End of the Year Cleaning, etc.

[Jimm]

Ok, walk me through it. Gonna pull it out of the water in 2 weeks and want to be prepared with products and processes. I'm certain there is a solid consensus in the one single way to accomplish this!!!
Thanks in advance.

[bergermaister]

This is opening Pandora's box...

This post sponsored by 303 products.

I just spent 6 hours cleaning up after a 3 hour ride through smoky wild fire ash and that was not much fun. We towed home with the cover off because everything already had a haze on it from the night before - including the cover, and ash is very abrasive. Amazing how nasty cushions can get just being exposed.

Can you tell the before and after?





I would suggest pulling out everything you can, scrub the hull top to bottom. Follow up with at least a quick detailer if not a wax. Park it on a hill and let it drain as much as possible.

No hill? Floor jack it.



Scrub down all cushions. Make sure they are VERY dry before putting back in. Then treat with your preferred product. I've had good luck with 303 (cleaner and protectant).

Vacuum everything out.

Make sure everything is very dry before covering any of it up. I run two fans all winter long under the cover, even parked in the garage.

I used to be way more anal about everything being spotless before winter but have learned that it doesn't make a huge difference in the end. Just being clean and dry is 99% of it.

[Jimm]

Thank you man. Cleaning all that ash had to be a pain but at least you still have a boat to clean. So, as far as waxing goes...I see tons of different waxes and applications and gel coat products. Stupid question, but are these redundant?

[vonbottle]

we store our boat in our boathouse over the winter, unheated of course.....since our current boat is a POS, we haven't done much to prep it for storage aside from throwing a cheap boat cover over it, but come spring it does tend to get some blackish mold on the vinyl, not everywhere, but enough to be annoying and tough to clean - any recommendations on how to prep the vinyl to prevent the mold? we're getting a new makai in spring, so obviously we'll be a lot more caring when we prep for storage. would you just apply a liberal coating of armor all or some other vinyl prep? we're getting the canvas boat cover, we'll put dryer sheets around to keep rodents out, although not usually a big issue in the past. i assume moisture in the boat is probably the cause and we do all we can to drain all water that accumulates, but there's always some residual moisture in the engine bay and under the floor that sits all winter long.

[Branden967]

I hit my seats with a Mr. clean magic eraser and it works great. (I have white-ish vinyl)It also works great on the fiberglass too. Im not totally sure what's in that thing so I soap and water and then vinyl sauce it afterwards.

[vonbottle]

thanks for the recommendation, never heard of it - not a huge fan of armor all on seats as it's so greasy. we're going to avoid white upholstery on the new boat, going with light graphite so any staining won't be as apparent

[Tommy2slow]

I hit my seats with a Mr. clean magic eraser and it works great. (I have white-ish vinyl)It also works great on the fiberglass too. Im not totally sure what's in that thing so I soap and water and then vinyl sauce it afterwards.

I would steer clear of the magic eraser as it removes the grain in the vinyl. The 303 will do a great job and maintain the grain.

[sandm]

I would steer clear of the magic eraser as it removes the grain in the vinyl. The 303 will do a great job and maintain the grain.

this... have been told magic erasers do bad things if used regularly so we have always avoided.

malco cleaner to get the stuck stuff off then follow up with either 303 or babes.

[larry_arizona]

Magic erasers are equivalent to sand paper.


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[Surgical_ass]

thanks for the recommendation, never heard of it - not a huge fan of armor all on seats as it's so greasy. we're going to avoid white upholstery on the new boat, going with light graphite so any staining won't be as apparent

I don't like armor all either. I use either babes or boat bling vinyl sauce for cleaning and BB conditioner sauce for protection. I really like what the conditioner sauce does for the vinyl. We have white and light grey interior colors I was initially worried that it would be an issue keeping it clean but with semi regular cleaing throughout the season it hasnt been an issue. Havent tried the other products mentioned. Im sure they are all about the same and work well just havent found any reason to venture from what I use currently.