New boat owner, detailing my boat for first time what do i use

[bryceman2712]

Ok so i want to spruce up my new to me boat 1992 Century mustang. Seats and interior are in good shape only thing wrong is one seat i stepped on it climbing out and busted a seam where the red meets the white. I'd like to clean the vinyl seats and help protect them and for the carpet can i use my household carpet cleaner on it? probably wouldn't bother with it normally but being that it is used and i despise carpet anywhere that gets wet (like bathroom) i would like to clean it at least. really like to tear it out an go with something besides carpet but i have no idea what i'd put down in its place. love how the new boats have the gloss white floors. and finally the outside what compound should i use to buff and try to bring back some shine to my boat. do i just use your basic car detailing kit or is there different items that work best on boats? thanks in advance for your tips!

 

[tpenfield]

If you have a West Marine or similar store near you, just go there. They will have vinyl cleaner, hull, cleaner, polishes, etc. For the carpet, probably a household carpet cleaner would be fine.

 

[Grub54891]

I use regular carpet cleaner on mine, put in bucket and scrub with a long handled brush. Rinse till I see no more soap anywhere with a garden hose. including rinsing the bilge while I'm at it. Set in the sun with the cover off till dry. Mornings are a good time to get it done as it has longer to dry during the day.

 

[roffey]

I have snap in carpeting, what a difference. I can just pull them out, pressure wash and then hang to dry. With my last boat I used regular carpet cleaner then took the garden hose to them and put the bow as far up as I could get it then pulled the plug and let her drain.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I use a mixture of laundry detergent and color safe bleach for my carpet. the laundry detergent is to clean the carpet, the color safe bleach is to kill bacteria. mix it in a bucket, use my long-handled scrub brush, and scrub. then rinse thuroughly. with snap in carpet, I take the carpet out and clean it on the drive way. then hang the carpet on the fence to dry. for glued in carpet, bow up, stern down, and plug out.

for windshield, I use windex. for general cleaning, simple green or 409. for vinyl, 303 protectant, and for the carpet in the cabin, the same mix as the main deck, however in a small carpet machine.

 

[southkogs]

Scott mentioned the 303 above. Gold Eagle is a sponsor of the forums and they have a pretty cool product sample set they'll send you: https://vipsampling.goldeagle.com

 

[JASinIL2006]

303 Fabric/Vinyl Cleaner and 303 Aerospace Protectant both worked wonders on our vinyl seats. Good products, available right here on iboats.

 

[oldjeep]

For me - 303 cleaner and protectant for the vinyl. Regular carpet cleaner is fine on the carpet or simple green if there is mold/oil on it. (I definitely prefer my snap out carpet - makes it a lot easier to clean)

For the outside I like the collonite products for my major clean wax each year. Their "cleaner" is a mild buffing compound which may or many not be enough depending on what your boat looks like. Then I use the FleetWax paste after the cleaner. For the rest of the season I just wipe down with Eagle One Marine wax as you dry to keep a nice coat of wax on and water spots off.

 

[JoshOnt]

I like to stick with 3M products as I find they work well and they are also a Canadian company which is nice to support.

 

[oldjeep]

I like to stick with 3M products as I find they work well and they are also a Canadian company which is nice to support.

3M (Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing) is a Canadian company? That is going to come as a big surprise to some folks in Maplewood MN

 

[JoshOnt]

3M (Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing) is a Canadian company? That is going to come as a big surprise to some folks in Maplewood MN

Hmm maybe I am wrong, have always been told 3M is a Canadian company. A google search appears I have been informed wrongly. Oh well North American at least. They do own a company called 3M Canada which is why I think I may have been told they were Canadian, I do know their developments out of Canada have been some interesting things such as the foam used in fires was developed here. Well at least I have been told but maybe they were wrong on that one too.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Minnesota is close to Canada. 4 seasons being Nearly Winter, Winter, Still Winter, Bad Sledding.

 

[bryceman2712]

It appears this boat has the snap in carpet. I saw the snaps around the edges of each piece just thought maybe the PO did something to reinforce the glue. Didn't realize they where snaps. I'm gonna make a trip to a local boat shop and grab up some products gonna be sunny and 60 this weekend!!

 

[oldjeep]

It appears this boat has the snap in carpet. I saw the snaps around the edges of each piece just thought maybe the PO did something to reinforce the glue. Didn't realize they where snaps. I'm gonna make a trip to a local boat shop and grab up some products gonna be sunny and 60 this weekend!!

Do yourself a favor and get yourself a little prybar or snap remover so that you are not pulling those old snaps by using the carpet. Less chance of pulling the snaps apart or tearing the carpet. After 24 years stuff gets a little brittle

 

[JimS123]

3M (Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing) is a Canadian company? That is going to come as a big surprise to some folks in Maplewood MN

3M is a World Company, with factories and divisions in 87 countries. Maplewood is staffed by a diverse bunch of people from all over the world.

If you want wax, cleaner or any cleaning utensil, 3M products are the only way to go. Their McGuires line is second to none. Think Scotchguard for upholstery. Since switching all my cars and boats over, the difference in the shine is quite noticable.

 

[R055]

Scott mentioned the 303 above. Gold Eagle is a sponsor of the forums and they have a pretty cool product sample set they'll send you: https://vipsampling.goldeagle.com

Unfortunately the 303 vinyl sampling is now invite only and closed to public. I would of loved to try 303 on my boat but heard it's not strong enough for mildew and similar stuff so didn't want to have to buy something else after so just went with some stronger stuff right away.

 

[southkogs]

Gold Eagle Co ... I'll bet something can be worked out

 

[Gold Eagle Co]

Unfortunately the 303 vinyl sampling is now invite only and closed to public. I would of loved to try 303 on my boat but heard it's not strong enough for mildew and similar stuff so didn't want to have to buy something else after so just went with some stronger stuff right away.

Hello R055,

We would love for you to try our 303? products out. If you would like, please send us a PM with your mailing address (sorry, no P.O. boxes please) and we would be more than happy to send you some samples.

Once you tried out the samples, let us know what you think by leaving a review on our website at www.goldeagle.com. And if you'd like, post some before/after pictures here. If you would like to then purchase 303? products, they are available here on iboats.

If anyone else is interested in trying out 303? samples out, please let us know.

Have a great day!

 

[ctb1010]

For the outside I like the collonite products for my major clean wax each year. Their "cleaner" is a mild buffing compound which may or many not be enough depending on what your boat looks like. Then I use the FleetWax paste after the cleaner. For the rest of the season I just wipe down with Eagle One Marine wax as you dry to keep a nice coat of wax on and water spots off.

So do you use the compound kind of like a wet sander and then put on a coat of wax?

 

[oldjeep]

So do you use the compound kind of like a wet sander and then put on a coat of wax?

Yes. I use the 920 cleaner with a cheap random orbit buffer to take off the old wax, surface contaminants and buff out any small scratches.
http://www.collinite.com/marine-wax/...s-boat-cleaner

Then I wipe the boat down with a wet rag and dry before using the 885 collinite paste.
http://www.collinite.com/marine-wax/fleetwax-paste-wax/

Then after each time I use the boat I give it a quick wipe down with a towel after it comes out of the water (not at the ramp). Once home I spray on some Eagle One Wax as you dry and wipe it down with a microfiber towel (about 15 minutes of work).
https://www.eagleone.com/boat-wax-as-u-dry

The interior of the boat gets 303 cleaner and protectant as needed. Typically twice a season I do a real good cleaning and really coat them up good with the 303 protectant (let it sit in the sun after you do this or the vinyl will be like a skating rink)


The cleaner was also very good for removing the "ghosts" of the huge wakesetter logo that used to be on the side of my boat. When you have a dark colored boat you really need to keep a good coat of wax on it. The collonite and follow up Eagle One Marine wax as you dry keeps the black looking like a mirror.