Getting sunscreen off of glass?

M

minty fresh

New Member
Feb 15, 2011
48
Sacramento CA
Boat Info
1988 Sea Ray Seville 18'
1991 Dodge W250, Cummins, 5 spd
Engines
4.3L 175hp L2 Mercruiser Alpha 1
Hey all, we use the sunscreen in a spray can and I'm having a problem with it getting on the glass and not coming off. I have tried windex, invisible glass, and vinegar, and all they do is smear the droplets around. I have also noticed that it is getting on the whole interior and leaving white-ish specs. Has anyone else had this problem and found something to get it off? I have suggested we switch back to lotion sunscreen, but that doesn't get the mess off of my windows that's already there. Any help?
Travis..
 
I would switch back to lotion, Travis. We use the spray stuff on the kids at the dock away from any of the boats and lotion for the adults. Once we're on the water we use lotion for re-applying on the kids throughout the day.
 
Some sunscreen eats plastic and will leave nasty stains. If it dried on in the sun it may be difficult to impossible to remove. Did you try to scrape it off the glass with a clean new razor? If the glass is coated the marks may not come out. I had sunscreen ruin a visor on an expensive helmet and also eat thru a pair of sunglasses. I try to avoid the chemical stuff and use zinc oxide titanium dioxide sunscreens as they are less toxic. They will leave white marks on things but I don't have too much trouble cleaning it up.
 
I'll try the magic eraser, didn't think about that. The stuff just smears around, so I don't think a razor blade will help. Any other suggestions other than switching sunscreen? I really want to get this crap off, the port side window is damn near opaque :lol:
Travis..
 
i recently spent many hours removing all of the vinyl interior of my boat to recolor it with SEM Marine Vinyl Coating...over the years the vinyl had become spotted with mold and mildew stains that could not be removed (trust me i tried everything)...the PO of my boat did not keep it as clean as i would have liked so the stains on the vinyl were the result....this was definetly a 'labor of love' since it was during the hottest part of our summer in the SE with temps around 100*F and the heat index around 110...the results were very good and the vinyl is presentable now.....where am i going with this?....yep, you guessed it....the first time we used the boat after recoloring the interior my wife decided to use some spray sunscreen...some of the spray got onto my 'new' seats and left little brown stain marks that will not come off....i am going to have to re-spray the areas that got stained...after this happened i did considerable research on the net and found out that many (if not most) spray suncreens can stain vinyl and can even stain gelcoat...i even read some posts that stated the spray suncreen etched their windows which is what you may be experiencing....now the only sunscreen allowed on my boat is in lotion form...i am thinking the propellant used in the spary sunscreen is the culprit but i am not sure...
 
^^Good to know, the wife loves the stuff but I really don't want it used on the boat anymore. Especially since I noticed the speckles on the vinyl. Gonna try the magic eraser though, hopefully it works.
Travis..
 
I am going to toss all the spray cans of sunscreen we have and that is the end of that.

Thanks for the update
 
When we purchased our boat, the PO warned us about the spray on stuff. He said his buddy damaged the upholstery on his new high end boat with little specs in the vinyl. We won't even allow it around our boat. It's amazing though how many people are applying the stuff at the ramp!

As far as the glass goes, don't use anything abrasive. rubbing alcohol should take it right off.
 
I would be careful with the "Magic Eraser." I've used them to clean tough marks off our home's white semi-gloss interior doors. It does remove spots that otherwise probably would have to have been painted over, but in certain light you can see some dulling of the finish. Spot test first and make sure you are happy with it before you go to town on it.

Assuming your windows are tempered glass, a new sharp clean razor blade should do wonders. If needed, you could follow up with glass stove top cleaner - safe for glass. (My lawyer says spot test first.)

We've bought Coppertone sunscreen by the pallet from Costco. Typical Costco bundling, we get both aerosol and lotion. We do try to minimize any spray by standing on the swim platform. We've had some light overspray a few times, but it seems to come up with Windex just fine. We've laid all over the sunpad and seats with sunscreen on with no problems.

But, some products are probably weird. I recently used a bottle of what I believe was Target "Up" brand while mowing. My white t-shirt collar and sleeves caught a lot of over spray. Worked up a good sweat. The shirt hit the laundry right away, and the overspray areas came out an awful green color that won't come out. I've used sunscreen for 10 years and have never seen that before.
 
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Update, went out and tried the magic eraser before heading off to work and it worked like a charm. I am aware that the magic part is really just that it's mildly abrasive and can dull polished surfaces. I am happy it got it off and I'm gonna lobby for going back to lotion sunscreen on the boat. My boat is really clean and well kept for the age, and I want to keep it that way. Since the wife is already talking upgrade in a few years, I will sell the fact that it will preserve resale value. That should work on her. FYI, we have been using Banana Boat and Coppertone spray, don't know if one is worse than the other as we just use what's available.
Travis..
 
A friend got self tanner orange hand prints all over the fore deck even though she hadn't applied any for 2 days. (I do not think she snuck around us) It was hard to get off, I used carb cleaner and rewaxed. MM
 
^^Kinda funny though glad it wasn't my boat.
Travis..
 
Hmmm, good topic! I noticed this same "dullness" on my dashboard from this spray on stuff. The kids would come to the top of the stairs and start spraying each other while under the bimini top. I ma not sure where, possibly on here, but I read that Fantastic is safe on all surfaces according to SeaRay. It works really well on our boat and especially for this dreaded spray on sun screen!
 
had the same thing happen to friends boat and he couldn't get it off his windshield or hatchs. i gave him some graffiti remover and it worked great without any damage to the glass or hatches. he didn't have a problem getting it off the hull because he has about 100 coats of wax on it,lol
 
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