The interior of my '83 Catalina 25 was pretty grimy, years of fingerprints, smudges, dirt, old tape residue, and various marks. I don't mind the color, but the Magic Eraser was taking forever and none of the cleaners I tried were very effective. I was considering repainting so I went searching for info on repainting when I ran across this thread on the Catalina Direct website: https://www.catalinadirect.com/forums/fr_topic.cfm?topic_id=9444
There's a comment in there by Chip Ford about a product called "Easy Dab". It's just slightly abrasive, but is designed for glossy surfaces so it doesn't dull them. I had to call the manufacturer who directed me to a local janitor company where I could purchase the product. It was $4.14 USD.
Lemme tell you guys, I could not believe how well this stuff worked. Literally, everything just wiped right off the paint. Even the tough stuff only took a bit of light rubbing. The inside of the Catalinas has a textured surface and this even pulled all the old grime out of the texture. In the end, it looked like the original factory paint job (minus a few much larger gauges.)
To do the entire interior of the main salon, I used two slightly damp microfiber cloths: one for gently rubbing in the product and one just to buff it lightly afterwards. About a 1/2 a teaspoon of the product covered about 2-3 square feet. It took me maybe 45 minutes in total to do the entire main salon from floor to ceiling, including the counters, behind the cushions, inside the ice box, and the aft berth.
You guys are much more experienced than me and probably already have a litany of products in your back pocket, but I just wanted to share this one since I didn't see any other threads about it.
Here's the product on the manufacturer's website:
http://www.nclonline.com/products/view/EASY_DAB_
I called their main number and they put me in touch with the sales rep for my area who then told me what janitorial store I could find it at. Best $4.14 I ever spent in my life.
There's a comment in there by Chip Ford about a product called "Easy Dab". It's just slightly abrasive, but is designed for glossy surfaces so it doesn't dull them. I had to call the manufacturer who directed me to a local janitor company where I could purchase the product. It was $4.14 USD.
Lemme tell you guys, I could not believe how well this stuff worked. Literally, everything just wiped right off the paint. Even the tough stuff only took a bit of light rubbing. The inside of the Catalinas has a textured surface and this even pulled all the old grime out of the texture. In the end, it looked like the original factory paint job (minus a few much larger gauges.)
To do the entire interior of the main salon, I used two slightly damp microfiber cloths: one for gently rubbing in the product and one just to buff it lightly afterwards. About a 1/2 a teaspoon of the product covered about 2-3 square feet. It took me maybe 45 minutes in total to do the entire main salon from floor to ceiling, including the counters, behind the cushions, inside the ice box, and the aft berth.
You guys are much more experienced than me and probably already have a litany of products in your back pocket, but I just wanted to share this one since I didn't see any other threads about it.
Here's the product on the manufacturer's website:
http://www.nclonline.com/products/view/EASY_DAB_
I called their main number and they put me in touch with the sales rep for my area who then told me what janitorial store I could find it at. Best $4.14 I ever spent in my life.
