Boat Cover Protection

[viper15]

Hello everyone. New member here! Been reading a ton on here and found some great info. I have a 1991 VIP SK 18 fish n' ski that we have been restoring over the winter and the forum here has been a great source of info.

So, my first post here comes with a question. The cover I have for the boat is the original cover. It's in great shape with very little wear and no tears. I had some of the seems re-stictched as a few were coming apart. But otherwise, I wanted to waterproof it as water gets through it when it rains. So much to the suggestions I found here, I tried the Thompson's water seal trick. I had the cover laid out in the driveway and used a garden sprayer to apply the sealer. However, I've run into some problems.

I think I may have used the wrong kind of Thompson's. I bought the clear water sealer for wood (not a cedar color or anything like that). When I poured it into my garden sprayer, I was surprised by the consistency of the sealer. It wasn't a water consistency like I expected - it was much thicker. Anyway, I went forward. Throughout the day the cover wasn't drying. In fact, the surface seem oily. Two days later it still wasn't dry. So my best thought was that something was screwed up and now I have to figure out how to fix it. So I again laid it out in the driveway and soaked it with dishwashing soap and blasted it with my pressure washer ... repeated cycle a few times. It outcome looks improved, but the surface still feels oily and I certainly don't want to put in on my boat.

Any suggestions, or am I hosed?

 

[bruceb58]

I have never heard of using Thompson's. What material is your cover?

 

[MH Hawker]

that product is not made for that, 303 fabric protector is

 

[fhhuber]

I would have looked at treatments for tent canvas, not wood preservative.

The label on the Thompsons' can should say what thinner/remover to use. But not sure about the effect on your cover's material.

 

[SkaterRace]

I am not sure of how to clean your cover but I can say to use 303 I think it is called. That stuff is amazing. There is another one too but I can't remember it right now, I will edit once I figure it out.

 

[viper15]

I have never heard of using Thompson's. What material is your cover?

The material is like a canvas.

 

[viper15]

I would have looked at treatments for tent canvas, not wood preservative.

The label on the Thompsons' can should say what thinner/remover to use. But not sure about the effect on your cover's material.

Good suggestion! I looked up the application instructions online. The instructions note "Excessive oiliness caused by over application may be removed by scrubbing wood with concentrated degreaser." I know I have a biodegradable floor cleaner/degreaser at home that I use to clean my shop floor. It's also water soluble. I'll check that out when I get home. Maybe I can use that in my pressure washer to clean the cover.

I will research and report back

 

[JASinIL2006]

Thompson's water seal on a fabric? Not sure that's a good idea...

I'd be very careful about what sort of chemicals you apply to your cover. Many of the fabrics that look like canvas (e.g., Sunbrella) are synthetics that can be ruined by strong chemicals. The thread used to stitch them together is often synthetic, too. I'd see if you can find a tag that identifies what the composition of the fabric is. For example, Sunbrella recommends cleaning only with a mild detergent.

 

[fhhuber]

If it says degreaser removes it... I would use Simple Green or an orange based bilge cleaner. (after checking the labels for if they will bother the material for your cover)

Or... (this is fun) Pert Shampoo. That stuff will degrease your driveway.

 

[fishrdan]

Thompsons has a lot of paraffin oil in it, so the cover is basically soaked in oil, oil that will attract dirt and grit.

I don't have any good recommendations that won't damage the cover, but between throwing it away or risking damage, I would hit it with a 50/50 dawn dishwashing liquid/water solution on both sides, roll it up tight, let it sit for a day, hit it with the pressure washer, and hope for the best. Though, with that load of paraffin oil in the cover, it may just reject the detergent. If that doesn't work, try a more aggressive cleaner like Simple Green as suggested above, but that's a greater risk of damage....

But yeah, with all that oil in the cover, you may be hosed. Even if the large field panels get reasonably well cleaned, the doubled over seams will probably retain lots of oil.

 

[thumpar]

There is a 303 citrus degreaser. It is amazing stuff. I tried scrubbing and scrubbing a part and it was still dirty. When I sprayed the 303 on it the dirt just dripped off and all I had to do was rinse. It is a little spendy compare to others but worth it.

 

[Gold Eagle Co]

Hey everyone!

There is a lot of great conversation here. I personally recommend cleaning the boat covers first with any cleaner that does not leave any residue or film behind. That way, whatever product you use to treat the boat cover afterwards will be more effective. Some people have suggested 303? products for their boat covers and water repellency. I would recommend using the 303? Multi-Surface Cleaner and the 303? Fabric Guard. Hope this helps!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us!

Have a great day!

 

[viper15]

No Title

Well, the results are in .... I've given up. I picked up a gallon of a good degreaser over the weekend. It wasn't one of those that was suggested here, but I wanted to make sure it wouldn't kill the grass if it happened to get there from the driveway. I soaked the cover inside and out for about an hour, then rinsed it with my pressure washer. I must have spent an hour rinsing and rinsing, then rinsing again. And as I pressure washed it the last time, you could still see rainbows in the water. I hung it between two trees to dry for the rest of the day. I had high hopes because it seemed to be drying nicely. However, you could still feel the oiliness on your finger after touching it.

There has been a lot of great suggestions here. But I'm throwing in the towel. I placed an order for a new semi-custom fit cover from here on iboats. I figure with any more time or money into my old one, I can just have a new one which will be better in the long run anyway.

And since I haven't done it yet - here's a pic of the boat, and my upholstery handy work we completed over the winter.

 

[Silvertip]

Another lesson learned. You cannot always believe everything you read on internet forums, including this one. There is a multitude of products available for water proofing canvas and the most obvious place to find it is in the camping/outdoor section of most department or outdoor stores. Those products are intended for use on tents.