Sharkhide on the hull

[whichwaysup]

I thought I'd post this now and follow up in a few months to let you all know how this is working out.

I'd read on here about using sharkhide on a trailer to keep the corrosion off, and after doing some research on the stuff, it looked like it may be a good option to wax my hull as well. Up here, the water does an incredible number on your hull - turns it brown in just a few trips. I can scrub it off using Barkeeper's friend, but its a royal pain. My hull is pretty old, so after polishing it, I decided to take a risk and apply sharkhide to the entire hull.

First reaction is pretty positive, stuff goes on incredibly easily - wipe it on once and you are done. A couple things I noticed, if you choose to do this:

1) Read the instructions for application. You definitely want to wipe the material on using a steady, straight line vs. the normal circular motion to apply a normal wax. The sharkhide goes on pretty thick, so application matters.

2) ABSOLUTELY make sure the hull is perfectly clean and free of any particles. One side of my hull went on beautifully, the other side got several streaks in it. That side was the one I did second, so I think my rag picked up some material, and then proceeded to streak the boat. Not sure what I'll do about that yet . . .

3) If you are applying it on white, it's less critical, but if you are applying it over a darker color, pay even more attention to item #2.

Overall, it REALLY looks nice on the boat - my hull has some very light scratches here and there, and it actually seemed to lighten and fill them in.

I'll let you all know how it does in resisting the dreaded browning of the hull and how it looks after a few trips.

[linesider 159]

To get rid of streaks go over with another coat. Also, muratic acid takes the stains off in seconds with no scrubbing

[SCFD rtrd.]

I remember talking about this when someone was trying to shine their trailer with Shark-Hide. Did you use a Shark-Hide product specifically for fibergl*** or just regular Shark-Hide?

[linesider 159]

You may be talking about me. I polished my trailer then applied sharkhide. The regular sharkhide product I believe is what he used. When reading the bottle I thought about its use on fibergl***, but I'm not brave enough

[whichwaysup]

Hey SCFD, same guy, that was me. I bought the regular Sharkhide with the intention of just doing the trailer, but after doing some research, decided to try it on the hull. Still plan on hitting the trailer, but have some more polishing to do before I'm ready to use the SH.

Linesider -thanks for the tip on the second coat, will try that.

[Lowcountry Joe]

hey whichwaysup to remove brown stain on hull use Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner with the BLUE TOP. Just apply , wait 5 min. and rinse. Won't harm the gel coat but will on trailer so rinse completely and often. FYI

[whichwaysup]

Thanks Joe! That sounds a bit easier than BKF. Muriatic acid is also an option, but it sounds like bothe will damage the trailer so I am trying to limit the need to use it with prevention. Will see how this works. If nothing else, it has my hull shining like it is 27 years newer!