Boat cleaning

[Putershark]

Originally Posted by NCBuck

I have always used Greased Lightning. SoftScrub for the tough spots. This was told to me by Carl Merritt and Dick at Merritt Marine to be the best cleaner. I have tried Simply Green and some of the others and I have always went back to the "Lightning". Of course once a year the pressure washer to take off the little black dots. Just my 2 cents

Spent some of the day yesterday doing some "Spring Cleaning" and this system worked the best! I also picked up a small scrub pad that was mounted on a handle to use with the Greased Lighting which worked out great for some dirty hand spots off the inside of the hull from some recent upgrade work.

I also use my small electric pressure washer on the hull and trailer each time I take mine out of the water (which uses a lot less water in the process) and that also helps keep it all nice and clean the rest of the year

[NCBuck]

Of course I use a scrub brush on a telescoping handle to work the "Lightning" into the surface of the boat. Once again the best stuff for plastic cleaning.

[nocturn]

Unless the "Lightning" is biodegradable, I will stick to Simple Green for the routine maintenance. Mind you...my boat is wet 24/7. I need something proven to not hurt what I cherish most....water.

[MolarBoater]

Really put some effort cleaning the boat this weekend. Once every couple years is fine. Used whitewall tire cleaner......didn't clean very well. Re-cleaned with SoftScrubs with Bleach, man the boat just sparkles. Sprayed on Wet n' Shine, and the boat is glossy and slick to touch. Just don't spray it on the deck!
Simple Green is ok but won't give you that white, sterile/disinfected surface like SoftScrubs with Bleach. I'm done experimenting.

[stingray502]

Thanks guys for all the cleaning tips. I bought both greased lightening and soft scrub. I thought I would try one now and one next time to compare. I tried the greased lightening this time. Wow, it works really good. There were some stains that were on from the past couple of washings that I figured were permanent, but they came off with the lightening and a little elbow grease. Took about 1.5 hours to do about 90% of the boat. I ran out of daylight. I used a sponge that had a little scrubb pad on the back side. Be care when using the scrubb pad to scrubb hard. It may cause some scratching. Thanks again for all of the advice. Like I said I will use the soft scrubb next time and I will post back and give my opinion. My help a newbie like me.

[MolarBoater]

Make sure it is Soft Scrubs with bleach, it cleans better than the regular formula but just don't let it sit on metal very long...or your skin.

[Big Bites]

Coastal Power Clean ( Autozone, Advance mics parts houses)- wet boat - spray cleaner - lightly scrub with soft extended handle brush - Spray off with hose and it will look like new!!!!!!!!

Don't spray on aluminum, poorly dyed amterial, enamel, laquer (cars etc.) paint surfaces.

[mark]

a nice clean brush and a squirt of lemon scented dawn dish soap and a liberal amount of ice cold newcastle works like a charm,havent had the black dot problem yet,maybe a few more newcastles................

[R.N.Y.C]

After taking off the cover I had some brown spot where it looked like the cover had discolored the plastic. Tried power wash no good. Wife had some Mr. Clean magic sponges I figured if they could take ink off walls and they worked like a charm even cleaned the seats nice. Just a thought.

[H Fuller]

The best and cheapist cleaner is Iron Out that you can purchase at Lowe's. Mix it, spray it, and use the pressure washer to remove the toughest of six months of river stains