Maine Sail Now that the maintainence, updates and general cleaning etc is complete and the boat is on the mooring I'd like to think about what I can do to clean-up the top-sides. Should have done this before the launch but .... as the bumper sticker says "I'd rather be sailing" and some things have to wait. I followed your recommendations re the cleaning and waxing and the boat looks great. But what receomendations do you have for the top-sides, especially the non-skid areas? There are some small areas where Cetol or some other material has left a small stain and there is general "grubby-ness". Since the boat is standard O'Day cream with the light brown non-skid areas the grubby-ness is apparent and I'd like to clean it up a bit. There have been postings about clorox and soft scrub - what do you think? Thanks for your insights and sharing your experiences and knowledge - it's much appreciated. I checked the archives but did not see anything - Also it appears that the images and pictures are removed once the posting goes to the archieves. James
- Status
Decks..
Let's not confuse things to much. When you say top sides I think you mean the decks. The top sides are actually the hull above the waterline but bellow the toe rail and the decks are.. well, the decks. Why does boat lingo have to be so convoluted and confusing??
As for cleaning the top sides there are many methods to doing so but many will remove the wax as it runs down the top sides. For Cetol spots I find a q-tip soaked in Acetone and held in place on the drip to soften it works well then your finger nail or a plastic scraper works well to remove it. You don't want acetone however sitting on the gel coat for long. Another option is a heat gun to soften the Cetol but be VERY, VERY careful as you can BURN the gelcoat!! I personally don't like any of the Soft Scrub, Bon Ami, Commet type products as they are much more abrasive on gelcoat than they let on even the ones that say "soft" in their marketing and will only serve to accelerate any oxidizing by leaving micro scratches. My cleaner of choice is a stiff bristle brush, a micro fiber rag and denatured alcohol. Many of the cleaners, such as the spray car cleaners, can discolor the gel coat if left to sit for to long and denatured alcohol does not do this. You can also hand wash the deck without rinsing potent chemicals over your freshly waxed top sides. If you have mold 50/50 bleach & water solution works well but you'll need to rinse. Usually the mold disappears after the winter cover comes off and the sun hits it.. I have taken to using "Magic Erasers" and water as my deck cleaner of choice over the last two seasons!! Wal*Mart has a "Magic Eraser" knock off under the "Great Value" line of products called the "Miracle Eraser" with 4 to a box for about $2.79. I go through about 8 to 10 for a thorough deck clean and it's well worth it. I usually buy about $25.00 worth of Miracle Erasers at a time! I can't speak highly enough of this amazing foam!! They are truly in a class like Rain-X as a product that actually WORKS!! I actually prefer cleaning my decks by hand rather than getting water spots on all my stainless, dodger glass etc. and risking ruining my waxed top sides from soap run off. Sure it takes a little longer but I can actually do it on the mooring and don't have to come into the dock so it's actually a time saver for me... I find that after the pollen season is done I only need to really clean my decks at about 6-7 weeks or just a few times per season.
Let's not confuse things to much. When you say top sides I think you mean the decks. The top sides are actually the hull above the waterline but bellow the toe rail and the decks are.. well, the decks. Why does boat lingo have to be so convoluted and confusing??
As for cleaning the top sides there are many methods to doing so but many will remove the wax as it runs down the top sides. For Cetol spots I find a q-tip soaked in Acetone and held in place on the drip to soften it works well then your finger nail or a plastic scraper works well to remove it. You don't want acetone however sitting on the gel coat for long. Another option is a heat gun to soften the Cetol but be VERY, VERY careful as you can BURN the gelcoat!! I personally don't like any of the Soft Scrub, Bon Ami, Commet type products as they are much more abrasive on gelcoat than they let on even the ones that say "soft" in their marketing and will only serve to accelerate any oxidizing by leaving micro scratches. My cleaner of choice is a stiff bristle brush, a micro fiber rag and denatured alcohol. Many of the cleaners, such as the spray car cleaners, can discolor the gel coat if left to sit for to long and denatured alcohol does not do this. You can also hand wash the deck without rinsing potent chemicals over your freshly waxed top sides. If you have mold 50/50 bleach & water solution works well but you'll need to rinse. Usually the mold disappears after the winter cover comes off and the sun hits it.. I have taken to using "Magic Erasers" and water as my deck cleaner of choice over the last two seasons!! Wal*Mart has a "Magic Eraser" knock off under the "Great Value" line of products called the "Miracle Eraser" with 4 to a box for about $2.79. I go through about 8 to 10 for a thorough deck clean and it's well worth it. I usually buy about $25.00 worth of Miracle Erasers at a time! I can't speak highly enough of this amazing foam!! They are truly in a class like Rain-X as a product that actually WORKS!! I actually prefer cleaning my decks by hand rather than getting water spots on all my stainless, dodger glass etc. and risking ruining my waxed top sides from soap run off. Sure it takes a little longer but I can actually do it on the mooring and don't have to come into the dock so it's actually a time saver for me... I find that after the pollen season is done I only need to really clean my decks at about 6-7 weeks or just a few times per season.- Status