Dirty Vinyl

Whats the best cleaning solution that will not harm the threads? Vinyl is very dirty.
Thanks Mike

This won't work really well on the threads, but it does amazing everywhere else, and it does fair on the threads.   Those magic erasers made by Mr. Clean, they are in a blue box. It's surely not the only answer. Ace hardware also sells "chem sponges" which are used dry, those will surprise you at the amount of grime it will lift off.
They seem to be fine to use, no damage I can tell.

I didn't believe it until I saw my wife use it. She does use the dollar store brand too. I like them too because they just need to be wet, and they are easy to store on the boat.

I'll upload some pics later this evening, before and after.

TX Foilhead wrote: Nooooo! Stay away from the magic eraser, it a very last resort, there are abrasives in them that will take the protective layer off of the viynal.

I agree.

Here are some promised pics. Not the best quality, I had a computer crash and these are the pics I could find on my wifes phone. The last pic is during the "initial" clean up. Now the material is nearly new looking.



You are very right about the danger of the "magic eraser". It WILL sandpaper through the vinyl.



I was faced with an extreme case and the dirtiest pic above isn't sowing how dirty it really was. And when I get the other puter back I have many more pics.   My wife and I were very careful, and our clean up admittedly went more slowly than I would have liked.

Thanks, is yours open? I tried to look in the diary, but couldn't tell.

Yeah, I actually bought a few of the products from West Marine, and I thought they were ok, at the best. I don't remember the products though. Like I said, the pictures do not show the real scope. Honestly, when I get the other pictures you will see. yikes.

The mold though, the sun can take care of alot of that, if you have the patience.

When I bought the boat I was prepared to replace all the inside. Really I thought I was going to have a stringer, carpet, etc. It was so bad I really could not tell the difference between grey and white. Instead, the motor was just weak, and is now being pulled.

So if anyone decides to use them, do so very carefully. The worst spot I had was the drivers seat, and near the bottom there is a small area where the eraser did take a small amount of "finish" off the bottom. If I remember the erasers are composed of some sort of glass fibers.
She may have used them more as one step in the process.

NG,
One comment here - winter storage without ventilation to the boat inside is bad for mold especially it it's put away wet. Shrink wrapping is the worst. Some yards will offer a shrink wrap with optional vents - better but still will trap moisture.

8122pbrainard wrote: NG, One comment here - winter storage without ventilation to the boat inside is bad for mold especially it it's put away wet. Shrink wrapping is the worst. Some yards will offer a shrink wrap with optional vents - better but still will trap moisture.

Yeah, that is funny. I bought a boat which had a cover on, with water on the cover, stored it indoors until I was able to start looking into it, with a cover on, yep I had mold.

Laquer thinner

New skinns

GlassSeeker wrote: totally awesome cleaner degreaser dollar store 1.00 spray on use brush wipe off ...totally awesome!

Ditto! Aptly named. The stuff works.

This place has good prices on babes