Boat Vinyl Seat Cleaning Advice

[warrior151]

Need a little advice for a boat...I have white/red/gray seats and they are in severe need of cleaning. Looking for susgestions on what I should use on them...I have tried some simple green, diluted bleach and even tried soft scrub...Used Collinite on the hull and it looks fantastic...but the interior well...looks like the Potomac River I float it on.

Thoughts?
Feed back please

Thanks in advance.

[catfish07]

I have had great results with amazing roll-off.

[Flash Gordon]

Awesome + Magic Eraser = WIN

[Porsche Pilot]

They will look brand new from 6000' agl. :)

[Dr Oldz]

Spray Nine works wonders on stuff like that and can be found locally.

[Jimmie]

Some may throw rocks, but I'll tell you what I've used on vinyl golf cart seats. They get a build up of leg oils. I use Lexol Vinylx, and those green dish cleaning pads you get at the market. No scratches to date, but I don't get too aggressive.

[Flash Gordon]

They get a build up of leg oils. I use Lexol Vinylx

Wonder if it would get afrosheen off a headrest :idea:

[Audi X2]

Wonder if it would get afrosheen off a headrest :idea:

:laughing:

[Mike Phillips]

Just to throw this out there for everyone's consideration...


When I wrote this how-to article I spoke first hand with the President of 303 Products, Roger Dyer and he gave me quite the education on vinyl.

How To Restore and Protect a Vinyl Top using 303 Products (http://how%20to%20restore%20and%20protect%20a%20vinyl%20t op%20using%20303%20products/)


Here's an excerpt for the above article,




Protect the Protective Top Coat
Plasticizers are volatile, that simply means they can and will evaporate or become a vapor at normal temperatures and atmospheric pressures. The plasticizers are added to the vinyl material and then a protective top coat is applied to the vinyl to better to lock or seal in the plasticizers. So the ideal goal in maintaining vinyl is to protect the original top coat on new vinyl and this will protect the vinyl material under it.

As the top coat is degraded or worn off, the plasticizer oils will out-gas and this will leave the vinyl hard, rigid and brittle and this is when you will see vinyl crack or fracture.

To protect the top coat you want to stick with cleaning agents that take this top coat into account, this is where we come full circle to the beginning of this article where you are recommended to use the 303 Fabric/Vinyl Convertible Top Cleaner to clean vinyl surfaces as it is specifically formulated to clean will causing no harm to the top coat.

Things to avoid getting onto vinyl are substances and solutions that can harm or degrade the top coat, this would include oils or oily products, fats, harsh detergents, and things like suntan oils on your skin in the case of things like seats, both car seats and boat seats, as well as any place skin would touch.




So the point is, if the vinyl you're working on is important to you, as in you want it to last a long time, then don't use cleaning chemicals on it that will deteriorate or harm the top coat on the vinyl.


For the above article, the vinyl top on the 1970 Cutlass was important to the owner, thus it was important to me. See this article to understand why,

The Mindset of a Professional Detailer (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/20551-mindset-professional-detailer.html)


Knowing what I know now about the top coat applied to vinyl I probably wouldn't have used an APC at a strong dilution like I did on these seats if I could do the job over again because those seats, (at the time), were important to me.


1975 Vinyl Seats - Extreme Makeover (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/20341-1975-vinyl-seats-extreme-makeover.html)


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/737/ExtremeVinylMakeover005.jpg


Years of dirt, sweat, body oils and probably even some hair creme. Icky!
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/737/ExtremeVinylMakeover010.jpg




:)

[master detailer]

you can also die them

[warrior151]

Thank you all for the inputs!! The seats look fantastic...again now that I am learning to detail (still an FNG) I will try some tests. I will take a few photos of the before and after...

detailing...is an art!!

Don

[Flash Gordon]

Thank you all for the inputs!! The seats look fantastic...again now that I am learning to detail (still an FNG) I will try some tests. I will take a few photos of the before and after...

detailing...is an art!!

Don


:Picture:

[rddmxmeth10]

I am following this closely because I have a boat that has been in storage since the late 90's (1985 Bayliner bowrider used for MAYBE 15 hours since 1992) and the vinyl is extremely dirty. I'm going to look at the boat again this weekend and I will take some pics and hopefully get some advice! :props:

[warrior151]

Sorry all...didnt get the chance to do photos yet...work!! UGH!!
Caravelle (the boat manufacturer) manual calls for using Citrus. I work in the communication field and we use something called Orange Juice to clean the gell off the cables. Long story short...I picked up a "magic eraser" and two cleaners (no names yet) Let ya'll know how it works...and promise photos...

[Flash Gordon]

Sorry all...didnt get the chance to do photos yet...work!! UGH!!
Caravelle (the boat manufacturer) manual calls for using Citrus. I work in the communication field and we use something called Orange Juice to clean the gell off the cables. Long story short...I picked up a "magic eraser" and two cleaners (no names yet) Let ya'll know how it works...and promise photos...


Don't forget the 50/50's :Picture: and be gentle with that Magic Eraser. Just let it glide across the "WET" surface ;)