I use softscrub and green scrub pad to remove stubborn stains, mainly bird stuff from the deck on our 34. Where the surface is flat it is not too bad to clean. On the nonskid surface it is extremely dificult to get into the low spots to remove this stuff. Here I use a stiff brush along with my pad. Last week we had a massive bird attack and it took me over four hrs. to complete this process. Anyone use a product that dissolves these stains, a better process, or is this just the way it is. Thanks. Craig
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No S--t!
Craig: West Marine has a product that is very good for cleaning the non-skid. I think that is called NON-SKID cleaner... Just wash the deck down, squirt the cleaner on, brush it in an let it set for several minutes. Scrub it again and rinse. This stuff has worked much better on our boat that the regular boat soap. Seems to get the bird stuff, tree sap and dirt out of the non-skid.
Craig: West Marine has a product that is very good for cleaning the non-skid. I think that is called NON-SKID cleaner... Just wash the deck down, squirt the cleaner on, brush it in an let it set for several minutes. Scrub it again and rinse. This stuff has worked much better on our boat that the regular boat soap. Seems to get the bird stuff, tree sap and dirt out of the non-skid.
Deck cleaning
Craig, I've been advised repeatedly that I should never use Softscrub on a fiberglass surface. It roughens up the surface, leaving minute scratches into which dirt can be trapped.
Craig, I've been advised repeatedly that I should never use Softscrub on a fiberglass surface. It roughens up the surface, leaving minute scratches into which dirt can be trapped.
One of the most effective ........................
........ and cheapest cleaners we have found is a household cleaner called "Vim". Contains a mild abrasive so I keep it away from the polished gel coat. Does a nice job on the rub rails as well. Regards, s/v Island Hunter
........ and cheapest cleaners we have found is a household cleaner called "Vim". Contains a mild abrasive so I keep it away from the polished gel coat. Does a nice job on the rub rails as well. Regards, s/v Island Hunter
Cleaning Stains & Bird Droppings
On my previous and present boat I very sparingly use a product called Westley's Bleche-White Whitewall tire cleaner I rinse it well afterward and put a coat of wax on the smooth gelcoat. I don't wax the non-skid. It seems to suck the stain right out of the gelcoat. It does a good job on my whitewall tires too !
On my previous and present boat I very sparingly use a product called Westley's Bleche-White Whitewall tire cleaner I rinse it well afterward and put a coat of wax on the smooth gelcoat. I don't wax the non-skid. It seems to suck the stain right out of the gelcoat. It does a good job on my whitewall tires too !
Good and cheap too
I was using various marine cleaners such as MaryKate Cleaner, MaryKate Inflatable Boat Cleaner, primarily on the grey-rubberlike (?plastic) rubrail, until I realized that these are all basically whitewall cleaners (you can tell by the aroma of the products), packaged, and of course marked up for the marine trade. "If it says Marine or Aircraft it's gotta be better and therefore cost more."
I was using various marine cleaners such as MaryKate Cleaner, MaryKate Inflatable Boat Cleaner, primarily on the grey-rubberlike (?plastic) rubrail, until I realized that these are all basically whitewall cleaners (you can tell by the aroma of the products), packaged, and of course marked up for the marine trade. "If it says Marine or Aircraft it's gotta be better and therefore cost more."
Not necessarily so, George...
Many cleaners have the some of the same ingredients, but aren't formulated the same, so if two cleaners have the same active ingredient, they can smell the same, but one can have other ingredients that can be harmful to materials it wasn't formulated to be used on. Many cleaners have added fragrance...and because there are only a limited number of fragrance ingredients that can be successfully combined with ingredients in cleaners (the wrong mix will produce just the opposite of "that fresh clean smell"), it's not uncommon for two entirely different products smell very similar. Most private labelers who do any volume at all don't just relabel another product...the labs who make their products make 'em to their specs. While we were developing bilge cleaners, out lab came up with a citrus based cleaner that was the best degreaser I'd ever seen...it just melted oil and grease that had been stuck to the bilge so long it was the consistency of chewing gum. Unfortunately it also "melted" light plastics and polyethylene. Great stuff for use in a machine shop...but not on a boat--especially not in a bilge where it could come in contact with a plastic water, holding or fuel tank. There are several citrus-based bilge cleaners on the marine market which look smell very much like it, but won't harm anything on a boat. I'm not saying it's a bad idea to look for cheaper household or industrial cleaners, only that there's a big difference between rub rails and white walls--and especially between gelcoat and white walls. Just be very careful with anything that isn't specifically formulated to use on the material you want to clean--and safe to use on anything else it might come in contact with.
Many cleaners have the some of the same ingredients, but aren't formulated the same, so if two cleaners have the same active ingredient, they can smell the same, but one can have other ingredients that can be harmful to materials it wasn't formulated to be used on. Many cleaners have added fragrance...and because there are only a limited number of fragrance ingredients that can be successfully combined with ingredients in cleaners (the wrong mix will produce just the opposite of "that fresh clean smell"), it's not uncommon for two entirely different products smell very similar. Most private labelers who do any volume at all don't just relabel another product...the labs who make their products make 'em to their specs. While we were developing bilge cleaners, out lab came up with a citrus based cleaner that was the best degreaser I'd ever seen...it just melted oil and grease that had been stuck to the bilge so long it was the consistency of chewing gum. Unfortunately it also "melted" light plastics and polyethylene. Great stuff for use in a machine shop...but not on a boat--especially not in a bilge where it could come in contact with a plastic water, holding or fuel tank. There are several citrus-based bilge cleaners on the marine market which look smell very much like it, but won't harm anything on a boat. I'm not saying it's a bad idea to look for cheaper household or industrial cleaners, only that there's a big difference between rub rails and white walls--and especially between gelcoat and white walls. Just be very careful with anything that isn't specifically formulated to use on the material you want to clean--and safe to use on anything else it might come in contact with.
But, Peggie,
I didn't want to mention it before but we've done spectrographic analysis on some of these cleaners and on white-wall cleaners, and they have the same signiture. Their similarities go way beyond their aroma.
I didn't want to mention it before but we've done spectrographic analysis on some of these cleaners and on white-wall cleaners, and they have the same signiture. Their similarities go way beyond their aroma.
Not all boat owners have spectrographs, George 
I'm only recommending that people be very careful when using products on their boats that seem to be alike, except one is cheaper. Sometimes they are...sometimes they aren't. I'm all for saving money on boat products too...All I'm saying is read the fine print, and try it first where it can't ruin anything--just in case it turns out be a cleaner that does a great job on rub rails, but stains gelcoat or etches aluminum. And I'd REALLY hate to be the boat owner who grabbed a "super dooper" citrus degreaser off the shelf at an auto parts store for half the price of a bilge cleaner that SEEMS to be the same, only to have it melt his holding tank!
I'm only recommending that people be very careful when using products on their boats that seem to be alike, except one is cheaper. Sometimes they are...sometimes they aren't. I'm all for saving money on boat products too...All I'm saying is read the fine print, and try it first where it can't ruin anything--just in case it turns out be a cleaner that does a great job on rub rails, but stains gelcoat or etches aluminum. And I'd REALLY hate to be the boat owner who grabbed a "super dooper" citrus degreaser off the shelf at an auto parts store for half the price of a bilge cleaner that SEEMS to be the same, only to have it melt his holding tank!
I agree 1000%, Peggie!
Many products on the market are multiple-labeled, though, according to the Target market. For example Starbright and 3M, etc, who have many automotive, marine, aviation, and RV products out there which are one and the same except for the label. But I'm all for free enterprise! <g> George
Many products on the market are multiple-labeled, though, according to the Target market. For example Starbright and 3M, etc, who have many automotive, marine, aviation, and RV products out there which are one and the same except for the label. But I'm all for free enterprise! <g> George
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