Best way to clean yellow power cables

Steve S

Steve S

Well-Known Member
Jun 5, 2007
3,138
Northern IL.
Boat Info
2000 400 Sedan Bridge with twin CAT 3116's

2000 340 Sundancer - SOLD!
210 Monaco 1987 - SOLD!
Engines
Twin Caterpillar 3116's 350 HP straight drives
My power cables are getting pretty dirty. How can I clean them? Boat soap and water doesn’t work.
 
My cables were marking the boat they were so bad. They need to be replaced. So yesterday I hit them with acetone as a temp solution. It cleaned them but also softened them and made them sticky ... I then coated them in 303 which got rid of the sticky. I don’t think this is a solution but more of a temp fix
A lot of people recommend marine strip
 
Ive had excellent results cleaning them with a magic eraser pad soaked in a mild solution of Dawn dishwashing liquid. Once dry, then I use a rag soaked in Armor All to wipe them down. The Armor All also provides UV protection..
 
+1 for Marine strip
 
Semco Fender and Power Cord Cleaner is what I use. Mine is white - not yellow - and it makes it bright white again and not sticky like acetone. Very effortless with a quick wipe on a rag.
 
MEK followed by vinyl floor coating. The coating clings very well and they look like new again.

Don’t forget to put the floor coating on your new cords to protect them.
 
Orange Hand Cleaner works well.
 
Ours were marking the stern of the boat up too. I coiled each ours up in a bucket of hot soapy water and let them sit. Pulled them out slowly with a green scotch bright pad scrubbing the length of the cable. When they were dry I 303'd them and cleaned and greased the ends with terminal cleaner and dielectric grease. Nice and slick, still clean and gunk free 3 seasons later.
 
Garwood 003.jpg

Toluene works as well or better than any of the boat store cord cleaning products that cost much more. An experienced yacht captain shared this tip with me while we were cruising one year. It cleans as well as acetone without leaving the cords sticky. The fumes are potent so read the product label and follow the directions.
 
I coiled mine in a 5 gallon bucket with the ends hanging out and zip tied to the handle to keep them out of the water. I filled the bucket with water and put the same amount of laundry detergent in it that I would use to wash a load of laundry. I let it soak from about 5pm to about 3pm the next day. I pulled the cable out of the bucket trough a rag in my hand as I coiled it up on the dock. I used that rag to wipe clean the parts of the cable near the ends that were not submerged in the bucket. I connected the ends together to keep water out, and used a hose to rinse off the coil. It came out really clean. I did have to clean a few spots by hand with Comet to get them as clean as the rest of it, but only about 8-10".

sbw1 said:
View attachment 91329
Toluene works as well or better than any of the boat store cord cleaning products that cost much more. An experienced yacht captain shared this tip with me while we were cruising one year. It cleans as well as acetone without leaving the cords sticky. The fumes are potent so read the product label and follow the directions.
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Someone else told me about this once. I was going to try it with a bottle of dime store nail polish remover. The main ingredient in most of them is Toluene. They might even be 100% Toluene. I wonder if 1 bottle could do a 50' cord? Would certainly be faster than how I did it.
 
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skibum said:
Someone else told me about this once. I was going to try it with a bottle of dime store nail polish remover. The main ingredient in most of them is Toluene. They might even be 100% Toluene. I wonder if 1 bottle could do a 50' cord? Would certainly be faster than how I did it.
Click to expand...
Garwood 003.jpg

No. Polish remover is acetone. Toluene is completely different. It works as well as acetone but does not soften the cord and make it sticky. A half gallon can is cheap.
 
ttmott said:
This is what I use and also use it on my RIB.
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I'm gonna try that today. Will post before and after pics. After a week of being cooped up on the ranch doing post fire cleaning and mitigation I'm ready for a little boat time even if its a weekend of boat chores!
Carpe Diem
 
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