From several years experience in keeping a boat in the water all season I know that what started out as a clean boat becomes dirty with black marks in the non skid finish, black streaks down the cockpit sides, etc. This can get pretty bad after two months or so. Over the years I have tried many cleaning products. For my end of year cleanup I use Soft Scrub with Bleach as recommended by other Com Pac owners. But during the season when my boat is in the water I never found a suitable product until a sailing friend of mine told me about Simple Green. I bought a bottle at my local Home Depot and found it to be a wonderful thing. It is biodegradable and envirionmentally friendly. I used it on a sponge thwen rinsing it with lake water. It took off all the black dirt with little effort, smelled good and rinsed easily away.
Gil; Do the rangers at Nockamixon have any problem With using simple green? I have a cp 23 in section "L" at Nockamixon. I had a cp16 in section "D" last year about two slips up from you. The sailing has been pretty good so far this year.See you on the lake.
On white gelcoat, the best product I have found is oxalic acid. It works great to brighten things up and remove stains, and is not toxic. The cheapest source I have found for it is at a home improvement store, in the paint section, look for a product called "Dekswood". 1 gallon here costs $11, the same price as 1 quart costs at West Marine under a different name. Hose the decks down, squirt some of this stuff around, and then spread it with your boat brush. Rinse it clean after it has worked for a bit, and enjoy your fresh looking CP. :)
Hi Bill,
Congratulations on the upgrade! How can I spot you "at sea"? We are up there and sailing the "Steppinn' Up" just about every weekend and I see two 23's out on the lake. You gotta be one of them. Your CP16 must have been near "Cool Runnin" another CP15 a few slips up from me. Were you th guy I suggested keeping the motor in the water to avoid being hit last year? There are currently 7 CP16's in eyeball distance form mine.
Re the Simple Green, I have just "done it" twice with no fuss. I did not ask anyone as the answer would probably be "no" due to a lack of information. Obviously I don't want to do any harm to the wildlife, fish, etc. buy I did some checking and Simple Green is said to be biodegradable and totally non toxic. I have not seen any other cleaners state that.
It was pronounced kind of like whiten...but I didn't see it spelled. Can't find it. Its benefit is that it is a gel you wipe on, so the oxalic acid doesn't run and make uneven streaks.
Bruce -
The Dekswood product I mentioned above is "gel-ish" (hmm... new word? ;) ).
It's not as thick as hairstyling gel, it's more like pancake batter. If you wanted to apply it to a vertical surface, dipping a brush or sponge into it and then applying it that way works (I've done Epiphany's topsides that way).
It is a blue get...went on great, and no streaking...did a good job...I have to go over some spots again, which I expected...glad to know about the other product you mentioned too.
I wanted to add this piece of hard-won knowledge to this topic...
If you need to restore some shine to your old gelcoat -
DON'T USE PENETROL!!!
I did that earlier this year on a part of my boat to test the stuff out, and now every 2-4 weeks I have to bleach off the mildew that grows like *crazy* on the Penetroled areas. :(
3M Fiberglass Cleaner and Restorer seems to be a much better product. Once I finally get rid of all of the Penetrol residue, I'm going to do the whole boat with the 3M product...
A similar product made by Rain-X (for boats) does not work any where near as well as the 3M does.
Kurt, thanks for the info on Penetrol. I have some but have not used it on my new to me Com Pac. I have used the 3M product with integral rubbing compound and carnauba wax. I did read and think I agree that Carnauba molecules are relatively large and don't fill the glass surface very well. Carnauba also evaporates with sun and exposure to time and the elements. Recommended is one of the new Polymer auto waxes. The one step shine kind work very well and last much longer than natural waxes. One cannot put it on top of the Carnauba however, it should be used on clean and de-waxed gel coat. Let us know your results once you get rid of that pesky Penetrol.
At the same time does anyone have experience with the Signature Finish " Two part Honey Teak finish? It looks pretty good and I'm hoping it is better than Cetol. My boat is fully Cetol'd (sp) and my new Teak Bowsprit from Hutchins is virgin with synthetic teak oil. I think it's time to re-finish all the teak and I'd like advice from out there in Com Pac land. When I spoke to Hutch he commented synthetic teak oil was probably the simplest thing to use. I must admit I don't like the color of the synthetic oil, it is very clear. I don't really like the iron color of Cetol Marine that well either, it's close but a little off for my tastes.
Let me have it out there you experienced teakers.
Steve Paul
cp27/2
"IM PAUL SIVE"
Hi, for my external teak, I use a product called Semco. It paints on, and seeps into the wood. They have gold tone, natural, and clear...I alternate by the quart...paint it on, and let it dry, then go. You can put on more than one coat, and you can do it every so often. I usually do it at beginning of season, and then once more....
For internal, I was going to use Lemon Oil, but found Orange Oil instead; it is easy to put on. Smells nice...
thanks Bruce, I'll look it up (Semco). I'm using Aurora synthetic oil that is clear. That may be what I don't like about it. Golden color may look better. Idea is to keep it simple I think.
Steve
If you like Cetol, they have a new finish called Cetol Light that is supposedly less pigmented, but has all the other qualities of the original. Try it with the gloss finish. I think you'll like it.
I started using Cetol light last season ( April 2003 when we bought our CP16. (We use Sikens paint products at work and they make good stuff)The teak was in good shape and the dealer recommended Cetol. Great stuff! It goes on easy and really lasts. I did all my interior and exterior teak with it and the boat looks like new. I recoated the exterior again this year and after 5+ months in the water exposed to the elements the teak looked as good as it did at the beginning of the season. I will probably put another coat on before launch next season. I still use a good grade of spar varnish on the tiller and keep it covered when not in use -it looks like a piece of fine furniture.
I am also using a water base environmentally friendly bottom paint - Aquagard - and this stuff works very well. It lasts two years. We hauled out this year, hosed a few dirty areas down and the bottom looks clean and ready to go for next year.
I crewed on a racer with a 12 man crew. lots o' scuff marks and dirt was tracked on. We used the simple green, and I cannot imagine anything needing to work better. I think the only thing that would have made it work better was if someone else was cleaning it.
My 2 cents.
Don
Skip here uses automotive polishing compound inside, outside and all areas of the deck when the boat is in the water.
When she is on the trailer before launch I use Mother's car wash liquid soap. Than three applications of Mother's GOLD cleaner wax.
Even wax the bottom below the boot stripe, right over the anti-fouling brown paint from Com-Pac. But I never remove the wax. I let it sit on the part of the boat that is under the water. No little mucky~mucks grow on top of the wax.
Tolet bowel cleaner also works BUT NEVER ALLOW THIS STUFF TO GET NEAR VYNAL TAPE. Boot stripe, boat names, pin stripes, ect. Takes it right off.
Post as per Cetol use. I use the lighter color. I like it. :D Even without a clear coat. I did however clean the teak and rinse very well before getting around to applying this finish.
Re: oxalic acid / Dekswood
I'm about to go get some Dekswood to use on my new-to-me cp19. Any considerations with chemical reactions with metals? In other words, do I need to be careful around port lights, deck fittings, etc.? ...does it seem to dissolve bedding compound?
Also I'm working on freeing the Stainless rudder tension bolt from it's galvanic-ally corroded home in the Aluminum rudder housing. My plan is to soak it in liquid wrench for a few days, then apply heat to the aluminum if the liquid wrench doesn't do it.
Anyone have any experience or other advice on the matter!
Thanks all! Happy Summer!!!! :D
I have not seen a black mark yet the the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will not handle.
I went with a product calles poly-glo (http://www.oxford.net/~craiglud/poli2.htm) that seemed a little rich at first, but we followed the instrctions and it performed precisely as advertised; about four hours of non-strenuous cleaning/application time the first season (7-8 coats, wiped on, after a good cleaning with their product) and seasonal 1-2 coats added (about 1/2 hour), and the fiberglass looks about as good as a 20-year-old boat can look. Because it puts a layer of acylic on the hull, it makes between-coats cleanup very easy.
I bought a quart of Cetol light when I bought this boat three years ago, on the previous owner's recommendation and I haven't opened the quart yet. The brightwork has not needed a bit of work until this coming season. The tiller is varnished and covered up, but the grab rails and the winch platforms will need some TLC this spring ("Ella J" in in Maine, so boat maintenance season starts in May).
I'm going to try the magic eraser on the one thing I find really tough despite the poly-glo; lobster pot bouy paint. I have these bright threadlike traces where I plowed over a lobster bouy (hard not to do sometimes in my area) and I've found only a great deal of elbow grease and/or some kind of abrasive takes it off (I actually usually just leave it, its only noticable close up anyway).
Pete
<nevermind>
what about inherited sails that have mildew (or whatever the brown stains are) all over them?
is there any way to safely clean that out?
i'm thinking 'oxyclean' or that CLR product, or even just dye the sails a non-white color.
is there a way to clean? several people have said "No." but there's just got to be a way! there's just got to...
</nevermind>
found "sail washing (http://com-pacowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=617.0)" under the 'model: cp 16' category
Hi Richard,
Oxalic acid is a relatively mild acid using oxygen as the active atom. I know of no significant reaction with metals on your boat. I do suggest you scrub a little and then just rinse. I've left it on the gel coat for hours just to get all of the iron stain off the water line.
In our part of the country and in most the water line scum is mostly iron and calcium and magnesium salts that have dried. Lemon juice is great for these as is HCL or toilet bowl cleaner.
Oxalic acid is best used for getting iron stains out of many things especially clothes. It converts the non soluble form of iron to the soluble one and then you just wash it out. Same for gel coat. There is another gel coat stain remover that uses sodium flouride and it seems to be safe for fiberglass also. It is thick and blue comes in a small plastic jar. I think it's fiberglass stain remover.
Happy sailing,
Steve Paul
cp27/2 Nashville, IN
Also see the Boat and Hardware Modification :: Shiny Gelcoat Again (http://com-pacowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=689.msg3769#msg3769) thread