Can we talk about cleaning/polishing for a second?

[simcole]

I had a 1997 Godfrey Hurricane deck boat that that I bought at the beginning of the season. I need to clean her up before I put her away. It's off white fiberglass and it has dirt stains on it. Below the metal snaps for the cover it has slight dis-coloration from rain etc. She is slightly oxidized as well. I bought a variable speed orbital buffer and 3m oxidation polish which has a slight grit to it. I keep hearing about Tri Sodium Phosphate? Do I need to wash her good before I start the polish or will the grit take off everything? After the initial polish I need to get a plain no grit wax right? I've looked through the first 10 pages of this sub forum and don't see anything on this. Can we get a quick sticky in the sub forum FAQ? There isn't anything there either.

I was also told that for "Hull cleaner" I should just use either muratic acid or toilet bowl cleaner. Is this true?

How about Magic Eraser for the inside of the boat like the captains console etc? Does that hurt anything? Wax after that?

 

[GWPSR]

Re: Can we talk about cleaning/polishing for a second?

Before I would squirt paid-for compound on the buffer pad, I'd make sure every other potential abrasive or slime was off the hull. No sense in defeating the purpose of the compound.

TSP (or more likely one of the TSP clones now used that don't contain phosphate) would work fine, as would any good cleaning compound that will cut grease or slime, and remove wax buildup.

As for waxing afterwards, if this is the 3M one-step oxidation remover, it contains wax.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Can we talk about cleaning/polishing for a second?

You should Always clean the boat with a good degreaser and dewaxer before attempting to do any deoxidation or polishing work. This will ensure that you don't Drive contaminants deep into the pores of the gelcoat. Specific products have specific insrtuctions on how to apply. What needs to be done to the console?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Can we talk about cleaning/polishing for a second?

Your shortest route to cleaning is to use the acid (VERY Carefully) and it will eat or loosen most of the grime. Combine that with some elbow grease and it should be ready for polishing. The acid has the potential for the highest return on your work.

The polishing will really be gauged on how much oxidation you have. I would suggest you attack the whole hull with acid and start your polishing on the transom. If you do only a portion of the side of a hull and get sidetracked/distracted (Oh look a squirrel) it will not look like crap.