Don't ever use a 0 degree nozzle on fiberglass, even if it spins. You will end up with lots of divits. I usually use a 25 degree nozzle. It can cause damage to wood, fiberglass and bedding compound. I did some damage to a backyard deck once and had to "sand" the entire thing with the power washer to make it all match. Power washers are great but they must be used with great care on boat decks
What strength power washer.
- Thread starter DAVA390
- Start date
A whole lot of home decks have been ruined by power washing. Contractors like it because it is fast, but it blows the fibers apart. That's not how you clean a deck.
Yeah it ate through half of the wood, leaving the rubber ‘caulking’ standing proud.
I've been using this little $75 power washer for two years. It's not the right thing to clean a boat's bottom but ideal for fiberglass nonskid, scuppers, and the bimini. I keep it away from any deck penetrations. It's small enough to store in a milk crate with its hoses, uses only 1.4 gal/min so runs off the boats fresh waster system, and gives the inverter no problem. Has a three year replacement warranty which seems pretty amazing for $75. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MUDYWI2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Ouch!
Even if a relatively stiff brush is used the bristles will erode the soft parts of the grain if you scrub with the grain. I was taught to scrub across the grain and never even consider power washing as an option.
On that 47.7, I don’t see how the seam caulking managed to survive.
They don’t lay this down in the traditional manner. It’s more like a mat, with the wood inlaid to a rubber base with the caulking built into it. It probably takes than 1/10 of the time to install it, and it’s much less likely to leak.
I own two pressure washers that I use for bottom cleaning only. One is a 5.2 HP Honda powered low volume (2.4 GPM) high pressure (3200 PSI) unit. It works ok. I also own a large Northern Tool pressure washer with a massive CAT pump and a Honda 13HP engine. It is 200PSI less, at 3000 PSI, but moves 2.1 GPM more water, at 4.5 GPM, than the 3200 PSI one does.. The volume of water it moves cuts my bottom cleaning almost in half when compared to the 3200 PSI pressure washer.. As I learned it is not always about the pressure but also how much water it can move.
Boat yards typically powerwash a bottom when it's hauled out. If a pressure washer can destroy wood I'm guessing it can harm the fibers of sunbrella
I also removed some gelcoat with a heavy handed pressure washer once