cleaning decks
- Thread starter erice
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2012
- RO Number
- 32836
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- 323
+1 on the soft scrub. Works great.
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2008
- RO Number
- 29446
- Messages
- 476
I will use the soft scrub only one time per yr. and that is before I clean and wax my hull. The soft scrub when rinsed off will take the wax or sealer off your boat. I will never use it after I have worked hard or paid someone to wax my boat. Even on the back deck it drips down the transom and takes the wax off. Those areas are trouble areas with UV rays and needs a good coat of wax at all times. For me anyway!
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- RO Number
- 25362
- Messages
- 3,996
I use Aurora Boat Scrub, which sounds similar to what everyone else is recommending: Apply with deck brush, wash off. But what do you all use to protect the non-skid after you clean it? I use Aurora Sure Step. It's very easy to apply: brush it on and brush it off after it dries. No hard scrubbing. UV protection for many months and keeps the non-skid clean too.
Aurora sure step is a great product with no shelf life at all. It separates,and cannot be used.
Aurora does not stand behind their products either.
I purchased a large quantity of their stuff at a boat show,and it all went bad from sitting on the shelf. Aurora did not want to even help out with purchasing new. Very disapointed with them.
Aurora does not stand behind their products either.
I purchased a large quantity of their stuff at a boat show,and it all went bad from sitting on the shelf. Aurora did not want to even help out with purchasing new. Very disapointed with them.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- RO Number
- 25362
- Messages
- 3,996
I've only found Sure Step to go bad if not used. Their other products keep. I have been able to keep Sure Step for up to 2 years by shaking the heck out of it every so often. The product will also become unusable if exposed to below freezing temps.
I've gotten the feeling that the parent company is a POS. The products are harder and harder to find from retailers as I think it must be horrible for the retailers to deal with them. However, I haven't found anything that works better than the below list. I shop for it on eBay and have found a good retailer there.
Kwik Shine - Great for touch-ups or even "spray waxing". Will remove stains and bring shine to gelcoat. Desolves salt crystals on contact.
Sure Step - What else is there on the market that protects non-skid and doesn't make it slippery?
Boat Scrub - Removes oxidation from gelcoat and non-skid. Apply with deck brush, rinse with water.
Boat Shine - Just what the name implies. A polish rather than a wax as carnauba wax tends to yellow on white gelcoat.
That's not their copy above; it's mine. In about 5 hours I was able to strip away all the dirt on my boat along with some annual oxidation and get two coats of Aurora on for the year. I'll hit the decks again after we get back from a month in the Bahamian sun in May. That sun in FL and BA is darn strong!
I've gotten the feeling that the parent company is a POS. The products are harder and harder to find from retailers as I think it must be horrible for the retailers to deal with them. However, I haven't found anything that works better than the below list. I shop for it on eBay and have found a good retailer there.
Kwik Shine - Great for touch-ups or even "spray waxing". Will remove stains and bring shine to gelcoat. Desolves salt crystals on contact.
Sure Step - What else is there on the market that protects non-skid and doesn't make it slippery?
Boat Scrub - Removes oxidation from gelcoat and non-skid. Apply with deck brush, rinse with water.
Boat Shine - Just what the name implies. A polish rather than a wax as carnauba wax tends to yellow on white gelcoat.
That's not their copy above; it's mine. In about 5 hours I was able to strip away all the dirt on my boat along with some annual oxidation and get two coats of Aurora on for the year. I'll hit the decks again after we get back from a month in the Bahamian sun in May. That sun in FL and BA is darn strong!
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2004
- RO Number
- 14793
- Messages
- 230
The Aurora Boat Scrub is a great product, but it's really just SoftScrub. I get it at a dollar store.
I remember using the Sure Step years ago and it worked, but was a pain to apply. We used it just a few weeks ago - 2 coats. It seems to work well so far (but it's inside).
I have also used Woody Wax, which if I remember correctly was much, much easier to apply but didn't last quite as long.
As to the Starbrite product, a friend of mine used to use it on his navy hulled boat, and found that the run off from rinsing marked his hull badly. That's something to consider. I think it may depend on what your hull is waxed with though.
My recommendation would be Woody Wax. It's a little pricey to purchase (~$30 for a can), but one bottle will last a few seasons.
I remember using the Sure Step years ago and it worked, but was a pain to apply. We used it just a few weeks ago - 2 coats. It seems to work well so far (but it's inside).
I have also used Woody Wax, which if I remember correctly was much, much easier to apply but didn't last quite as long.
As to the Starbrite product, a friend of mine used to use it on his navy hulled boat, and found that the run off from rinsing marked his hull badly. That's something to consider. I think it may depend on what your hull is waxed with though.
My recommendation would be Woody Wax. It's a little pricey to purchase (~$30 for a can), but one bottle will last a few seasons.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- RO Number
- 25362
- Messages
- 3,996
That's fine, but I'm not going to put SoftScrub on my gelcoat. I'm not comfortable with it. Boat Scrub is made for it and after 5 or 6 years of using it I see no negative effects at all.
How hard was it apply recently? After I clean the deck with Boat Scrub, I brush on Sure Step. After it dries (maybe an hour, if that) I brush it off. The label states to avoid doing it in hot direct sunlight. Perhaps that was the issue for you originally? That's why I do it early in the spring.