Spring Cleaning

[Oscarlyy]

Hi there,
Just started doing some boat cleaning today and got some boat wash with wax in it. But my anti skid deck has lots of mildew (I think) on it, (Just little small black specs)
How do I get rid of it?? Just using a stiff brush and the boat wash, slowly it gets rid of a bit of the mildew but there's no way I am doing the whole anti skid deck that way, that would take far too long. And also I have lots of small black streaks running down the side of my boat and they would not come off fully. I saw in the store there was something called black streaks remover but I wonder if it's worth trying that. And whatever I do, I do not want to mess up the wax on the gelcoat as it was done professionally last summer. I'm sure you all have had this so I'm reaching out if anybody has any special tricks to clean theyre boat. Thanks!

 

[Gofirstclass]

I bought a boat that came from Seattle and was covered with that crap on all the non-skid surfaces. I found that a good coating of Simple Green and a scrub brush got it off, but it took a lot of work on my hands and knees.

 

[juggernaut1]

I use Starbrite non-skid deck cleaner with a stiff broom initially and a soft broom finally. Seems to work well with minimal effort.

 

[Woody]

If it's just mildew a pressure washer will remove it.

 

[JimT]

The black streaks on the side of the should cone off with a liquid polish like Meguires

 

[hottoddie]

I use Starbrite non-skid deck cleaner with a stiff broom initially and a soft broom finally. Seems to work well with minimal effort.

This^^^^. I buy a gallon each spring and use it 3 times per season. Also using Woody wax on the non skid adds a nice seen to the non skid without making it slippery. The black steaks will need to be removed with black streak remover or cleaner wax. Waxing a gel coated hull is an annual chore, no way around it.

 

[bahamabreisus]

We pressure wash non skid and wax rest

 

[dvx216]

I found a 6" carpet brush in a cordless drill and simple green will clean nonslip deck as good as any thing .Andy at Boat Works Today showed me this method.Plus he also used compound and wax this way also

 

[ttmott]

Z-cleaner - amazing stuff, minimal elbow grease needed. West Marine and I understand Home Debit also is carrying it.
http://www.ztuffproducts.com/

Don't use it on painted surfaces but all other surfaces good to go.
And for the most difficult those Mr. Clean erasers will get it.

 

[Brett H]

As long as you don't have stress cracks, +1 for pressure wash non-skid and only get as close as necessary to do the job.

 

[AMFM3]

I doubt the black specks are mildew. If they were, they'd come off with minimal scrubbing. I'm sure they are some kind of dirt. We are near a wood mill and get black specks that are tough to clean from the non-skid like you describe. A stiff brush and elbow grease really is the only way to get it off for us. We wax it yearly too.

Black streaks will be there every year. No avoiding it. And yes, yearly hull waxing is required like previously mentioned.

Mark

 

[LG111]

Keep it easy and simple. 50/50 bleach and water. I am in the Seattle area and lifetime boater here. You need to kill the mold, not just clean it. The bleach will kill and it will fade away in front of your eyes! Rinse well with soap and water. Your boat will look new. I have never had any issues. Just wax the gloss area soon after to protect the gel coat from the sun.

The black specs is mildew. It's just inside the pores of the gelcoat. Hence, why scrubbing can't reach it. But the 50/50 mix does. If the specs are brown or rust color, then that's rust. There's stuff for that too at your local boat store.

Mark

 

[xravenx]

Black streak remover for the hull area under the rub rail: get a little bit of new or used eisenglass. Cut some strips 1 1/5" - 2" wide x how ever long the area of the black streak is. Remove the screws in this area from the rub rail. Slide about a 1/2" of the strip under the rub rail, reinstall screws. Providing the hull is clean and waxed, you will never have black streaks again, been doing this forever.

John

 

[Oscarlyy]

Thanks so much guys! I think I am going to start with the starbrite product someone mentioned. If that doesn't work I will probably haul the pressure washer down and clean the non skid. Thanks!

 

[Oscarlyy]

Thank you, I just bought myself some of that exact deck cleaner and gonna try it out tomorrow. Also got some star Brite black streak remover and it did the job fairly easily with just scrubbing and spraying it down 2 times to get it all off. Thanks everyone!

 

[Docjason]

+2 on the pressure washer

 

[Boatingnut]

This, then use the non skid Woody Wax to protect.

Keep it easy and simple. 50/50 bleach and water. I am in the Seattle area and lifetime boater here. You need to kill the mold, not just clean it. The bleach will kill and it will fade away in front of your eyes! Rinse well with soap and water. Your boat will look new. I have never had any issues. Just wax the gloss area soon after to protect the gel coat from the sun.

The black specs is mildew. It's just inside the pores of the gelcoat. Hence, why scrubbing can't reach it. But the 50/50 mix does. If the specs are brown or rust color, then that's rust. There's stuff for that too at your local boat store.

Mark