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Vinyl Cleaning


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What's are some good products for deep cleaning?

I use this stuff....great for deep cleaning vinyl and won't cause harm. Follow it up with a good rinsing and 303 protectant.

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I use a product called exquisite. Been happy with it. 303 after and interiors look great. you will get mixed opinions on the erasers so I have never used but the exquisite product was touted on wakeworld. A lot of people will swear by babe's too which I'm sure is good, just no experience.

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FREQUENT CLEANING with inexpensive products.

There is no substitute for keeping the surface completely clean.

I frequently just use Formula 409 in the spray bottle and a fleet of the small microfiber towels.

My boat is garaged so I will take a 5 gallon pail and fill it with warm clean water.

Rinse out the microfiber towel in the pail.

For Black Shoe Marks I have used Soft Scub sparingly. I tend to not over do it.

We pretty much go shoeless in our boats but on occasion a guest will board from the dock or even a rocky lake bottom with their shoes on and that is when I will have a black mark to Soft Scrub out. Once we are on board it is shoes off. (However, on some really cold mornings I have been known to wear the Heavy Duty WOOL socks from Costco, while driving the boat) Same warm pail of water to rinse out the towel.

But mostly just clean it in between your boating adventures. My boat is 19 years old now and the interior still looks brand new. Just stay on top of it and problem solved.

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I agree with DONTW8 about frequent cleaning. We wipe down and apply a spray wax (Eagle One NanoWax...I think) on the exterior.

I also use Exquisite with a soft bristle brush on the interior, and apply 303 every 3 months or so. I'm not sure if the Exquisite is doing the job or the soft bristle brush but the combo has been working well to keep the interior sparkling clean. The soft bristle brush is key to getting the dirt out from the small pits in the vinyl.

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My point in posting about using 409 is not to say that it is the best out there.

From my actual experience I have had no adverse effects of using 409 on my upholstery.

The obvious thing is the convenience. I buy it when Costco has it on sale and because of the spray bottle it is really easy to touch up when some booboo happens.

My upholstery looks as good as your upholstery and mine is older.

How do I know that ? Mine looks new, also. Probably just like yours.

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My point in posting about using 409 is not to say that it is the best out there.

From my actual experience I have had no adverse effects of using 409 on my upholstery.

The obvious thing is the convenience. I buy it when Costco has it on sale and because of the spray bottle it is really easy to touch up when some booboo happens.

My upholstery looks as good as your upholstery and mine is older.

How do I know that ? Mine looks new, also. Probably just like yours.

The primary reason i have been taught that harsh cleaners, despite their ability to keep vinyl clean, are to be avoided is to minimize the effect on the stitching which will degrade with harsh cleaners. If your boat is nineteen years old, the amount of sticthing and intricacy of the thread and vinyl is much different than a late model interior design. To each his own but i have been scolded by others, and seen others on here, claim that harsh cleaners will also dull the lustre. But, i have not experienced that.

Costco comment on being on sale was pretty funny :lol:

Edited by 85 Barefoot
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In getting mildew off vinyl I once took some BAD advice and used diluted bleach. What a mistake that was. Ruined the vinyl in short order. The good news is that it was on a SeaRay.

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I use a product called exquisite. Been happy with it. 303 after and interiors look great. you will get mixed opinions on the erasers so I have never used but the exquisite product was touted on wakeworld. A lot of people will swear by babe's too which I'm sure is good, just no experience.

I also use Exquisite to clean and Babes for UV protection and it worked great. I also use Driven Boat Wipe after each use and had no water spots on my boat which had a lot of black and dark colors in it.

http://www.driventoperfection.com/shop2/index.php?l=product_detail&p=18

Edited by Fman
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Did you guys get the Exquisite off of eBay from Ace Distributing? I just don't like the $11.35 for shipping, if I could buy it locally somewhere.

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Did you guys get the Exquisite off of eBay from Ace Distributing? I just don't like the $11.35 for shipping, if I could buy it locally somewhere.

yep...I don't think you can buy locally. If I remember right it is made by just one lady...kind of a one off product.

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Definitely agree with the Babes products. I've also had good luck with Amazing Rolloff. The magic erasers do work very well but I only use them on more rare occassions.

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I can tell you that in years past the former company that made the vinyl for Malibu said to not use 409 or fantastik or the like. Either use soap water or 303 cleaner or vinyl finish for cleaning and use 303 protectant to protect. I suspect Babe’s is an acceptable as well.

Malibu is now asking for samples and will perform analysis to determine the problem. This is too fold imho one to figure which product or chemical caused the issue and secondly determine if improper chemicals were used to deny the warranty claim. So just because it worked doesn’t mean I’d use it, of course if your outside the warranty period then that isn’t a big deal so to each their own.

In reality w/ proper maintenance there is virtually nothing that soap and water can’t clean with a soft bristle brush, yes there are exceptions. According to the manufacture a 1:4 ratio of bleach/water can be used to mildew, but they suggest trying soap water first.

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I have also had good luck with Exquisite using the soft bristled brush that she sends with it. When I bought the boat, the seats hadn't been cleaned in quite some time. I tried some other safe products that didn't work. The exquisite does indeed work well, but I also suspect that most of the benefit is from the right brush. However, the Exquisite does leave a nice, supple, non-greasy feel when done. Buy some of the concentrate from her and mix your own to help spread out that shipping cost.

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I plan on picking up some of the Exquisite soon. Has anyone here tried the Boat Bling Vinyl Sauce? I've heard great things about their Hot Sauce, but haven't heard much about their interior products.

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I plan on picking up some of the Exquisite soon. Has anyone here tried the Boat Bling Vinyl Sauce? I've heard great things about their Hot Sauce, but haven't heard much about their interior products.

IMO the boat bling vinyl sauce works pretty well, but babes and exquisite work just as well if not better. I don't know what it is, but the fumes/smell of the vinyl sauce annoys me...

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  • 3 years later...
  • 2 weeks later...

so I spent several hours working on trying to deep clean my vinyl....I ended up using a combination of 303 cleaner and simple green, followed by 303 protectant. While it was much cleaner overall, there were places where the white was still grungy looking, especially the corner pieces where people step into the boat.

thanks to the tip early in this thread about......Mr Clean Magic Erasers!. .HOLY COW!!!!! This thing looks like a harmless little white sponge. The way it cleaned the vinyl and especially the white was nothing short of amazing. Now I have heard people say to keep it away from the seams and I did, But the interior is starting to show its age and if I can get 2-3 more years out of it that would be great. After Mr. Clean....went back with 303 protectant. I don't have a site to post pics, but is night and day from what I went from to now.

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