Owatrol Color restorer?

[DTrail808]

Like many of us, my gelcoat on my hull is clouded and dull. I'm half thinking of having a detailer come out and oilsh and wax it to see if I can get the nice color back. That said, I came across a product called Marine Polytrol by Owatrol. I've seen a few videos and read some reviews and it looks like it works pretty well. It's not magic, but it says it holds up for up to a year without th eneed to re-apply. I figure that's about the same for polish & wax.

Has anybody used this product that can give me real world experience on using it?

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[Frank Langer]

Like many of us, my gelcoat on my hull is clouded and dull. I'm half thinking of having a detailer come out and oilsh and wax it to see if I can get the nice color back. That said, I came across a product called Marine Polytrol by Owatrol. I've seen a few videos and read some reviews and it looks like it works pretty well. It's not magic, but it says it holds up for up to a year without th eneed to re-apply. I figure that's about the same for polish & wax.

Has anybody used this product that can give me real world experience on using it?

​

I recall a product called Polyglow years ago, might still exist, that sounds similar to yours above. It was like a liquid floor polish that produces a nice shine, but gradually yellowed, and then required a special liquid remover to remove back to the gelcoat. Most of us avoided using it.
I'll be interested to see what others think and suggest.
Frank

 

[Loren Beach]

I recall a product called Polyglow years ago, might still exist, that sounds similar to yours above. It was like a liquid floor polish that produces a nice shine, but gradually yellowed, and then required a special liquid remover to remove back to the gelcoat. Most of us avoided using it.
I'll be interested to see what others think and suggest.
Frank

Thanks for the reminder of the "Polyglow" debacle. I note that a few owners did like it, but not a significant %.While I also love the "idea" of a product that relieves me of time and effort, (AFAIK) restoring gel coat shine takes technique and real labor. That makes me a skeptic, perhaps.
There are several prior threads here about the challenge of renewing that shine. Try a search on gel coat buffing, for instance.
Here is one thread: https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/restore-your-hull-without-painting-it.5649/#post-35064

In our early ownership days, we did restored our hull shine. I rented a buffer with several covers, used Finnessit followed by wax. With a friendly boat yard manager lending us their battery powered scissor lift for a weekend, we spent two tiring days working, and did get it mostly back to a mirror shine. Absolutely Fabulous --- for about a year.
Years later I paid $$ someone to do that again. It's either your money or your time... or maybe both.

Thing is, once UV has microscopically eroded/roughened the surface, only buffing down a bit will smooth it out again. And, you can only do that so many times before you run out of gel coat. At somewhere around three decades, painting becomes necessary and while I have also seen an old hull restored to "near new shine" by spraying on new gel coat and then buffing it out, it was very labor intensive.

OP, do let us know how this product works on your boat. And best of luck.
As Red Green used to say: "We're all pullin' for ya, and keep your stick on the ice!"

 

[peaman]

Thing is, once UV has microscopically eroded/roughened the surface, only buffing down a bit will smooth it out again. And, you can only do that so many times before you run out of gel coat. At somewhere around three decades, painting becomes necessary and while I have also seen an old hull restored to "near new shine" by spraying on new gel coat and then buffing it out, it was very labor intensive.

I thought the theory is that once you have done any needed buffing, wax will preserve the finish. So it's not buff and wax every year or three, but rather buff once and then wax every year to protect the buffed finish.

 

[Loren Beach]

I thought the theory is that once you have done any needed buffing, wax will preserve the finish. So it's not buff and wax every year or three, but rather buff once and then wax every year to protect the buffed finish.

Now that you point it out, I have heard that, also. Thanks for providing a vital detail.
Hmmmm...... If I miss a mark in a discussion do I have to do a 720 or just go back and re-round it?

 

[Prairie Schooner]

The PO of our boat had applied some sort of coating. Unfortunately, they didn't make the finish perfect before application and it sealed in any imperfections they left, including oxidation, dull finish, grime, scuffs, stains, etc. In addition, the coating itself had started to acquire a slight yellowish tint. Attempts at buffing just kind of stirred that mix up, looking worse if anything, certainly not better. Sanding didn't work very well. Donna experimented a lot to find something that would take it off and we settled on Interlux 202. We paid a professional finisher to use that to remove the poly coat, then buff the hull out, and finally wax it. The temptation is to think that those coatings will make a mediocre finish magically beautiful. My takeaway is that there is no escaping buffing, maybe even compounding. I guess the good news is that whatever they put on was sure durable.

Further discussion in this thread, including some details of our experimentation before we'd arrived at a solution:

Boat Waxing for People Not Looking Forward to It.

Waxing my boat 10 years ago cost $350 and now it costs $1000. "Cost of material has gone up". Uh huh. I am without motivation for the Maine Sail 692-step compounding and waxing process, and get tired just reading about it. I'm considering this Shurhold machine and system, $300+ for the...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[Kenneth K]

Attempts at buffing just kind of stirred that mix up, looking worse if anything, certainly not better. Sanding didn't work very well. Donna experimented a lot to find something that would take it off and we settled on Interlux 202.

The technical data sheet on Owatrol says it contains alkyde resins, which essentially make it an oil paint product. But since the 'paint' is adhering to oxidation, and not the gel coat itself, it's bound to fail in patchy areas and be difficult to remove in other areas. Sounds like a nightmare to undo once it's been applied.

The technical data sheet also said it's not for use on white surfaces. Possibly due to yellowing???

 

[DTrail808]

Ok. I heard the skeptics and understand. Does buff and wax require a haul out or is it doable by detailers or by me at the dock/marina? I'm in California and wonder if that's allowed or not due to all the crazy rules.

 

[Loren Beach]

Does buff and wax require a haul out or is it doable by detailers or by me at the dock/marina?

We have some (younger and fit ! ) owners and occasional outside vendors doing this in our moorage during summer months. Laying on your side with a buffing wheel is darned hard work. You can get down to the waterline stripe but it is tough to get much lower. Youth and strength helps a lot.
Since we moor in double slips, the boat has to be turned around to do the 'other side' also. If you can find a yard that will allow you to DIY, that is often a wash or cheaper even after being hauled and blocked. Nice to combine this with a bottom job.
All that said, we have very few local yards that will even allow DIY work any more.
Ask around... there may be some eager guys doing this work, and get references. (It's easy to cut too deep with the buffing wheel or blow thru the gel coat on a corner or chine if you get careless, or 'burn' the vinyl name/hailing port/state numbers. If your boat has a mylar cove stripe, watch out for that, too.
(Please don't ask me how I know about the possible errors that might occur.)

 

[DTrail808]

I sent a couple RFQs to two detailers around here. I want to figure out how big the bread box is.