Cleaning non-slip GRP deck

[Shiver Metimbers]

My non-slip GRP decks have heavy staining, gull droppings, tea, coffee etc. I've tried black Harpic, cillit, and Mr muscle to no avail, the stains are still there. Has anyone had success with anything else? I have read that Brick Cleaner works? Thanks in advance.

 

[jellyellie]

I would put money on Cif working. It's our wonder-cleaner. It does have a little bit of bleach in though so it may lighten them a tad, but it'll definitely work!

 

[Boat44]

Cliff will work, also staybrite has a deck cleaner for nonskip decks which we also us, works very well.

 

[AIDY]

mild solution of oxalic or something with oxalic from your local rip-off boat shop should work.

 

[ReneJK]

mild solution of oxalic or something with oxalic from your local rip-off boat shop should work.

yup, works fantastic !

 

[AIDY]

yup, works fantastic !

only problem is your're end up doing the complete deck !

 

[carise]

Brick cleaner is incredibly powerful and I use it for cleaning oil stains off the drive, and it's good for cleaning my alloys, but I would be wary of putting it near the boat- be very careful and test in a non-critical area!!!

A product that I find really good is RTFR (Road traffic film remover) and it's used by the commercial truck cleaners- quite cheap and does the job imho- spray on - leave- light rubbing for stubborn stains- rinse off. It won't get all the really ingrained crud off, but will remove just about everything else.

My non-slip GRP decks have heavy staining, gull droppings, tea, coffee etc. I've tried black Harpic, cillit, and Mr muscle to no avail, the stains are still there. Has anyone had success with anything else? I have read that Brick Cleaner works? Thanks in advance.

 

[Ubergeekian]

My non-slip GRP decks have heavy staining, gull droppings, tea, coffee etc. I've tried black Harpic, cillit, and Mr muscle to no avail, the stains are still there. Has anyone had success with anything else?.

What about a BFO pressure washer?

 

[richardbrennan]

I used to suffer very badly from bird droppings until the marina got the hawk man in which has improved matters considerably. Most of the droppings were from starlings and they left very bad stains especially in the blackberry season. I found the only thing that was effective was Milton or similar products.

 

[JasonClark]

Brick cleaner is incredibly powerful and I use it for cleaning oil stains off the drive, and it's good for cleaning my alloys, but I would be wary of putting it near the boat- be very careful and test in a non-critical area!!!

A product that I find really good is RTFR (Road traffic film remover) and it's used by the commercial truck cleaners- quite cheap and does the job imho- spray on - leave- light rubbing for stubborn stains- rinse off. It won't get all the really ingrained crud off, but will remove just about everything else.

I'll second that ^^^.i have had some experience of using brick cleaner, on bricks though, you can watch it bubble away and totally destroy all in its path. incredibly powerful acid, like above says i would be extremly dubious about using that on my or anyone elses boat even more so if boat is GRP

 

[planteater]

I've used Screwfix patio cleaner mixed with wallpaper paste to clean up (very) neglected topsides and it worked a treat. Not sure I'd use it on Treadmaster or similar as that is a cork/rubber mixture rather than a tough plastic.

The active ingredient in patio cleaner is hydrochloric acid which is much stronger then Oxalic.

 

[VicS]

I've used Screwfix patio cleaner ............The active ingredient in patio cleaner is hydrochloric acid

Screwfix sell three patio cleaners. Two contain hydrochloric acid, the other contains caustic soda.
Be sure to read the relevant data sheet in order to get what you want.

Similarly not all brick cleaners are based on hydrochloric acid.

For removal of stains caused by partly digested blackberries and elderberries I would first try "CIF with Bleach", "Flash spray with Bleach" or even some diluted hypochlorite bleach. Cillit Bang Lime and Grime should remove any deposits of "bird lime". Stronger acid based cleaners as a last resort.

 

[pappaecho]

Brick cleare is essentially hydrochloric acid. I certainly wont have any effect on Polyester resin or glass but may affect the pigments and cause colour change. Best avoided unless you know otherwise!

 

[VicS]

Brick clearer is essentially hydrochloric acid

Not always ... see my (edited) earlier post and the relevant data sheets.

 

[David_Jersey]

Rust staining on decks? - same ideas?..........lets pretend "someone" didn't sweep up quite 100% after cutting off a galvanised shackle................

 

[Trundlebug]

Many posts on this quite regularly, worth searching the forum.

The general concensus is, use oxalic acid, available cheaply from some pharmacists, and mix with wallpaper paste.

Alternatively buy Y10 from the chandleries, it's the same thing and very effective.

Other acids work on many / most stains, but not all and may harm the gelcoat.
Oxalic acid is effective on all stains as far as I know and doesn't harm the gelcoat.