White Vinyl Boat Upholstery

[fishboy]

I just realized, way back when my Jeep got attacked by the detailer, I saw that he used Lime Away to tackle the water spots. The water spots were the only reason I went there. Anyway, on the bottle there is no mention of abrasives, and I beleive that it is just a strong acid...

Anyone?



JTS

[BradE]

I would avoid using any harsh chemicals on paint. Straight white vinegar will remove most water spots. Then follow up with some abrasive if you need to remove any etching. I would not use Lime-Away on paint, I remember someone brought up CLR being used on paint and I would not do that either. Just my opinion.

[z4zen]

I was under the impression you were supposed to use a 50/50 vinegar/water ratio for getting rid of water spots when all over the car....



I only question you b/c I have plenty of spots I need to remove this weekend and want to make sure I do it right.



Thanks!

[fishboy]

I cant find what is in Lime Away. Anyone?

GS, all I know is that the spots were gone, but the @#$% detailer swirled up the finish w/ his buffer...

[eaglerider94]

So a client of mine called me to take a look at his boat. Apparently he`s left his 36` boat outdoors albeit with a heavy duty boat cover out in the desert heat of Nevada. (Colorado River)
Upon removing the cover his once beautiful "white" vinyl upholstery had turned a sort of tan/light brown on the top surfaces.
The cover is heavy so I didn`t think UV rays could have penetrated and affected the vinyl but I could be wrong.
There happened to be a boat detailing shop on the premises so I spoke to one of the guys there and he said he`s seen this sort of thing happen before and advised me not to initially clean it but to leave the boat (upholstery) exposed in the sun for about two days. He promised the fading would be eliminated and that it is a result of the agents within the boat cover. This boat has a medium grey cover but the fellow claimed dark red and blue covers were worse in creating this condition.
Much to my surprise, about 95% of it faded away after two days.
So my questions are:
1) Has anyone every run into this scenario? (Florida guys?)
2) Which upholstery product would you recommend for this particular condition.
3) Would 303 cleaner be a strong choice?

I`ve used a diluted mixture of simply green with great success over the years but wanted to try another method on this project.

[imported_doctordon]

I`m not sure if what you described is mildew or not but I have used this product with great results here in Florida - Gel Coat Labs Mildew Magic - http://www.properautocare.com/bowtostmima.html. Be sure to follow the instructions on the container.

It may be some type of mold or mildew.

[eaglerider94]

Hmmm, perhaps it was a type of mildew but since it was a light tannish brown and not green in color I didn`t think it could have been mildew especially out in the dry Nevada heat. I`ll certainly check into the product you suggested though.
In the meantime, perhaps some other detailer has run into this scenario and will chime in as well. Thanks Doctordon.

[imported_Flash Gordon]

Is this product your using called Simply Green or Simple Green. If its the latter I would suggest using that stuff as drain cleaner :2 cents:

[Greg Nichols]

I love to use my steamer on boats, it cleans faster and better than ANY chemicals I have ever use! If you don`t have a steamer and do boats, you are killing yourself.

Cheers,
GREG