Cleaning the Epic Vinyl...

[phenom_1819]

I mentioned this in another post, and don't have a whole lot to add to what I've said already, but at least this way it is easier to find the info.

The vinyl on our Epics is much more textured than most other boats -- cleaning with a rag doesn't cut it.  When I bought my boat, I was all bummed out because of how UV-faded I thought my vinyl looked. It was very much an off-white color.  It wasn't until I brought out a brush and some Simple Green to clean off melted nail polish (yes, don't let the ladies sit on their hands on hot vinyl!) that I realized it wasn't UV-faded at all.

I've used three products with this method:  Simple Green, 409, and a SeaBolwd (I think that's the brand) vinyl cleaner and polisher.

I highly advise against using Simple Green unless you absolutely need to. The stuff is so potent it will literally eat away at the stitching.  I used the Simple Green to clean the nail polish -- but was sure to keep the product away from the stitching.

As for the 409 and the vinyl cleaner/polisher, they both worked pretty well.  I'd recommend using the vinyl cleaner/polisher, because 409 is pretty hard on interiors as well, though not as harsh as the Simple Green.

Anyway, I snagged a couple friends after skiing one day, and we went over the whole boat in about an hour, scrubbing the heck out of each of the vinyl panels.  There's really not much more to it than that -- scrub one panel, wipe the grime away, move onto the next.  I was concerned about using a heavy brush at first, but it didn't do anything bad to the vinyl at all, but gets all the crap out of the deeper grooves in the vinyl.  It was also nice to use the brush to get in-between the vinyl piping and the fiberglass (like above the passenger-side seat)...mine were pretty gross.

After I finished going over the whole boat, I went over it again with some 303 UV-protectant.  The stuff is expensive but well worth it.  You just wipe it on and it keeps the vinyl from sun-fade.

There you go. My back seat is brand new (stitching ripped out, like many others have had problems with), but you can't tell the difference in color between the brand-new vinyl and the old.   And my boat's in its 4th summer of use!  I was stoked.  

I'm going to do this at the beginning of each summer from now on and it should keep it looking new.

[krejciman]

thanks for the info, I will give it a try.  I have not heard of that '303', but I will look for it.  I also want a nice conditioner to keep the vinyl soft....

 

[blueplastic]

I use 3M Marine Vinyl Cleaner and Restorer to clean my boat's interior. The stuff costs $14 a pop but 3M is a great company so I'm sure it's safe and prevents sun damage.


http://multimedia.mmm.com/mws/mediawebserver.dyn?SSSSSSAzK12S4vTSevTSSSbK61V6666q-

[phenom_1819]

Second that -- I'm a huge fan of 3M products.  Everything they make does what it says... I think the only reason I used that other brand is because it was on sale.

What can I say...I'm cheap.  

[phenom_1819]

Hey Blueplastic -- I'm hijacking my own thread, but... whatever happened with your gel-coat damage?  Did you get it fixed? What did they do? Cost?  I hope it worked out alright...

[blueplastic]

Insurance fixed it for about $300. The boat repair shop grinded the gel coat down and repainted it. But the color did not match!

So, they ordered paint from another company and did it again. This time the color almost matched...still not perfect. But I decided it was good enough.

There was absolutely no structural damage, purely cosmetic. I think the cracks occurred from hitting something, maybe a dock.

[toyotafreak]

Cal, thanks for this thread. We're religious about removing all water spots each time we pull her out, but I've only washed the boat a couple times in two years. Using recommended-strength boat wash doesn't seem hardly worth it - the gelcoat's always beautiful, but the grim has been accumuating in the vinyl.

Working of this thread and a couple in wakeworld, I wen and bought the Star-Brite vinyl cleaner/restorer. After washing with boat wash, I cleaned the off-white vinyl with the Star Brite and a stiff plastic brush and/or terry towel. After hand-buffing the crap off, I treated with 303 and called it good. It's amazingly clean looking now - this is how I rememebr it when we picked her up in Dallas.


Layed the boat cover down flat on the driveway and then proceeded to scrub it with a push broom and boat wash water. Scrub scrub rinse rinse, holy shiz, my back is on the fritz. Due to the heavy rains this year and a couple weeks of innatentiveness, there were mold forests on the bow and cockpit areas of the cover that wouldn't simply rinse off. Scrubbed both sides well, rinsed the crap out of it and then hung it to dry on a MacGuyver clothesline. The cover is so bright blue now iand seems 50 pounds lighter.

Found a really ugly vinyl problem in the seams of the starboard aft cushion. Found many small cuts, and of course there's the cigarette burn my neigbors gave the v-drive cover last year - sounds like it's about time to get the vinyl repair dude out.

[Rambling Wreck]

Good to hear the recommendations on the 3M products. They all sound good but they are pricey.

I can vouch for Star-Brite and Aerospace 303. The back end of my pontoon, at the swim ladder, stays wet from the kids going in and out. Major mold/moldew issue. I took the recommendation of the marine store guy and used the Star-Brite carpet cleaner and the Mold/Mildew Cleaner. Worked like a champ. I ran out of the mold/mildew cleaner so my wife picked up a bottle of Tilex while at a store. The mold laughed when it saw me approach. I think I fertilized it as it got bigger, greener and uglier before my eyes. The experience made a believer out of me. I also recently used Star-Brite Marine Polish with Teflon on my Waverunner. The hull is slicker than baby poop. If it lasts AND truly protects from UV damage, I am impressed. (I am thinking about it for my cars - any thoughts?) To me, UV protection is the key to keeping our toys in good shape. I will trade off any other feature for superior UV protection.

The interior  of my brother-in-law's 12 yr. old boat looks brand new. While he really puts forth effort to keep his boat looking good, he swears by the 303 so I have been using it on everything now (boats, cars, wife, etc.) The marine products all seem to cost more than comparable auto products but  I am beginning to believe they truly are formulated differently and are just better. One exception I have to mention is the interior dressing Breakawaydaze had on the Epic when I got it from him. The vinyl looked, felt and smelled like a luxury car on the showroom floor. However, he has access to products we cannot get off the shelf so that was a rare treat.

As to the Star-Brite products, the labels are lousy and make them look cheap but I have found them to work well. Don't judge a book by the cover!