Owatrol - Paint Restorer

[robtheplod]

21 hours ago, Tigerr said:

That does indeed look like a result Rob. Really good removal of white bloom and restoration of the red colour. 

Can you reconfirm the exact Owatrol product you used? 

Plus can you do an update in a few months so we can all benefit from your experiment. 

 

No problem. Product is Polytrol | Colour restorer for faded surfaces | Owatrol Direct

 

I'm on the Llangollen in a few weeks for a fortnight and intend to do the whole boat during that trip if the patch holds, I'll keep the pics coming!

 

I'm always suspicious of these things, especially since I've tried different waxes/polishes and nothing was really cutting it (pun intended!). Being lazy by nature this went on really well and its just smooth on using a rag, and 'buff' stage isn't really much as it was already shiny and non-tacky. I'm going to test on my brass mushroom vents and possibly portholes as well as it supposed to sort those? In years gone by it was probably sold by visiting shady characters out of suitcase at the local fair??!!

 

It rained the next day and the section that i did was all beaded, so it seems to leave a wax coat of some description. It does mention specifically it does not contain silicon, which is a bonus!

 

I would assume once the boat is done its just a standard regime of polishing/waxing as normal once the colours is 'restored'.....

[luggsy]

Bulllet paint restorer is very good 

[Tigerr]

If I want to owatrol, on top of what I think is autoglym that has bloomed, do I need to do some sort of stripping of the autoglym ?

Edited August 18, 2023 by Tigerr

[BEngo]

27 minutes ago, Tigerr said:

If I want to owatrol, on top of what I think is autoglym that has bloomed, do I need to do some sort of stripping of the autoglym ?

Yes. Autoglym contains silicone which produces 'fish eyes'  in the finish.  A good dosing with panel wipe (from your local car refinishers  supplier) shoul sort it.

N

[JoeC]

9 hours ago, luggsy said:

Bulllet paint restorer is very good 

I used Bullet 365 and it was a lot of effort and lasted not even a handful of months. Won't use it again.

[peterboat]

2 hours ago, Tigerr said:

If I want to owatrol, on top of what I think is autoglym that has bloomed, do I need to do some sort of stripping of the autoglym ?

I would think a hot was with detergent would clean it off. When I first used owatrol years ago I had polished religiously for years to no avail, so after buying some at Crick I just washed it down and brushed it on, allowed it to dry and polished it to a good long lasting shine 

[Tigerr]

So, I bought a big can of panel wipe. And a 1 litre can of Owatrol Polytrol. 

Bought the boat in April, and it had obviously been polished for sale. But in the sunny months since the grey paint has badly bloomed with lots of circular wiping smears, and the sunside grey main panel paint has started to powder.

It comes off on the cloth if you wipe it.

The black is still good. But overall the paint is showing it's 7 years. 

Anyway - used a sprayer and wipes to apply panel spray, wiped off. 

Applied polytrol with a brush. Then used cloths to wipe excess off, as instructed. 

The initial effect is amazing. Looks like the boat has been repainted. But, I can see there may be issues with the 'taking the excess off'. If I waited 20 mins as instructions - the oil was sticky, setting and seemed to me to give an uneven finish. 

There's a big warning on the can about not letting polytrol form a film. Hmmm. 

Alternatively, wiping down with the polytrol-dampened wipe off cloth on paintwork left a very good finish. 

I also used the approach of applying very thin using the brush, pushing a wet edge with minimal oil content, which seems to sink in well and leave no surplus. 

Here's hoping. It was a long day. I do hope when I get back to the boat in a month it won't look like I trashed it. 

For info - the 1 litre can has done both sides of the 57 ft boat, and there's enough left to do the remaining front deck and stuff. 

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by Tigerr

[JoeC]

I bought some Polytrol for my boat but instructions say to wash it and leave it to dry for 12 hours before applying Polytrol. The washing I can do but the dry bit is not gonna happen here in the Peak District as the rain is just so intermittent on/off! Gonna have to watch the weather forecast and do some planning.

[Chris T]

I didn't wait that long, probably more like 12 minutes. It would need washing again after 12 hours! 

[Tigerr]

18 hours ago, Chris T said:

I didn't wait that long, probably more like 12 minutes. It would need washing again after 12 hours! 

Yes, I think the instructions on the can are not well written.

The stuff is well tacky at 20mins and when wiped leaves visible uneven finish. Like you I shortened the time. 

Plus, I think a brush puts too much product on, brushes being specifically designed to create a film, not for surface penetration which seems to be the critical requirement.

I can see how it might be appropriate for a small object, but I can't see it as the best way to treat panel areas like nbs. 

My best result was simply rubbing it in with a product-moistened cloth - no surface deposit, sinks in and leaves a good finish. I'd have thought that if you can apply it thin and even to start with then surely there's no need to 'remove excess'. 

Anyway I am away from the boat for a month now which should give enough time to see how it cures off. 

[JoeC]

Have applied some Polytrol to one side of my boat. I have a mainly red coloured boat and the sun's UV has got to it since it was painted by the previous owners in 2017 and, although I have used polish on it previously, I thought it could look a bit better.

 

The pictures below are of the same area before applying the Polytrol and after application using a cloth. I did not use a cloth to rub it off after 15 or so minutes and was left slight streaks but nothing major. The weather was hot, my arms were aching and I could not be bothered to polish it off. No comments on my stance nor of the banana growing out of my hand!

PS

I also gave the bow a coating. As I was wearing shorts and no gloves when clambering onto it applying Polytrol I think the grease/sweat from hands and knees were left behind as it now has marks all over it. I have given it a second coating today so will see what happens.

 

Two more pictures showing areas pre and post use of Owatrol Polytrol.

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by JoeC

[Peanut]

Polytrol tried out on a friend's wide beam, looks good, but he is going to repaint it after seven years of contact sport cc'ing in London.

 

[Mike Tee]

^^^ and is this the result of a thin coating rubbed off almost immediately? Looks good.

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, Mike Tee said:

^^^ and is this the result of a thin coating rubbed off almost immediately? Looks good.

Lots of products do that, some with more effort than others - how long it lasts is what counts.

[peterboat]

5 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Lots of products do that, some with more effort than others - how long it lasts is what counts.

Its done a year on mine with good results,  i am thinking of giving it another coat when it cools down a bit

[Peanut]

1 hour ago, Mike Tee said:

^^^ and is this the result of a thin coating rubbed off almost immediately? Looks good.

Yes, they were given some to try, just a quick coat to see if it worked.  The boat has some battle scars, and they have decided to repaint.  It looks good but being lazy, I would patch the rusty bits and Polytrol the rest and see how it lasted. Maybe get another year before it needs repainting.  The cost of a lift out, comes into it, though. The Polytrol can be applied when in the water, so perhaps a maintenance coat, now and again, would work, as would the application of a wax polish.

[robtheplod]

OK, didn't have too much time and learnt a few bits!  You can see how far i got. Its a little smeary as i discovered that that it absolutely must be wiped off before it goes tacky - about 10-15 mins (which i didn't do here). Whilst not 100% (yet!) you can see its better than nothing at all.... will continue!!

[peterboat]

38 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

OK, didn't have too much time and learnt a few bits!  You can see how far i got. Its a little smeary as i discovered that that it absolutely must be wiped off before it goes tacky - about 10-15 mins (which i didn't do here). Whilst not 100% (yet!) you can see its better than nothing at all.... will continue!!

I found a cool day worked best

[Mike Tee]

Is there a trick if you mistime it and it goes tacky? Maybe panel cleaner (50% IPA 50% water)? Only asking as I'm planning on doing mine fairly soon!

[Rob-M]

19 minutes ago, Mike Tee said:

Is there a trick if you mistime it and it goes tacky? Maybe panel cleaner (50% IPA 50% water)? Only asking as I'm planning on doing mine fairly soon!

What a waste of IPA, I'd prefer to drink a nice IPA 😀

[Mike Tee]

You drink this IPA and you’d light up like a jet fighter!

[Tigerr]

Pleased with the result on my boat. Polytrol'd it a month ago. The ageing paint has revived, is no longer powdery and bloomed.

I got varying results though, some smeary bits where I put too much product on and didn't get it thinned back before it set. Also it rained onto it the night after I did it, and you can see where the rain went. But the overall colour is better, and the paint surface is much more protective. So I am happy with it. I will do it again next spring. 

[ditchcrawler]

Another use for it 

[robtheplod]

years ago is this the stuff they used to sell out of suitcases by travelling salesmen?

[peterboat]

4 hours ago, robtheplod said:

years ago is this the stuff they used to sell out of suitcases by travelling salesmen?

No this stuff works and works well