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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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hull and deck cleaner question:

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AADIVER
Admiral

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USA
966 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/16/2008 : 23:48:47

What, in your collective opinion, is the BEST cleaner for our Catalina boats? My 250 is dirty and needs thorough cleaning and waxing.

Frank Farmer
Long Beach, CA
aa.diver@verizon.net
http://mysite.verizon.net/aa.diver

PRETTY PENNY
'01 C-250 WK, Hull #558

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3462 Posts

Response Posted - 01/17/2008 : 05:16:57

That is a good question !

I did not have much problem with the hull sides and then have been using Polyglow 1-2 coats every 6 months. I have minimal effort cleaning it before putting on the 1-2 coats and those coats are so easy to do.

The issue I have is more with the cockpit area that was never very good and needs a lot of the oxidation and stains/marks removed. It has been a tedious job and I rather go sailing which i do year-round...so that area done primarily by hand winds up being about 2 feet or more progress a year on the vertical sides in the cockpit area. Too many other things I would rather do before the hand gets tired using oxidation cleaners.

I have been using WM Heavy Oxidation cleaner but I may have been working in too cold conditions and the bottle broke and splattered all over the place. This time I bought the 3M product from WM which is also an Oxidation type cleaner. After i get finished with the cleaner, I then use a bottle of WM Pure Wax. That is easy enough to apply and as long as I go over the areas that i have finished every couple of months or more, those areas are easy enough to maintain.

To help speed the cleaning operation, I mentined in a lower thread (about Polishing) that I recently purchased a 4" variable speed orbital, cordless Polisher/Waxer from a motorcycle parts store. I was mainly interested in a small 4" one so that I could work on areas that a 10" model would not easily be able to do and a 4" model weighs less and so easier to handle on vertical surfaces such as in the cockpit area. The lower thread goes into the other ones I checked out but decided on the below one. It has a rechargeable battery that was stronger than the 4.8V models and not as heavy as the ones with 18V. It comes with a 9.6V battery. I am waiting for it to arrive. I hope that then makes a tedious job much easier. Once the cleaning is done, the waxing is pretty easy by hand or machine and as long as one does that frequently, the surfaces are maintained. The issue for me in the past (many many years in the past) is the taking time to maintain the surfaces. If done frequently, then the surfaces are easy to maintain but....oftentimes if it is let go for a season or somewhat more, then faced with a more major cleaning job.

Here is the polisher/waxer link. When I get it and use it, I will report on my experiences.

http://www.jpcycles.com/productgroup.aspx?GID=697438B4-D446-4173-94EA-E9364E2C4202&search=cordless+polisher&store=All&page=1

Edited by - OLarryR on 01/17/2008 05:25:16

jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 01/17/2008 : 15:57:43

Larry - I'm planning on getting a smaller battery polisher too, please let us know how it works for you - thanks!

Edited by - jerlim on 01/17/2008 15:58:09

piseas
Former Treasurer

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USA
2017 Posts

Response Posted - 01/18/2008 : 12:44:02

I saw this article in one of my sailing magazines recommending this polisher which is sold at costco for $84:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11204703&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|3960|21248|21249&N=4001194&Mo=27&pos=2&No=7&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=21249&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC10615-Cat21248&topnav=
However, Frank, if you are interested, I have a guy who will clean and detail your boat who is is Long Beach. He did a great job on mine for about $200. Let me know.
Steve A

Edited by - piseas on 01/18/2008 12:44:38

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3462 Posts

Response Posted - 01/18/2008 : 23:50:46

Well, I am not sure what to make of the Sidekick combo kit. Sounds fine for an all-around car cleaning unit and then if you have it for that purpose, you probably would make use of it for the boat as well. Just not sure how well it does each of it's functions but for the cost....get many uses out of it.

I was looking mainly for a unit that specifically does the polishing and waxing and the best units for that are the orbital models sold generally as 10" cord models. Orbital models are less likely to wear one area of the gelcoat. Since I do not have electricity turned at my finger slip (not willing to pay the $20/month for it at least for now for the minimal use I would make of it) I was looking for a cordless polisher/buffer and a small one so it is easier to hold onto it while working on vertical sides such as in the cockpit area where the sides are long and narrow.

Anyway, my 4" polisher/buffer arrived...but so has the cold weather kicking in tomorrow and then taking a nose-dive on Sunday. I went sailing after work today...well...I would not exactly call it sailing. The good news is that it warmed up to about 40F but the winds were less than 5mph and then went to zippo from there. I may go down tomorrow and try the 4" unit and then I can give a report on my findings and what my review of about 4 different 4" models reveals as to the pro/con of each...at least my experience with one unit and what my perception was of all the models from looking at their websites. Each model has a benefit and would appeal to one person or another depending on the benefits derived vesrus the cost and other factors.

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