maintenance

[Chuck]

Hi, Chuck here.  Since I got my boat later and had to do hull repairs, I just sailed and camped on her, but am now looking for good solid information on fibreglass restoration.  The boat is 2001, but sat exposed in the Georgia sun too long without wax sand cleaner.  What is a good cleaner to get that chalky off white film off?  Also, the Georgia stickers off the hull.  I don't know much about fibreglass and don't want to use a remover that will attack it.  The last thing is teakrestorer.  The teak on this boat has never been covered.  I am thinking of using cetol teak varnish, on the exterior wood except the tiller, which will be gloss varnish as it is now.  I know everybody has their own ideas, but I would like to hear lots of them if you don't mind.  Thanks,  Chuck

[nies]

Chuck, hair dryer and razor blade works great for removing stickers......Phil

[Bob23]

Chuck:
   I personally use varnish on all exterior teak but I do admit to being a gloss finish nut. With that in mind, I use Cetol (teak color) on some other boats and love the ease of application and maintenance. It holds up well and, best of all, requires no sanding between coats!
   Somebody makes a plastic razor blade type tool that will not scratch the glass. I read about it in Practical Sailor magazine a while back. But, if you're careful, Nies method works fine.
   There really is no shortcut to a glossy hull except hard work. Wash it first with a good cleaner then, I suggest, using 3M fiberglass cleaner or if it's really bad, a rubbing compound. Investing in a good polisher is a must. There was some discussion about this here on the site recently.
   For a final wax, I use 3M liquid wax. I've had good results, not too hard to work with, and seems to last well up here at 40 degrees north lattitude.
Bob23 in NJ

[brackish]

Chuck, I recently had to remove registration numbers from Alabama and replace with Mississippi.  Additionally I had to remove one of those stickers that the state agency puts on the boat when they give you a complimentary safety inspection.  I used something called GOO GONE, an adhesive remover and carefully used a single edged razor blade.  Whatever you use for removal, be prepared that the color under the stickers will be different due to differential UV exposure.

My teak was finished with Waterlox Marine, both interior and exterior, by the PO.  I like the interior fine, however, the exterior is difficult to repair and maintain with any hard finish in my view.  I think I'm going to let it go back to bare, then do what I've always done, periodically use a cleaner, brightener, neutralizer and then an oil.  Yes, it has to be done every three or four months, but I always enjoyed that pleasant hour or so spent doing it.  Additionally, I think it shows the natural wood grain the best.

[newt]

Hate to sound like a broken record:
Wood- Cetol stained first couple of coats, then clear later.
Fiberglass- unless your going to paint it- remover then polish.

[kchunk]

Removing the stickers, try a little heat. Hair dryer or heat gun works. If glue residue is left behind, WD-40 works great!

Cleaning I've tried a couple different things, but have had the best results with Star brite non-skid deck cleaner:



It's cheap enough and easy enough to use every couple months. It leaves a PTEF coating that really brightens up the deck and non-skid and it's not slippery. It won't remove oxidation, but I'd try it first.

Top sides, I have no suggestion. Mine is over due for a wash and wax. I've been putting it off for too long.

Teak: Varnish looks great! But it is a lot of work and maintenance. If you're going to keep up the maintenance, varnish it. If you're not prepared to maintain its religiously though, then do something else. If the varnish is not maintained is really looks like crap!

[Salty19]

Yep...all good suggestions.

Teak--I am in process of doing this now.  I used teak restorer and teak brightener (starbrite brand).  Then I applied two teak oil coatings and let them soak in for a week.  Then teak sealer-both oil and sealer are Starbrite brand.  Then Cetol natural teak (3 coats) . Then Minwax Helmsman Spar Varnish (I'm on coat #7 right now).  Should last for years, and (tooting my horn), the wood looks as good as my formal dining room table if not better.   

You can get away with just using restorer, then brightener (rinse then let dry)..then Cetol.  But I think you'll find that adding varnish over the cetol makes the wood look fantastic plus great protection. It's not a lot more effort when you already have the wood work off.

Chaulky gelcoat?  If you rub your finger against the hull and your finger is white...I don't see how you can get that off without wetsanding it down with 800 or 1000 grit sandpaper.  Then you're looking at a lot of polishing ahead of you (check out the tips  area, there is a recent posting on this subject).  There may be some chemicals that will remove the chaulkiness. I just don't know what that chemical is.  Any cleaner you buy will not take it off.  But the Mr. Clean magic eraser may cut some of it??

Be wary of any chemical stripper, acetone, MEK, Paint cleaner or any general solvent.  If you think you need them, you're probably using the wrong cleaner.  For example, boat soap is very mild whereas "Hull cleaner" is Oxylic (sp?) acid based and quite strong (you have to wear acid gloves).   For general dirt/black streaks/mildew...Bar Keepers friend and/or SoftScrub with bleach is what I use.

The blow dryer and razor blade (with a steep angle) will absolutely remove stickers.  Keep the heat moving and pull the sticker at an angle towards where you still need to remove the sticker.  Just did this too...but I cheated and used a little "Goo Gone" on the top edge of the sticker before heating. The WD-40 kchunk mentions is a very good substitute for Goo Gone.  Remove residue with rubbing alcohol. 

That different color brackish mentioned is for real. My hull is teal colored..well underneath the stickers it was. It was a huge contrast to what was exposed.  After wetsanding, compounding, and polishing you cannot see where the stickers were.