Topsides Cleaning

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TheBishop

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Having got the boat ( Trader 50 ) to Plymouth after a year out of the water she is in need of some tlc.

I dont want to open the notorious teak cleaning thread, but would be interested in views on best way to get clean gelcoat hull and topsides and metal areas such as cleats, bollards, stanchions.

In particular, has anyone got a view on using the low power Karchers for cleaning gelcoat of grime, diesel fume etc?

The Bishop

PS if there are companies around Plymouth that offer this service reasonably I would be glad to hear of them
 
Polish them, or if the dirt is really engrained use a coarser rubbing compound first, then polish, then wax. She'll look fabulous. Lots of companies or individuals will do this for you for a fee, bound to be a few in Plymouth.
 
I use a low powered pressure spray. It cleans the decks well but has little effect on diesel fume stains.
 
I used my pressure washer on the gelcoat and the teak, with no apparent problems. The teak cleaned up a treat! I will have to brighten and oil, but a year's grime came off very nicely.

The non skid on the decks also cleaned-up nicely with the Karcher. I am going to cut and polish next week with the rotary machine. Hull done already befoer she went back into the water, and looked good.
 
I can highly recommend 3M products from my own experience. 'Perfect-it III Extra fine rubbing compound' (yellow cap) first followed by either 'Perfect-it Ultrafina SE Polish' (blue cap) or 'Polish Rosa' (pink cap) and Bob's your uncle.

The rubbing compound is perfect for getting rid of all the difficult stains. It takes a bit of time on the size of the boat you have, but we've found using the rubbing compound the only way for getting a properly clean gelcoat.

This is the second year we've used these products and we've been very happy with the results. The shine is brilliant and it seems to last longer than the previous products that we have used.

Sounds like a shopping channel plug, I know, but we have found them to be very good as long as you follow the instructions. I have no connection with 3M, btw.
 
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Do NOT use a pressure washer on teak!
Teak has two levels of grain and a pressure washer strips out the softer lower one and leaves you with something resembling a wooden comb for a deck - we have had to repair a few where owners have used pressure washers.
Use a stiff brush and one of the commercially available light acidic teak cleaners, it will come up like new.

As for polishing, the chaps who prep our boats for Southampton Boat Show tend to use Auto Glym Super Resin polish. Find a local wholesaler to the car valeting industry and buy it in bulk as it is hugely cheaper than from Halfords or the Chandlery.

For removing diesel stains (presumably on the transom) try a little mixture of bleach and some fairy liquid or similar, it cuts through the grime easily.

After that if you have found a car valeting wholesaler get hold of some traffic film remover, dilute it as it is very strong and using a garden sprayer apply this to the hull in sections and then pressure wash it off. Works a treat and gives a good surface to apply the polish.

My advice - get a local to do it..............so much easier on the back if not the wallet. There must be some Polish - that's POLE ISH - chaps in Plymouth who want to earn a few pounds.
 
Auto Glym and 3M specialise in trade products for car preparers, dealerships, valet companies etc., so their finishing polishes and waxes are designed to be very quick and easy to apply, fill minor scratches, and give that showroom finish. The downside is they don't last, and that comes straight from a senior boffin at 3M. Off the top of his head he suggested Meguiar's.

On the teak, i've found a nylon scrubbing pad used across the grain is the best, and doesn't create any ridges.
 
Nick_H said:
Auto Glym and 3M specialise in trade products for car preparers, dealerships, valet companies etc., so their finishing polishes and waxes are designed to be very quick and easy to apply, fill minor scratches, and give that showroom finish. The downside is they don't last, and that comes straight from a senior boffin at 3M. Off the top of his head he suggested Meguiar's.
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I thought about that and it would seem logical, except perhaps that it would be sort of counter productive for valet companies.

Still, in my experience 3M has been the best of the products that we have used (we used to use Autoglym for several years).

We've thought about hiring help for polishing but a reluctant nephew won't do as it takes certain dedication to deliver tlc, ie. get a proper finish. So we are yet to find a suitably motivated extra pair of hands. One could always turn to the professionals, of course.
 
Nick

me thinks perhaps the senior boffin at 3m has an axe to grind!

I have found that he Auto Glym products work incredibly well and certainly last the season.
As you will imagine our boats get washed off very often - perhaps it is the Super Resin polish that is better than the others in the range but it certainly works for us on both GRP and Steel boats.

Have a good Easter all - **** weather overall but maybe some boating or even polishing time on Sunday.........?
 
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We use Farecla rubbing compound (available in a range of grades) to Spring clean the gel coat followed by some Turtle wax. After a trip out i brush some plain old car wash and wax over the topsides and rinse off. Gets rid of the salt and dirt and always looks as good as new. The wash and wax comes in 5ltrs and you just add a cap full to a bucket of water, everything else is available at any decent auto refinishing supplier. Our boat is only 27' so we do it all by hand in a day.

A tube of Farecla or some T-Cut on the boat removes and marks during the season, very useful for removing the scuffs after running down the rubbing strakes of that Sunseeker. Again, followed by some Turtle wax to keep it nice and shiny.
 
I would second the use of traffic film remover but add that be carefull not to get it on your skin as it strong stuff.
 
Traffic film remover is just a strong degreasant, like many other wonder cleaners (Muc Off, Simple Green etc.) The problem is they also strip off any wax you have painstakingly put on, so the boat gets dirty again very quickly. The answer is to get rid of the surface oxidation by rubbing/polishing, then add a protective coating of wax, either by using a polish that has wax in it, or better still by a final coat of wax.

Having done that, degreasant is the last thing you want to use.
 
see my thread on Polish Polish Polish and you will probably find that descaling the hull will clear most grime, after that as said before gell will only shime if its flat so concentrate on flattening with a mild compound such as 3M fast cut only after that even think about polish.

Think of polish as protection rathr than making the boat shine!! I have compounded boats and had people standing in yards asking what polish has been used? answer being nothing yet. Gel shines when smooth whether its new or old.

Compound and a white pad and a machine at low RPM will do it every time. Watch for swirl marks o best finishing after this would be 3M finess-it as this will remove any swirls and polish at the same time.
 
alan006 said:
I would second the use of traffic film remover but add that be carefull not to get it on your skin as it strong stuff.
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It is great stuff when used neat for taking brake dust off wheels but as boats don't have wheels (open the door to posts to the contrary:))..............
NEVER use it neat on a car or as we are talking here, on a boat. Always dilute it before use then it does it's job with very little detriment to the underlying polish. But as Ocean Drive says, a good hand cut will always bring back a shine if it has gone too far.
So much good advice in this forum it will probably get a bid for a takeover from Wikipedia:D
 
Imperial One said:
It is great stuff when used neat for taking brake dust off wheels but as boats don't have wheels (open the door to posts to the contrary:))..............
N
Click to expand...

you were saying...


Sealegs.jpg


:rolleyes::rolleyes::)
 
Nick_H said:
The answer is to get rid of the surface oxidation by rubbing/polishing, then add a protective coating of wax, either by using a polish that has wax in it, or better still by a final coat of wax.
.
Click to expand...

Having seen your own boat t for the first time for a few weeks ....then if that is what has been done it is absolutely stunning ... a Brilliant (sic) job. A tribute to all.
 
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