I just brought my new Oday 25 home. It had been parked between some pine trees for a couple of years and was not covered. There is general debris and surface stains. I plan on pressure washing, but I wanted to ask if there are any special tips on cleaning up an old dirty fiberglass boat. There is some aligatoring of the gel-coat, but not a lot. With a limited budget, should I just paint this thing, or do I attempt to restore the gel-coat. This is a 25 year old boat and in pretty good shape considering her neglect over the last two years. I want her to look cute and last a long time, so I'll do what's best without getting overly anal. Looking for some ideas.
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Ben Allen
Boat Cleaning
Tim, The following is an article written by the late/great Gary "Doc" Hansen, for the Trailer Sailor Bulletin Board. His method will result in an execllent finish without having to get out the electric buffer. Ben by Gary “Doc” Hansen A lot of people have been concerned here lately with putting some of the shine back on the ole boat after it’s long winters rest. All you have to do is go to the boat store, or the car store, and you will see the multitude of products available to choose from. They are almost bewildering to the senses with so many different crèmes, pastes, and liquids all to accomplish the same thing… A pretty boat. For this end, I am only going to give you MY expression of how to “rub on… rub off”. My method has been given the test of time, over the past 20+ years. I’m sure that it’s not the best, but it might just be the easiest. It begins with the first bath of the season… I just gave our boat one, and the mud just ran off the hull… How do they get so dirty just sitting still? The way I wash is probably more aggressive than that of most. Most skippers that have labored over polishes or coats of wax will cringe at the notion, but I use Soft Scrub with Bleach, and a “green pad/sponge” combo. I do this for the reason that the surface must be completely clean and FREE of other coatings. I am working on the FIBERGLASS itself and not putting on an overcoat. I use a product called “Marine Penetrol” and it is designed to “penetrate” the glass and restore the natural shine. This is NOT a mirror finish. It is more of a shiny clean look, but to me… that is the way I like the boat to appear. Living in the southwest, the sun and UV is our biggest problem on any exposed surface. Oxidation is the ruin of the gel coat shine, and a wipe of the hand over the deck will produce a chalky substance in just a few months. The use of Marine Penetrol in this environment has given me the ability to recondition the surface each year. I carry the can with me at all times and just give it a wipe down when ever I have a few minutes. The product goes on right from the can, using an old Tee shirt for a rag. Extra product that isn’t absorbed in a few minutes is wiped away. (My only “caution” to you is not to set the can down if any product has ran down the side of the can… it can leave a “ring” where the lip of the can sits.) I like the way it looks on the “composite” cleats, and my painted non-skid areas. It even seems to improve the look of stainless… but its primary accomplishment is keeping my glass looking white and clean. If that is what you are looking to see, here is the method I have been using for years: Wash the entire boat with a mild soapy water and rinse well. Scrub down the deck and cockpit areas with the soft scrub with bleach, and the green pad. You want the surface to be as white and clean as you can achieve, then rinse well. Allow the boat to dry, and get a quart can of Marine Penetrol and read the directions on the can. You will notice that the first thing the can recommends is restoring the fiberglass. You simply wipe the product on… and wipe off any excess. Man, that’s it… stand back and see what you’ve done! Now, wasn’t that easy? Take a seat on top of the ice chest and admire your work with a nice cold drink… The job LOOKS LIKE it took all day, so you’ve got some spare time. Enjoy
Tim, The following is an article written by the late/great Gary "Doc" Hansen, for the Trailer Sailor Bulletin Board. His method will result in an execllent finish without having to get out the electric buffer. Ben by Gary “Doc” Hansen A lot of people have been concerned here lately with putting some of the shine back on the ole boat after it’s long winters rest. All you have to do is go to the boat store, or the car store, and you will see the multitude of products available to choose from. They are almost bewildering to the senses with so many different crèmes, pastes, and liquids all to accomplish the same thing… A pretty boat. For this end, I am only going to give you MY expression of how to “rub on… rub off”. My method has been given the test of time, over the past 20+ years. I’m sure that it’s not the best, but it might just be the easiest. It begins with the first bath of the season… I just gave our boat one, and the mud just ran off the hull… How do they get so dirty just sitting still? The way I wash is probably more aggressive than that of most. Most skippers that have labored over polishes or coats of wax will cringe at the notion, but I use Soft Scrub with Bleach, and a “green pad/sponge” combo. I do this for the reason that the surface must be completely clean and FREE of other coatings. I am working on the FIBERGLASS itself and not putting on an overcoat. I use a product called “Marine Penetrol” and it is designed to “penetrate” the glass and restore the natural shine. This is NOT a mirror finish. It is more of a shiny clean look, but to me… that is the way I like the boat to appear. Living in the southwest, the sun and UV is our biggest problem on any exposed surface. Oxidation is the ruin of the gel coat shine, and a wipe of the hand over the deck will produce a chalky substance in just a few months. The use of Marine Penetrol in this environment has given me the ability to recondition the surface each year. I carry the can with me at all times and just give it a wipe down when ever I have a few minutes. The product goes on right from the can, using an old Tee shirt for a rag. Extra product that isn’t absorbed in a few minutes is wiped away. (My only “caution” to you is not to set the can down if any product has ran down the side of the can… it can leave a “ring” where the lip of the can sits.) I like the way it looks on the “composite” cleats, and my painted non-skid areas. It even seems to improve the look of stainless… but its primary accomplishment is keeping my glass looking white and clean. If that is what you are looking to see, here is the method I have been using for years: Wash the entire boat with a mild soapy water and rinse well. Scrub down the deck and cockpit areas with the soft scrub with bleach, and the green pad. You want the surface to be as white and clean as you can achieve, then rinse well. Allow the boat to dry, and get a quart can of Marine Penetrol and read the directions on the can. You will notice that the first thing the can recommends is restoring the fiberglass. You simply wipe the product on… and wipe off any excess. Man, that’s it… stand back and see what you’ve done! Now, wasn’t that easy? Take a seat on top of the ice chest and admire your work with a nice cold drink… The job LOOKS LIKE it took all day, so you’ve got some spare time. Enjoy
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Dan Tobin
Be careful with a pressure washer
Tim, Before using a pressure washer, carefully inspect all of the through deck fittings to make sure they're sealed properly. Water is the greatest enemy to your balsa-cored deck, and the pressure washer could force water into places you don't want it. I'd avoid the washer all together - better to use a little elbow grease. I'm considering painting my deck as well, altough mine sounds like it is in worse shape than yours. I'd be interested in knowing how you make out. Good Luck! Dan
Tim, Before using a pressure washer, carefully inspect all of the through deck fittings to make sure they're sealed properly. Water is the greatest enemy to your balsa-cored deck, and the pressure washer could force water into places you don't want it. I'd avoid the washer all together - better to use a little elbow grease. I'm considering painting my deck as well, altough mine sounds like it is in worse shape than yours. I'd be interested in knowing how you make out. Good Luck! Dan
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Russ Marcks
I was fortunate in buying an O'Day 25 from an owner who was meticulous in it's maintenance; as am I. As your probably aware, there are hundreds of products avalable that claim to do what you ask. What I've found that works best is bathroom cleaner - but not just any kind. Recently, we purchased Bissell Disinfectant Bathroom cleaner and it is absolutely amazing. However, we bought it at Odd Lots (Big Lots?) which implies they may not be making it anymore. I've also had good luck with some Tilex solutions, but I can't remember for sure which worked best. I think it was the mildew remover solution. Also, these bathroom cleaners are not all the same, even within brand names, so you may have to experiment. Depending on how much effort you want to put forth, wet sanding works quite well. I've wet sanded along the gunwales with 400 through 1000 grit. Removes oxidation quite nicely. I wouldn't worry to much about the aligatoring of the Gel Coat if it isn't bad. I haven't had that problem on my hull, but I have on the deck, cockpit and gunwale areas. Once you have the hull where you want it, try New Glass II. I applied this two years ago and it is great. It's not a wax, but a restoration product. A bit expensive at $50 for a bottle, but I only used half of it, so I have another treatment yet. Plus, you can wax over it in later years. Most people at my marina think my boat is a late 80's model rather than a 78 because the hull shines so well. If you have teak toe rails, these are easy to remove and refinish (although you can do this in place). I used signature finish on these. Again, expensive. It cost me about $90 to do all the teak on mine, but it needs 'maintained' (not redone) only every 5 years or so (in the north) and every 3 years or so in the south. And it looks great.
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