Are there any tricks to cleaning some neglected non-skid surfaces?...I have tried several things trying not to be too abrasive. Tried one of those magic erasers and it seemed to work pretty well. I have a few rust marks as well. Trying to be very careful. Does anyone have anything that works for them? Thanks for your responses...
Cleaning non-skid...
- Thread starter rap11
- Start date
If it's available down your way, try VIM cleaner. It has a mild abrasive which I've found to be harmless to gel coat.
Years ago, the thought from the local boat washers was that you NEVER use anything with any kind of abrasive on your gel coat. Being a "show me" kind of guy", I took a section of recently treated gel coat which had a pretty good mirror polish and abused the crap out of it. Firstly rubbed the hell out of it with straight VIM on a dry cloth. Next, rubbed the hell out of it with VIM on a wet cloth. Still had the mirror polish.
You might want to try this test on any other cleaner you buy with abrasive in it.
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if it is gel coat and NOT paint, on the non-skid surface, a pressure washer works the best.... but also a fine stainless brush and simple green works well (such as a soft grill brush, or better is a small stainless brush from a welding store). use easy off oven cleaner on the tough spots.
rust stains, any good acid will remove the rust stain within 2-3 minutes... some use oxolic acid, but i have muratic acid around all the time anyway, so that is what I use. use gloves and eye protection!
a fine stainless brush is NOT as abrasive as one might think, as long as its not running at high speed on a powertool, especially on the non skid. it works well.
and these solutions to tough cleaning problems may not be as "green" as some would like them to be, but there is a trade off between the amount of elbow grease that needs to be applied, and the flat out effectiveness of the cleaners..... I lean more towards efficiency, than otherwise
rust stains, any good acid will remove the rust stain within 2-3 minutes... some use oxolic acid, but i have muratic acid around all the time anyway, so that is what I use. use gloves and eye protection!
a fine stainless brush is NOT as abrasive as one might think, as long as its not running at high speed on a powertool, especially on the non skid. it works well.
and these solutions to tough cleaning problems may not be as "green" as some would like them to be, but there is a trade off between the amount of elbow grease that needs to be applied, and the flat out effectiveness of the cleaners..... I lean more towards efficiency, than otherwise
you can try Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. They are very mildly abrasive and have a very good detergent that dissolves a lot of the deck stains (it even does a good job on the spider's poop).
on our Cat we used Bar Keepers friend & a soft brush, and it worked great, then I went after all the S.S. and chrome, made her look sweet!
and then I put a few coats of mop n glow on and the non skid looked just like new for a whole year and washed up sweet on regular hose downs.
and then I put a few coats of mop n glow on and the non skid looked just like new for a whole year and washed up sweet on regular hose downs.
if it is gel coat and NOT paint, on the non-skid surface, a pressure washer works the best.... but also a fine stainless brush and simple green works well (such as a soft grill brush, or better is a small stainless brush from a welding store). use easy off oven cleaner on the tough spots.
rust stains, any good acid will remove the rust stain within 2-3 minutes... some use oxolic acid, but i have muratic acid around all the time anyway, so that is what I use. use gloves and eye protection!
a fine stainless brush is NOT as abrasive as one might think, as long as its not running at high speed on a powertool, especially on the non skid. it works well.
and these solutions to tough cleaning problems may not be as "green" as some would like them to be, but there is a trade off between the amount of elbow grease that needs to be applied, and the flat out effectiveness of the cleaners..... I lean more towards efficiency, than otherwise
Ahhh, you can bet that Muriatic Acid is not too "green" mate. Guess you don't keep your boat in a green marina, because Muriatic Acid is not very environmentally friendly. That acid by the way, is pure liquid & will run right off the deck & into the water, killing any fish that it comes in contact with.
As sailors, I think we need to be more thoughtful & less selfish. This about cleaning a deck stain after all. The magic eraser sounds like a lot more practical. Muriatic acid is used to burn concrete debris off brick surfaces, & is way overkill. BTW steel & brass rushes can cause staining to decks, as they cause a huge number of tiny scratches in the gel coat & can leave grains of metal in the surface that can & will rust.
When you think of the millions of boats that are floating out there in the great big "blue", its time that we all start thinking a little more green.
When I got it, the deck of my 78 C27 was completely chalked up, (and stained).
On a whim, (and because at the time I figured I had nothing to loose), I bought a cheap, ('cup type'), nylon brush to fit in a 90deg. angle drill. I then added a little water to the surface, and went to town.
The chalk just ran off the boat like milk, (this was in the yard JRowan!), and left the surface with an eggshell level finish without wiping out the non-skid.
After that I keep it coated with 'Nu Finish' polymer that maintains a pretty decent sheen.
That was four seasons ago, and to this day I still get comments on how great a shape my deck is in. Of course, I wouldn't have tried that on anything but completely chalked out gellcoat. But, I consider it to be one of my best/simplest accomplishments in restoring the look of my 36yr old boat!
On a whim, (and because at the time I figured I had nothing to loose), I bought a cheap, ('cup type'), nylon brush to fit in a 90deg. angle drill. I then added a little water to the surface, and went to town.
The chalk just ran off the boat like milk, (this was in the yard JRowan!
), and left the surface with an eggshell level finish without wiping out the non-skid.After that I keep it coated with 'Nu Finish' polymer that maintains a pretty decent sheen.
That was four seasons ago, and to this day I still get comments on how great a shape my deck is in. Of course, I wouldn't have tried that on anything but completely chalked out gellcoat. But, I consider it to be one of my best/simplest accomplishments in restoring the look of my 36yr old boat!