Best fiberglass cleaner

[Don]

Just looking for opinions. What's the best fiberglass cleaner for older boats.Thanks,Don

 

[Craig]

trial and error

It depends what shape it is in. If not terrible, i would start with a light duty rubbing compound with a buffer. Do this in a 3x3 area. Over and over again. Then I would try 3m cleanerand polish. Then i would use straight 3m wax. If you can go over the entire boat with the rubbing compound to get it knocked down to a flat finish then rub it out. After about 4 years of cleaner/wax and polish it will just keep coming along. But its trial and error to see what works. The power buffer is very important. craig

 

[John Horton]

For spot cleaning

Nothing I've found beats lacquer thinner. I have used it many times with no damage to the gel coat when rinsed immediately after using.John

 

[Tom Ehmke]

Check out the Island Girl products

They're available at this site in the chandlery. I've used IG pink for the past three years to clean the fibreglass before waxing and sealing the gelcoat with other IG products.Tom

 

[Jeff]

Polishes

I used to be a polishing compound fan until I used the Island Girl products for oxidation. It really seems to do the job without all the rubbing and polishing. Wipe on and wipe off.Check the archives... Good luck... Jeff

 

[Ken Palmer]

Try Collinite Fiberglass Cleaner

The best cleaner that I used to use was the Collinite Boat Fiberglass Cleaner. Follow up with their Fleetwax, known for it's excellent write-ups in Practicle Sailor. A link is below.I now use Poly Glow. One word for that: "EXCELLENT".Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty

 

[Merrill Mant]

Another convert to Collinite

For the last few years that is all I have used and converted a number of sailing friends to the product.