# Bring out the shine?



## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Rubbing compound, avaricious neighbor's kid and 20 bucks made my last skiff shiny.  ;D

The next weekend and another 20 bucks gave it a coat of wax too.  

Locally, car detailers will also buff and wax hulls.
Cost depends on size of hull and compound/wax used.


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

I used Buff Magic followed by Pro Polish (sealer)used a orbital buffer and it turned out like glass with a little effort, less than expected. In the past I used Poly Glo. The cleaner provided was like a miracle at removing stains just spray, scrubby pad and wipe on the Poly Glo, 6-8 coats similar to applying varnish on wood. Nice shine and very durable, lasted about a year in direct sun. There is a thread somewhere here with pics


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

After the year did you just reapply the poly glo?


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

I applied a light wash with the cleaner to make sure it was clean and reapplied. Much easier the second time. One thing to watch for is anything you see will still be there. Water stains etc so cleaning is vital. It is great on very oxidised hulls where buffing would kill the normal man. Youtube has videos of both


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

I like the look of the buffed and polished glass, looks like new. I am thinking of doing my nonskid with the Poly Glo for easy cleaning.


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

3M's Imperial compound is what I recommend. It's a rubbing and finishing compound, so it's good to go. This stuff buff's out some really bad stuff. It'll look as good as new, if not better. Go to Harbor Freight Tools and pick up a cheap buffer/polisher. They range from $20-40 depending on the sale they have going on. Get the insurance on it, and it'll last forever. lol

Get a wool pad, some 3M Imperial compound, and a foam pad and some foam pad glaze (3M perfect it step 2). If it's really oxidized, I'd advise giving it a light wetsand with some 1000 grit.


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## ethan.weber (Apr 26, 2011)

i have some oxidization on my hull and i was wondering what i should do to remove that? should i buff it and add poly glow or would just poly glow work? also if i needed to wax what is a fairly easy wax and buff to use?


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

> i have some oxidization on my hull and i was wondering what i should do to remove that? should i buff it and add poly glow or would just poly glow work? also if i needed to wax what is a fairly easy wax and buff to use?



You could use Poli OX to remove the oxidation, and Poli Glow to bring it back to life.

Or do it the right way and wet sand the oxidation, then bring it back to life with compound and finishing glaze/polish. Then wax it if you'd like. 


Poli Glo is more like a DiY at home project type deal. For the guy who doesn't have the tools or know how to do it the other way. I have never seen any shop ever use Poli Glo rather than just buffing out the shine to bring the gelcoat back to life.


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## ethan.weber (Apr 26, 2011)

> > i have some oxidization on my hull and i was wondering what i should do to remove that? should i buff it and add poly glow or would just poly glow work? also if i needed to wax what is a fairly easy wax and buff to use?
> 
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> ...


thanks for the help. im not really the guy with the tools and know how to wet sand and buff it so it looks like ill be using the poli glow. im also limited on time too.


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## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

2 coats of nu- finish !


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

Here are a couple after photos using Buff magic and pro polish. It sounds like buff magic and the 3m product are the same or similar. It was explined to me the buff magic was similar to jewlers rouge as it starts aggresive and wears down to a fine buff. The hull was chalkey when I started.
http://s1075.beta.photobucket.com/user/curt5962/media/Polished%20hull/polishedboat003.jpg.html#/user/curt5962/media/Polished%20hull/polishedboat003.jpg.html?&_suid=136191678935504569520105013801


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

Here is the only photo of my old boat with poly glo finish. The current owner is a member here he can tell you how it is holding up for him or held up 
http://s1075.beta.photobucket.com/user/curt5962/media/15t001.jpg.html?sort=6&o=1#/user/curt5962/media/gelcoatrepairs001.jpg.html?sort=6&o=2&_suid=13619182285470404019350265956


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

I just checked the links I attached and I hope they work it is difficult for me to attach photos on this forum. I blame the 70s


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## ethan.weber (Apr 26, 2011)

thanks for the help.  i guess now the question is what product will last longer buff magic and pro polish or poli glow? also would i have to buff with another product before i use poli glow or could i just use that?


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

Along with the poly glo comes an cleaner that works great on the oxcidation (they sell a stronger oxcidation remover but I havent needed it) and a scub pad. Spray on and scrub a little let dry and apply finish. It takes several coats to get there I have done up to eight but it goes on like water. If you are looking to get a better than factory finish buff magic and pro polish is the way to go. If you want a easy durable finish poly glo works fine. Dont get the poly glo on your stainless it looks like a run in varnish. Just my opinion.


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## Snookdaddy (Jan 5, 2008)

I'm fairly confident that Polyglo justs put a polymer barrier over the oxidized gelcoat and doesn't remove much.. I would not use it on anything I care about..

PIB's method is the correct way to really bring back gelcoat to factory new.. If it isn't crazed or in horrible shape, you shouldn't have to wet sand..

My Gordon 16' is black and the gelcoat was looking a little dull when I bought it 2 years ago.. I used an straight orbital buffer (not the random orbital, that takes twice as long to do the job) with Buff Magic and then applied 2 coats of Rejex, waiting 24 hours between coats.

This method made my black gelcoat look factory new.. This year I just used a light automotive *polish*, and applied 2 more coats of Rejex..

My 2005 Gordon Waterman shines like new..

Here's what I did:
1) Washed the entire boat with dawn dish detergent to remove the old wax.
2) Wiped the entire hull with rubbing alcohol, changing rags often to make sure my skiff was 100% wax free.
3) Applied Buff Magic per the directions until I achieved the shine I was looking for. *Buff Magic starts out like a medium duty rubbing compound and the grit breaks down finer and finer until it is more like a polish... Great Stuff!*
4) Removed all traces of the Buff Magic with clean dry rags.
5) Applied one coat of Rejex (Polymer type wax) and buffed with a finishing pad.
6) Applied a second coat 24 hours after the first and buffed again.

Shiny like a new dime!


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Here is where I am. I bought some oxalic acid to get the crap off and some barkeepers friend. I mixed up the acid powder with water, wet it down and sprinkled some barkeepers on and began to scrub. Because I am too fat and lazy to scrub I did it the easy way - I bought one of these http://drillbrush.net/Drill_Brush_Medium_Bristle_Yellow.html. The boat is clean clean clean.

Wondering how much work the hull will take I took a rag and just started rubbing a spot on the hull and the rag was able to put a fair shine where I rubbed. I did not use any compound or anything other that the rag. I do not believe it will be hard to get a good shine with some compound and and the right power tool.

I have a couple spider cracks to fix and then I will get to buffing it out.


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

Post spme pics Mr Nut if you can


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

I will do my best. I already have the hull cleaned no there won't be any true "before" pics.

But I can paint a picture for you. Been sitting uncovered under huge oak and hickory trees for 18 months. So by the end of six months the boat had "grown" a cover of leaves and sticks and nuts.


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## ethan.weber (Apr 26, 2011)

well i got my boat buffed yesterday and i used 3m restorer buff and wax. i used this because i already had it and i've used it before plus its a one application product. it worked pretty well but i think i may use the buff magic and pro polish under the hull because it had some yellowing and more scratches. how aggressive if buff magic because i need some slightly more abrasive stuff.


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

I believe buff magic starts out at 400-600 grit and works down to 2000. It worked well on mine but some of those dark water stains can be tough. Try some bleach if needed


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Got a couple pics...who can post them for me because I am too stupid?

Thanks


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

Mr. Nut either we all be stupid or this truly is the hardest place to post pics on the interweb. I considered posting some on craigslist using it as a photo bucket and attacking the link


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

I had a photobucket account, porgot hte password and don't really want to open another...not that I am too stupid but it would be stupid to open another account.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Alright you jamokes, here is some pics

I had already cleaned the boat so I don't have any before pics of that.  But I did forget to clean these two pieces when doing the boat.





































These two parts were taken out of the boat after raking the leaves out and AFTER pressure washing.


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

WOW Thats dirty. That patina has almost come to a natural camo


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## Creek Runner (Sep 1, 2011)

I would have used some on/off hull cleaner on that then just buffed it with some woody wax compund! Like new!


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

I have the entire boat cleaned now and will get some pics up later in the week.

Natural camo was a good description of the outcome. I am not kidding when I say there was 6" of leaves, sticks, nuts, etc in this thing. There was also a squirrel that found his way into a hatch and decided to make a home out of the life jackets.

If I was willing to use hydrocloric acid (on/off) I certainly would not pay 10 bucks for that jug - I would pay 3 for sno bol toilet cleaner (same stuff)

Oxalic acid is much safer and won't kill everything that it touches when you rinse it off.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Some updates:

























Cleaned up real nice.

I also started to polish/shine it up. I ended up buying the 3M product PIB recommended and it also did a fine job. I took some pictures of these two pieces after polishing but my phone did not capture the shine.

I am extremely pleased with the results so far...only two pieces are complete and an entire boat to go.


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

Looks great.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

The neighbor kid is home from Costa Rica for a month and I have him doing the bottom paint. (better him than me).

Then I will be able to put back on the trailer and get it all shined up.


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

Child labor rocks


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