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Seat Care?


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How do you guys care for your seats? What are the products that yall use to clean and condition yalls seats?

I get my boat in about 2 weeks and im already freaking out about pink spots, yellow spots, mildew growth.

Im almost to the point where im banning sunscreen on the boat, and washing the seats and drying them after every use. Im probably going overboard, but its my new baby, so what do I need to do to keep my seats white?

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It's a boat so it is going to get dirty. I wipe my seats down after every use but my dealer gave me a good tip for when the seats get dingy. Use Softscrub with Bleach mixed with water then recondition the vinyl with 303 Fabric Protectant. For really tough stains or marks you can use Magic Eraser then 303. Have fun!

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It's a boat so it is going to get dirty. I wipe my seats down after every use but my dealer gave me a good tip for when the seats get dingy. Use Softscrub with Bleach mixed with water then recondition the vinyl with 303 Fabric Protectant. For really tough stains or marks you can use Magic Eraser then 303. Have fun!

Babe's boat bright seat soap with a very soft bristle brush, magic eraser or a rag. I use the magic eraser a ton - handle marks, general grime, etc with great success.

I'm not so sure about the dealers recommendation to use softscrub on general dinginess. I've never used it on my vinyl....wouldn't want to risk it. The few yellow spots that I have gotten (from birds) faded out in the sun and disappeared, and Babes's/magic eraser take care of general dirty - even when it's heavy.

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It's a boat so it is going to get dirty. I wipe my seats down after every use but my dealer gave me a good tip for when the seats get dingy. Use Softscrub with Bleach mixed with water then recondition the vinyl with 303 Fabric Protectant. For really tough stains or marks you can use Magic Eraser then 303. Have fun!

No need for any harsh chemicals. Magic Eraser works for everything; dock scuffs seats, fiberglass, plastic walkway scuffs, everything. I buy them by the case. Sams club has a plastic bin of 10 for like $6.88. I buy 3 or 4 of those at a time. I love the eraser challenge. The kids get a rag and any cleaner they choose. I get only the magic eraser and water. (Ring it out until it is barely damp for best performance). Magic eraser wins every time. It even takes paint scuffs off my truck bumpers. ( I have 4 teenagers). When I go to the supersonic car wash, I love to set up the guys by pointing to spots and saying..."cant you get that off?" They try every thing in there magic potion spot remover kit and when they have failed, I use the Magic Eraser with like three swipes and it is gone and I say "never mind...I got it." But I agree...follow up with the 303 Fabric Protectant.

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Exquisite vinyl cleaner with a soft brush to clean then babes conditioner to protect.

Also, the primalp seat covers that someone on here recommended are great. We bought them for engine

Cover, center rear seat and bow cushion cover and have been really pleased so far.

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Ok so far I am gonna make sure to get:

303 Fabric Protectant (Any chain stores that carry this or just specialized dealers?)

Magic Erasers (next time I visit Sams)

So is there any truth to sunscreen browning the seats or aiding in the cause of the pink spotting? Should I be alright letting people use sunscreen if I was them down after each days use?

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Also would you guys recommend just the 303 Fabric Protectant or the Aerospace Protectant? I ask cause it says that there is UV protection in the Aerospace.

Edited by Calexan
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Oh maybe the Aerospace one is just simply for UV protectant, while the Fabric one protects against alot of other things..... I'm an idiot.

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Also would you guys recommend just the 303 Fabric Protectant or the Aerospace Protectant? I ask cause it says that there is UV protection in the Aerospace.

The Aerospace Protectant is what you will want to use on the vinyl, swim platform, dash, tires, & metal. The stuff is awesome and i spray it on everything but the carpet. I have some of the Fabric Protectant and have only sprayed that on my bimini but i guess you could use it on teh carpet as well.

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It's a boat so it is going to get dirty. I wipe my seats down after every use but my dealer gave me a good tip for when the seats get dingy. Use Softscrub with Bleach mixed with water then recondition the vinyl with 303 Fabric Protectant. For really tough stains or marks you can use Magic Eraser then 303. Have fun!

No need for any harsh chemicals. Magic Eraser works for everything; dock scuffs seats, fiberglass, plastic walkway scuffs, everything. I buy them by the case. Sams club has a plastic bin of 10 for like $6.88. I buy 3 or 4 of those at a time. I love the eraser challenge. The kids get a rag and any cleaner they choose. I get only the magic eraser and water. (Ring it out until it is barely damp for best performance). Magic eraser wins every time. It even takes paint scuffs off my truck bumpers. ( I have 4 teenagers). When I go to the supersonic car wash, I love to set up the guys by pointing to spots and saying..."cant you get that off?" They try every thing in there magic potion spot remover kit and when they have failed, I use the Magic Eraser with like three swipes and it is gone and I say "never mind...I got it." But I agree...follow up with the 303 Fabric Protectant.

yikes, you do realize that the Magic Erasers are like a fine sandpaper right ?

I would not use them on anything but the seats but even then I only do that once a year. Can't believe you would actually use them on your gelcoat or car.

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The list is never ending if you are reading on this forum frequently. You will read about different things that people are doing or take advantage of a group buy discount. Have fun with your new Bu.

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I don't allow any sunscreen on the boat. You can put it on before you get on the boat, just not after. I have had a couple of bad situations, like sunscreen leaking through a blue canvas bag and ruining the seat ($400 to replace the vinyl). I also am a fan of the Magic Eraser and 303. Enjoy the new BU!

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I don't allow any sunscreen on the boat. You can put it on before you get on the boat, just not after. I have had a couple of bad situations, like sunscreen leaking through a blue canvas bag and ruining the seat ($400 to replace the vinyl). I also am a fan of the Magic Eraser and 303. Enjoy the new BU!

Boy, I'm going to have to disagree with this. Don't get me wrong, you can put whatever rules you want on your boat, but I would think twice about not allowing sunscreen on the boat. I keep 4 or 5 tubes on the boat to make sure guests have some to put on. A good way to ruin a day for a guest is to let them burn in the sun out on your boat, not to mention increasing their risk for skin cancer. I've never found sunscreen to be a threat to the vinyl on my boat, although I do remember some baby blue colored sunscreen that I wouldn't have liked to test on the seats.

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I don't allow any sunscreen on the boat. You can put it on before you get on the boat, just not after. I have had a couple of bad situations, like sunscreen leaking through a blue canvas bag and ruining the seat ($400 to replace the vinyl). I also am a fan of the Magic Eraser and 303. Enjoy the new BU!

Boy, I'm going to have to disagree with this. Don't get me wrong, you can put whatever rules you want on your boat, but I would think twice about not allowing sunscreen on the boat. I keep 4 or 5 tubes on the boat to make sure guests have some to put on. A good way to ruin a day for a guest is to let them burn in the sun out on your boat, not to mention increasing their risk for skin cancer. I've never found sunscreen to be a threat to the vinyl on my boat, although I do remember some baby blue colored sunscreen that I wouldn't have liked to test on the seats.

Plus1.gif

9 years with my LXI and about 15 years of family boats growing up and never had sunscreen related problem with vinyl. When we are out in the boat for the day, I always have extra sunscreen for guests.

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Over 15 yrs of boat ownership, 1 yr with a Malibu & 7 yrs with a Mastercraft & have never traced any permanent stains of any kind down to sunscreen of any kind. The drivers seat of my Vride is white & grey. It has a tendancy to turn a bit yellow from my own sweat & sunscreen, but the Babes cleans it right off.

Outlaw sunscreen & only outlaws will have sunscreen. Dontknow.gif

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Since no one else has said it, I use Babe's Seat Soap for cleaning and follow it up with Babe's Seat Saver. I like it better than 303...has a nice smell and leaves the vinyl feeling soft and supple without being slippery like 303, plus it has the same UV protectant in it. I have both, but prefer the Babes's for my vinyl.

Edited by jshap
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Well the Pool and Spa place around here carries 303 stuff and the place I got the boat from carries Babes Products. Maybe ill try both and in the end maybe i wont have to outlaw sunscreen.

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I don't allow any sunscreen on the boat. You can put it on before you get on the boat, just not after. I have had a couple of bad situations, like sunscreen leaking through a blue canvas bag and ruining the seat ($400 to replace the vinyl). I also am a fan of the Magic Eraser and 303. Enjoy the new BU!

Boy, I'm going to have to disagree with this. Don't get me wrong, you can put whatever rules you want on your boat, but I would think twice about not allowing sunscreen on the boat. I keep 4 or 5 tubes on the boat to make sure guests have some to put on. A good way to ruin a day for a guest is to let them burn in the sun out on your boat, not to mention increasing their risk for skin cancer. I've never found sunscreen to be a threat to the vinyl on my boat, although I do remember some baby blue colored sunscreen that I wouldn't have liked to test on the seats.

Plus1.gif I couldn't agree more. Skin cancer isn't worth avoiding a possible stain on a seat. A seat can be replaced, your family can't. A bimini isn't enough protection!

That being said, I've never ever had a sun screen related stain on any of my boats. The only stain problem I've had is from new fabrics (towels, board shorts, etc..) bleeding on the seats. Cheap hair dies will also leave a stain.

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I don't allow any sunscreen on the boat. You can put it on before you get on the boat, just not after. I have had a couple of bad situations, like sunscreen leaking through a blue canvas bag and ruining the seat ($400 to replace the vinyl). I also am a fan of the Magic Eraser and 303. Enjoy the new BU!

Boy, I'm going to have to disagree with this. Don't get me wrong, you can put whatever rules you want on your boat, but I would think twice about not allowing sunscreen on the boat. I keep 4 or 5 tubes on the boat to make sure guests have some to put on. A good way to ruin a day for a guest is to let them burn in the sun out on your boat, not to mention increasing their risk for skin cancer. I've never found sunscreen to be a threat to the vinyl on my boat, although I do remember some baby blue colored sunscreen that I wouldn't have liked to test on the seats.

Plus1.gif I couldn't agree more. Skin cancer isn't worth avoiding a possible stain on a seat. A seat can be replaced, your family can't. A bimini isn't enough protection!

That being said, I've never ever had a sun screen related stain on any of my boats. The only stain problem I've had is from new fabrics (towels, board shorts, etc..) bleeding on the seats. Cheap hair dies will also leave a stain.

Agree, I have had more problems with new things bleeding on the seats. Honestly I have had a few where did that come from stains, but they all came out realitively easy. If you take care of your seats and wipe them down at the end of each weekend and put some kind of conditioner on them you shouldn't have any problems.

I am strickly guessing here but where the sunscreen issue comes from is when you put the oily sunscreen on it makes everything on you wet and oily (swimsuit, tattoos, towels, toe nail polish, etc) which then makes it really easy to transfer on to things like the seats. My friends did a Triathlon and had numbers put on them with a black sharpie, after the event they went out on there boat and of course put sunscreen on, well when they got up from the seats the marks where there. The lotion helped to transfer those numbers to the seat. But they did get the marks off with not a lot of problems

Edited by NvBoarder
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The best thing you can do to keep your seats nice is to make sure you wipe them down well when you are done, if they are wet, prop them up before covering and use common sense when deciding what you will allow to come in contact with them. If you do this well you wont need to use the snake oils and magic potions too often.

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