vinyl see - through panels in canopy

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blueglass

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vinyl see - through panels in canopy

The vinyl window panels in my canopy have become stained and opaque and I have tried a variety of cleaners to no avail. the canopy is only 3 years old and only the forward facing ones are affected so seaspray may be a factor. Any ideas how to get them back into service?
 
Re: vinyl see - through panels in canopy

Several guesses here but from my experience

The forward facing ones are at a shallow angle
I rinsed with a fresh water hose even more frequently as they got dirty quickly.
My area had a lot of minerals in the water supply such as calcium ?, the water was stored in lime stone.

As the fresh water drys it leaves the minerals on the window, I wash again and the build up continues.

Remedy

dont wash as often
dry off afterwards

the minerals can be removed with vinegar, or lime scale remover but the covers will be weakened.
I would have new ones put in and look after them by cleaning them dry.

Another issue is poor cover design
If the windows touch stainless supports the stainless will rust and impregnate the plastic.

remedy

redesign cover so the zips touch the stainless
or
use 2 inch clear tape on the stainless.
 
Re: vinyl see - through panels in canopy

Thanks for your suggestions. Yes I can see how the discolouring has arisen. problem is we are on passage from south of France to Greece over the next 2 months and not staying anywhere long enough to sort out replacements. have already tried vinegar to no avail as I suspected mineral deposits to be part of the problem. no stainless steeel in contact anywhere.
not sure that even if I do eventually get them replaced I will be able to avoid it happening again. The staining first appeared after overwintering so I don't think washing too often was an issue, just rain and UV, which I can do nothing about.
I was hoping there would be a product on the market to combat what is surely a common problem
 
Re: vinyl see - through panels in canopy

Hi,

3m do a product called "3m Marine Clear Plastic Restorer" that I beleive is very good at buffing them back up. I haven't used it myself so I can't personally recommend it, but you could do some research.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en...PbeGS6JD8L4YSgl

I can however recommend a company from Felinheli in Wales called Theboatshed.

http://www.theboatshed.org.uk/

I have just last weekend had a new window stitched into the rear of the cover, and have also had 1 long zip replaced and another 3 zips repaired that were showing signs of the stitching coming away.

The full cost for repair was £70 inc VAT.

Very friendly and prompt service (less than 24hours).

(I have no connection with this business. but having used them for the first time recently after they was recommended to me, I am very happy with them)
 
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