boat cleaning

[splax]

Hello All,
I want to share some positive experiences with boat cleaning this past week.
After reading many different opinions and with trepidation I scrubbed the teak? handrails and other trim with a solution of Murphy's Oil Soap and a soft nylon bristle brush. It worked great and the teak? took on the golden glow as it dried. Then I oiled the wood.
I had become resigned to the deck being discolored off white since that black mildew takes residence in the pores of the aged fiberglass which hasn't responded well to scrubbing with a brush and soap solutions. Enter the micro-fiber cloth. I had gotten a package of the micro-fiber cloths at Harbor Freight for cleaning inside the boat, but I found that hosing with water as I wipe with the cloth does the trick and my deck looks pretty good. Note that the cloth needs to be rinsed frequently as you clean.
I am interested in others' experiences in their Spring commissioning.

 

[Rich Stidger]

For non-skid and smooth deck cleaning I use a weak bleach solution- I think about 4-6 oz per gallon of water. Slosh it out with a deck brush and let it sit for 10 minutes- keep it wet with more solution if necessary. Then scrub with the brush and rinse completely with plenty of water. Hit stubborn areas a second time. This method works well for me.

A professional boat cleaner told me that she uses Softscrub with bleach and a brush, but I've found that just water and bleach without the light abrasive seems to work well.

Of course the very easiest method of boat cleaning is to round up 4 or 5 starving dock hands and give them the cleaners and brushes. And write a check......

 

[charliegrau]

I second the recommendation for Murphy's Oil Soap. Also found it works great on the overheads and fiberglass bulkhead surfaces. A PO of my boat was a liveaboard smoker...Murphy's quickly dissolves the old nicotine yellow stains that were so pervasive they looked like the gelcoat color.
-charlie

 

[Roadking Larry]

The Mr. Clean Magic Erasers work pretty good on getting marks off fiberglass with out hurting the gel coat. Same thing being sold at marine stores but at a higher cost.

On my Macgregor 26S when it is out of the water I use Clorox kitchen and bath cleaner with bleach to scrub the deck. I found a kitchen mop with a fairly stiff scrub brush on the back side that did a good job. I've had lots of compliments from dock mates at the marina.
For cleaning while at the slip I use Simple Green.

 

[splax]

Larry,
I unfortunately used Simple Green to clean the hull before buffing. I had a nasty green residue that trashed the pads and required more work to shine the boat.

 

[HMT2]

The bleach solution also kills the mildew growth in the non-skid.

 

[lippysyd]

I had been trying various things to remove the black specks for the past two summers with no success. Then on a whim I used Tilex Mold And Mildew remover. I basically sprayed it on, let it set a few minutes, then hosed it off. Worked great!