Those frustrating black dots

[Jan from Humboldt]

You know the ones I mean, those little @#$%^& black dots that are on the top of the rails and that will come out with a good pressure wash.

Is there any way to seal them up so they don't catch dirt?

I know it's a cosmetic thing but it bugs me. lol

I'm thinking of attempting a little test here with my boat, I figure I'll pressure wash a patch so it's clean and then take a heat gun and see if it will "flow" the surface and seal the pores... Your thoughts about this???

[Cincinnati]

You can always try to fill in the pores with wax, but then that'll kinda defeat half the purpose of having a plastic boat.

[Putershark]

After getting the boat all clean, trying using a dry lamb's wool pad on a buffer to help heat up the surface a little, and put a shine back on the hull then cover the boat. After getting my cover I now have a minimal battle with the black freckles

[Genelie]

as for me yeah it bugs me, but I do the pressure wash after the season..then she good to go next season.

[mario]

Do you use any special cleaners with the pressure wash? I've tried this with mine and could not get rid of these dots (especially around the helm). Any additional tips?

[Putershark]

In past postings (the site search tool should help with this also) I have see others mention Simple Green as being the weapon of choice for such cleaning duties. In my pressure washer though, I use a combo of just Liquid Dawn Soap and Salt Away Soap and that seems to work real well...

For the real tough jobs (not in the pressure washer of course) I have used Acetone (stay away from stickers) and make sure you put on some kind of gloves for that stuff can get a little rough on your hands.

Dave

[Genelie]

Originally Posted by mario

Do you use any special cleaners with the pressure wash? I've tried this with mine and could not get rid of these dots (especially around the helm). Any additional tips?

I have had a few stains be bit to get out. As for the soap I use..it was what ever those car wash place have. Down fall is that it cost me $ 10.00 by the time I am done. I need to invest in my own pressure washer.

[MolarBoater]

Jan, let's get to the real issue here. You must let go of the helm just a little, as captain of your vessel, you are required to go down with the ship (that's a good idea to buy unsinkable) but don't let the ship bring you down.
Now, those little bitty black dots actually don't hurt you one bit. I love mine. I would hate to have a plastic boat without them. In some way they probably offer some abrasion resistance and I was once told it keeps the static electricity down.
Now you know why sailors use to drink so much, they were not so worried about the ship sinking as they worried about how clean the deck was. Every picture I have seen of my dad on his destroyer, seems he was sunning, smoking or mopping. He still does all three and a little more!haha
Molar