about the other side? (Wait for a storm front?)

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

GaryB
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Response Posted - 05/05/2019 : 20:28:11

Well good news is the bottom paint comes up above the waterline several inches so if I decide to use Poli-Prep and Poli-Glow it should be no problem covering the boot stripe along with the topsides.

The old C25 is starting to look a bit spiffy with the exterior pressure washing and scrubbing last weekend and scrubbing the interior from top to bottom all day today.

I found a lot of parts and equipment I didn't even know I had today while digging around in the lazarettes! LOL

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GaryB
Andiamo
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX

Edited by - GaryB on 05/05/2019 20:29:15

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