Sun Pad - Avoiding Mildew

[jdag]

I have a snap-in sun pad on the bow of my boat. I have only had the boat for a brief time (last 6 weeks of last season). But in that short time the pad became filthy between the pad and the fiberglass on the bow.

Is there any way to avoid this? I don't particularly want to remove the pad all of the time if I can avoid it. Of course, now that I am about to have use of the boat for the full summer, I will certainly clean it more often. But I was hoping there was some tip on keeping it clean.

Thanks, John

 

[skolbe]

Are you in a covered slip - what is your sunpad made of.

 

[jdag]

I am not in a covered slip.

The sun pad is marine vinyl on top, a canvas-like material on bottom, and about 2" of foam padding.

 

[Dancin Dave]

once left out in the rain expect the green stuff to grow, even heavy moisture.
Expect to clean it often if you leave it out. I take mine in if its going to rain. If you bring it in it will stay new.

 

[barryg]

Buy a spray bottle of "Spray Nine". inexpensive and really cleans well. Saw it about a month ago on Ship Shape TV, and found it at Boaters World in a large bottle for about $8.00. It cleans everything from the non-slip surface to seat cushions etc. There are some sealants that are sold also, but haven't found one the really works well.

Barry

 

[Dancin Dave]

for the amount of time it would take to clean the cushion and the deck below it, 2 minutes to carry it and put it inside really is easier. I know we boaters love to clean stuff!

 

[jdag]

Yup...sounds like taking it down after each use is the lesser of the evils. It took me hours to clean it last Fall. I was just hoping that there was some miracle ointment out there that would prevent the mildew.

 

[sr330daguy]

Another good reason to stow it,your gel coat will fade at different rates.

 

[JVM225]

Buy a spray bottle of "Spray Nine". inexpensive and really cleans well. Saw it about a month ago on Ship Shape TV, and found it at Boaters World in a large bottle for about $8.00. It cleans everything from the non-slip surface to seat cushions etc. There are some sealants that are sold also, but haven't found one the really works well.

Barry

Another vote for Spray 9. I use it to clean lots of stuff. Better off buying it in Home Depot. It is the exact same stuff as they sell in the boat stores and you can buy it by the gallon if you want.
Tilex is also a good product for removing the mildew.
The only way to avoid the mildew is to keep the pad dry.

 

[Dancin Dave]

spray 9 strips the wax so make sure you rewax the newly cleaned spots.