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PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 8:09 pm 
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I ran across something interesting tonight. Evidently, RV owners have been using this stuff on their gelcoat for years to get a spectacular shine. Poliglow has been the tried and true product for achieving a perfect gloss finish on gelcoat, but this stuff has shown to be just as good for less than $10 / gallon.

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It's called Red Max Pro #3.

RV forum discussion

If you read through the whole discussion, no one has anything bad to say about it and it hasn't lost any shine or yellowed for anyone in a few years.

I'm thinking about giving it a try on an old Hobie 14 that I will be picking up this weekend for cheap.

As far as speed, I'm sure this isn't the fastest but it looks damn good and that counts for half the speed anyway right? :D

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 4:53 am 
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Looks extremely promising from a "shine" perspective, but it doesn't appear the Red Max alternative would do anything to help restore the color of faded gel coat like Poli Prep and Poli Ox. For those in the know, is Bar Keeper's Friend an effective alternative to Poli Ox and Poli Clean? If yes, I'd certainly be willing to give it a shot.


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 7:32 am 
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As far as effectiveness for a dull gel coat, it looked to work well on rv's with a dull and chalky finish. The key is to use the bar keepers friend to remove any stains before you use the red max. If it is dull, this stuff will get rid of the dullness but won't restore the original color.

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 7:39 am 
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BrianCT wrote:
For those in the know, is Bar Keeper's Friend an effective alternative to Poli Ox and Poli Clean?
Have you ever used Starbrite (or other brand) instant hull cleaner? The main ingredient of these products is oxalic acid.

Barkeepers Friend has oxalic acid. It's really at its' best for a boat that may have some mold growth on the surface, and needs scrubbing to remove. Will produce the same results as the instant stuff, and is much cheaper.

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:02 am 
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Location: Lake Norman NC
I have used Polyglow with great results It works out well when you have a large fleet of boats. One order of Polyglow would be more than a lifetime supply for one Hobie Cat of any size. I have done my Hobie 21 and my Hydrasport 24 for 3 years and still have enough left for at least this year. To everyone who has a comp tip mast you cannot believe what poliglow does.
Next new product I will try is Sharkhide for alumniun and SS. This is mostly for the Hydrasport T-top and rails however I am going to try it on a small area of the black Hobie 16 mast that was added to the fleet this year will post results when i finish. And yes when the weather breaks i will compound the Hobie 16 and use Poliglow on the hulls for brilliant shine easy cleanup and UV protection also i really like the water beads sparkling in the sun off the hull


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 1:03 pm 
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J_Eaton wrote:
BrianCT wrote:
For those in the know, is Bar Keeper's Friend an effective alternative to Poli Ox and Poli Clean?
Have you ever used Starbrite (or other brand) instant hull cleaner? The main ingredient of these products is oxalic acid.

Barkeepers Friend has oxalic acid. It's really at its' best for a boat that may have some mold growth on the surface, and needs scrubbing to remove. Will produce the same results as the instant stuff, and is much cheaper.


My H18 has faded blue decks that I'd love to try and restore to the original (darker) blue color which I can still see underneath the trampoline track where it hasn't faded. Aside from being faded, my hulls are pretty much stain, mold and mildew-free. It's stored fulltime on the beach and the seagull doo-doo washes off easily enough. :D

The campers shown in that thread are generally white or off white in color so the fading wouldn't be as prominent as it is with my blue decks. I would definitely want to take a stab at restoring the color before adding that terrific shine.


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 5:52 pm 
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Location: Clinton Lake Kansas
BrianCT wrote:
J_Eaton wrote:
BrianCT wrote:
For those in the know, is Bar Keeper's Friend an effective alternative to Poli Ox and Poli Clean?
Have you ever used Starbrite (or other brand) instant hull cleaner? The main ingredient of these products is oxalic acid.

Barkeepers Friend has oxalic acid. It's really at its' best for a boat that may have some mold growth on the surface, and needs scrubbing to remove. Will produce the same results as the instant stuff, and is much cheaper.


My H18 has faded blue decks that I'd love to try and restore to the original (darker) blue color which I can still see underneath the trampoline track where it hasn't faded. Aside from being faded, my hulls are pretty much stain, mold and mildew-free. It's stored fulltime on the beach and the seagull doo-doo washes off easily enough. :D

The campers shown in that thread are generally white or off white in color so the fading wouldn't be as prominent as it is with my blue decks. I would definitely want to take a stab at restoring the color before adding that terrific shine.

Unfortunately, oxalic acid will do nothing but clean oxidized (faded) hulls. You're in for some serious work if you plan on knocking off the layer of oxidation, and you'll be very lucky if you get close to the original blue color. I sanded the heck out of a blue boat (ONCE!)...no fun, and the results were very disappointing. I would have spent less time roughing up the hulls and teaching myself to shoot gelcoat.

I've seen some posts of darker colored boats restored with polyglow, I have no idea the level of oxidation before they applied the treatment. I'd do some more searching on powerboat forums before spending the effort.

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:55 am 
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Is the red max pro 3 the same as red max hardwood floor cleaner?

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 3:21 pm 
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drummer63 wrote:
Is the red max pro 3 the same as red max hardwood floor cleaner?

I don't know about that but if you can't find it, I've read that Zep, sold at Menards, is the same as RMP3.

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 4:36 pm 
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Poli Glow is still the BOMB in my opinion and this is after three years of hulls and comp tip looking like new. I am running low on the stuff and will order some more for the spring to make the fleet look sharp and shiny :lol: :lol:
I used to be Admiral Gary
Next product report will be for Shark Hide for alumnium. Mostly for the Hydra Sport 24 CC T-Top and rails will try on kids Hobie 16


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 2:16 pm 
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I have been working on my Hobie's all week. I cleaned up and sold my white one and cleaned up my yellow one. I used the Red Max Pro on both boats and I am very impressed! The stuff works wonders on boats that have dulled fiberglass. Just know that it won't change the color of the fiberglass (oxidation), but it will restore the original shine very well.

I started out by washing the entire boat with Bar Keeper's Friend. This stuff does very well at cleaning the non-skid deck. Even if you don't plan on using RMP, I would highly suggest Bar Keeper's Friend. I used a nylon brush that was somewhat course but not enough to scratch the gelcoat.

After Bar Keeper's Friend, I washed the boat down with Dawn. The purpose of this was to remove any residual oils or waxes from the hulls before pressing on.

Next, I polished the hulls with 3M Perfect-It Rubbing Compound. I bought an electric orbital buffer/polisher at Harbor Freight for $40 for this. This stuff did a good job of cutting through some of the oxidation on the hulls and gave my yellow hulls a definite lighter tint. It also began to make the gelcoat very shiny.

Next, I applied the RMP. I found that the best way to do this was to put it in an empty Windex bottle and spray it on in segments. You spray it on and wipe it smooth. Its that simply. The tricky part is making sure that you don't leave any streaks or drips because it will dry like that and be a huge pain to remove. After about 4-5 coats, it will really shine.

Finally, I rubbed the entire boat with women's nylon hose (don't get caught using your wife or girlfriend's). This gave just enough abrasion to really polish the RMP.

And some pictures of what I've been working on all week:

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Image

Image

Sorry, all I have is iphone pictures but you can see the amazing shine.

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 5:55 pm 
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It looks great, Zack.

How much is that stuff?

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:40 am 
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Amazing results. My new-to-me 20 year old H 20 will get the treatment this spring. Needs a good cleaning first as everyone over on that RV thread cautions about it 'trapping' the dirt underneath. What about it being slippery? Zach - It looks like you did the entire hull (sides and the deck). Can anyone comment about footing and traction when when this stuff gets wet?

thanks


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:54 am 
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ASDASC wrote:
It looks great, Zack.

How much is that stuff?

I picked it up for $4 in Illinois because it is being closed out at Lowes. I think it is normally $15. Check out Zep at Menards. It is supposed to be the same stuff but I think it may be $25ish.

Jdm wrote:
What about it being slippery? Zach - It looks like you did the entire hull (sides and the deck). Can anyone comment about footing and traction when when this stuff gets wet?

thanks

I was surprised by how well this stuff went on the non-skid decks. It may be a tiny bit more slippery than before but it isn't very noticeable. I'm not concerned about that because on the 16 you never actually stand on the non-skid. I'm not sure about other boats in that regard.

The RMP is very wet when applied so it went down in the non-skid evenly and looks good.

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 1:20 pm 
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Looks great, Zach! Following your lead, I went out and purchased some Zep Wet Look Floor Finish from Lowes for $24. It's supposedly identical you the Red Max Pro #3 (same manufacturer, same ingredients, etc.). Lowes also carried Red Max products but, unfortunately, were sold out of the (now discontinued) RMP#3 you used. Oh well, the Zep Wet Look was only $10 more and the bottle will supposedly last a lifetime. The Bar Keeper's Friend was remarkably inexpensive at like $1.50 for an Ajax-sized shaker.

I was wondering about slippery hulls myself but figured they can't be that much more slippery than the wet waxed hulls that caused me to tumble a$$-over-teakettle the last time I capsized my 18. :lol: Once applied, perhaps the finish will make it easier to clean the beach wheel scuffs off my inner hulls?

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