Battery isolator & cleaning leaf sap stains from Gel coat

[markosy]

Could anyone post advice on the following
1- A decent make/model for a battery isolator switch,I have had two fail this season

2- A suitable cleaner for removing leaf sap stains from the Gelcoat, the boat was left under trees and has quite a few sap stains that are proving difficult to remove

 

[VicS]

Dont know about the battery isolator. Vetus gear always looks good.

Someone will no doubt suggest oxalic acid for the stains. I dont know about that either. It seems to work with most things but I'm doubtful about this one. A domestic product containing a little chlorine bleach will get rid of them I am sure. "Flash spray with bleach" is what I would try.

 

[CPD]

1. Blue-sea, blue something.
2. Oxalic acid ?

 

[JKay]

No 2 "CIF"

No don't catch it /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Buy it from the supermarket and use on the leaf stains

Cheers Joe

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
No don't catch it

[/ QUOTE ] Thats syph.

Some people do not like using CIF because it is abrasive. If the stains have been absorbed into the gelcoat it won't work but "Cif with bleach" will work as well as "Flash with bleach"

[ QUOTE ]
Buy it from the supermarket

[/ QUOTE ] Buy it .... No don't buy it use what ever similar products that you can pinch from the kitchen or bathroom cupboard!

 

[Piers]

Agreed - do not use any abrasive on GRP. It will leave minute scratches which will trap dirt and make for an ever increasing problem. I remove stains using acetone, or 3M fibreglass restorer and wax. Never been beaten. But again, not CIF, Ajax, T-cut, or even Moores (spelling?)

 

[pvb]

As you've found, it's important to get a good quality battery isolator switch. BEP Marine and Blue Sea Systems both produce some excellent switches - there's a selection on the JG Tech website at keen prices (including delivery).

My wife used to park her car at work somewhere near to a sappy tree, and I tried everything to get the resultant sticky deposits off the paintwork. In the end, the one thing which worked was nail polish remover.

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
My wife used to park her car ........ In the end, the one thing which worked was nail polish remover.


[/ QUOTE ] You are very lucky you did not remove the paint as well! I would not recommend anyone to use nail varnish remover on the car paintwork. Grp gel coat is however a bit more resistant to solvents.

 

[pvb]

[ QUOTE ]
You are very lucky you did not remove the paint as well!

[/ QUOTE ]Strangely, Vic, there was never any hint of paint removal. I've used nail polish remover for about 10 years on cars (5 years on each of 2 Mercs she's had), both cars were black, so paint removal would have been evident on the kitchen paper I use for application.

 

[FrankieJ]

"of 2 Mercs she's had), both cars were black, so paint removal would have been evident on the kitchen paper I use for application."

Probably because the Mercs had a zillion coats of clear lacquer over the base colour and you wouldn't see that on the kitchen paper.

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
Probably because the Mercs had a zillion coats of clear lacquer

[/ QUOTE ] Or that Mercs use a two component paint system (I think BMW do/did)that's resistant to solvents.
Or that Mrs PVB uses a superior nail varnish remover containing less aggressive solvents

 

[macd]

Funny that...recommendations for both acetone and nail varnish remover. Acetone is the principle ingredient of most nail varnish removers. It's also what you use to e.g. clean grp resin off tools, so probably wise to use it on gel coat with care and rinse thoroughly afterwards.
I gather there are acetone-free nail varnish removers although I prefer the natural look, myself, so I'm no expert on how well they work. For total convenience with an added fragrance, Google tells me there are even such things as citrus-scented acetone-free nail varnish remover wipes. Not sure they'd work as battery isolators, though. For that I'll stick with my old Perko, which just keeps doing an aroma-free job. When you can smell it, it's knackered.

 

[pvb]

[ QUOTE ]
Probably because the Mercs had a zillion coats of clear lacquer over the base colour and you wouldn't see that on the kitchen paper.

[/ QUOTE ]Both were plain black (ie not metallic), not sure whether they got clear lacquer treatment.

 

[pvb]

[ QUOTE ]
Or that Mrs PVB uses a superior nail varnish remover containing less aggressive solvents

[/ QUOTE ]I can assure you, Vic, that Mrs pvb wouldn't let me use any of her lotions & potions on the car! I just use cheapo supermarket stuff.