My un-scientific test of tube protector products

[Robertblackstock]

Thought you may be interested in my un-scientific test of tube protectors after deciding to try a couple of the mentioned products on ribnet, on my tender before using the winner on my rib:

Products I have tested (Sorry, couldn’t get my hands on anymore!):

Polymarine Boat Finish (Thanks to Mike Davis for lending me some)
Ribshops Conditioner
Ribstore Hypatec
3M Vinyl Conditioner

Polymarine Boat Finish (125ml) £12.99, £ shook the bottle and it was like water but is actually a white solvent smelling liquid, went on the tubes really easily and dried to a really good shiny finish which helped to enhance the fabric colour, water beaded off and a quick abrasion test showed it to be hardwearing.

Ribshops Condioner (125ml) £12.50, a much thicker liquid, looks like vaseline in the bottle. Went on fairly easily but is quite greasy and a lot slower to apply than the Polymarine or Hypatec product, dried to an OK finish but felt greasy/tacky. Water beaded ok but didn’t seem to have the comforting feel of an obvious coating. Abrasion resistance appeared OK but again didn’t seem to offer the same protection as the other products and it was difficult to buff to a nice finish.

Ribstore Hypatec (250ml) £11.99, as with the Polymarine it sounded like water in the bottle and smells very similar and went on the tubes quickly and didn’t leave any smudges, quick drying and the finish buffed well and really brought back the colour of my tubes, abrasion test shows it to be hardwearing. Got some on my hands and it really does form a skin that is a bugger to get off!

3M Vinyl Conditioner (236ml) £16.74 consistency is in between the gel-like Ribshop product and the Polymarine/Ribstore products and is white in colour, went on failry well but not as easily as the Hypatec/Polymarine products and did not have the same nice shine when dry but abrasion test showed it to be hardwearing.

So, my joint winners are the Polymarine and Ribstore Hypatec products because the finish was good (sheen, fabric colour restoring, water beading and abrasion) and it goes much further than the 3M product

Thanks for Reading

Robert

[willk]

That's very interesting. Thanks for such a detailed report. BTW, the Ribshop Conditioner changes consistency relative to temperature. At room temp or higher (25C) it is more liquid like and "goes" much further.

[Erin]

Interesting comparisons. I've always used 3M protector in the past as I've always considered 3M products to be top notch. However, as you rightly point out it doesn't 'go' very far and is hard work to apply. I might try one of the others this year.

[Dry Run]

Hi. Great info and thanks for that!

We normally use Ribshop product (I use it on my own Humber) and are fairly happy (it seems to go a long way).

We used to use 3M but it was very expensive and didn't go a long way!

Interesteing to hear your reports of other products and will investigate!

Thanks again.

[Ribstore]

Robert, good to hear that Hypatec does the job

[chewy]

How long did you test the products for?
If you didn't apply them and see how long they lasted then its hardly a fair test?

Credit to you for doing it though.
On one of the detailing forums a lad used the side of his horse box to test a good few waxes and the results were surprising.

[Ribshop]

Polymarine Boat Finish (125ml) £12.99, £ shook the bottle and it was like water but is actually a white solvent smelling liquid, went on the tubes really easily and dried to a really good shiny finish which helped to enhance the fabric colour, water beaded off and a quick abrasion test showed it to be hardwearing.

Ribshops Condioner (125ml) £12.50, a much thicker liquid, looks like vaseline in the bottle. Went on fairly easily but is quite greasy and a lot slower to apply than the Polymarine or Hypatec product, dried to an OK finish but felt greasy/tacky. Water beaded ok but didn’t seem to have the comforting feel of an obvious coating. Abrasion resistance appeared OK but again didn’t seem to offer the same protection as the other products and it was difficult to buff to a nice finish.

Great to see you have spent time comparing these products, but can I just point out a small correction Rib Conditioner is sold in 250ml, as is Polymarine’s inflatable boat finish, not 125ml.

[Robertblackstock]

Thank you for all your responses like i said it was un-scientific and i must apologise
for the amounts.
Ribstore Hypatec 500ml
Ribshops Conditioner 250ml
3M Vinyl Conditioner 250ml
Polymarine Boat Finish 250ml
I apologise for any confusion

[chewy]

Good of you to do it.

I know I'm been cheeky but it would be good to see before and after photos of the tubes with a section done in each product, then say after a couple of months another photo showing how they faired up.

Water beading in the photos is always a good indicator too.

[robp]

Hi - I'm new here. I'll try and contribute where possible but like some others, I start off by needing some info! I'm from what some of you might call the dark side, (a sailor)! We bought a small rib some time back; for some fun, getting about and so that my son could do some wakeboarding. It's a 3.4M Walker Bay Genesis with console and 15HP Honda. Long story but the Honda should have been bigger!

Anyway, although this is an old thread, I'd like to ask about results of protection. Not understanding much about PVC, I allowed some UV degradation. I can usually clean it up but the Orangy Brown stain comes back after a short while. Would any of the protectors stop this from happening, or is that it with the PVC? If so, then maybe some of the flexible paint will be necessary.

Thanks for any help. Rob

[office888]

Originally Posted by robp

Anyway, although this is an old thread, I'd like to ask about results of protection. Not understanding much about PVC, I allowed some UV degradation. I can usually clean it up but the Orangy Brown stain comes back after a short while. Would any of the protectors stop this from happening, or is that it with the PVC? If so, then maybe some of the flexible paint will be necessary.

Orange/brown = UV degradation...the PVC is starting to break down on a chemical level.

Ultimately, the only real solution is to replace the material. Most people just buy a new boat. Patching over it is an okay solution as well.

[Ribstore]

Hi Rob

Once the PVC degrades through UV exposure then the damage is irreversible, I'm afraid; the best approach from thereon is to keep your tubes protected against UV, clean and stowed away dry.

Re: flexible paints; personally, I would only use at the end of the tubes/collar life as it can turn into a regular re-painting exercise to keep the tubes looking smart, but if the UV damage 'offends your eyes' then the latest flexible paints are very good.

Hope that helps

Cheers

Chris

[robp]

Thanks guys. It's not really bad, just discoloured and cleans up with Inflatable Boat Cleaner. I'll just keep doing that and keep it covered. Not going down the painting route.

Cheers
Rob