Your Favorite Cleaning Product
 

I'm sure there are plenty of threads discussing cleaning products but I didn't see any recent ones and I just bought a boat so I wanted to ask what products you guys use. All and all the boat I just purchased is in great shape but what do you guys use to keep the hull white (my boat is white)? Also to clean and protect the vinyl with? Thanks in advance.

Boat Bling for everything.

End of thread!

I use babes boat wax on mine everytime I pull it out of the water.

Used babes and boat bling, neither do as well as boat candy for the outside of the boat.

My regimen for the interior:

LA's Totally Awesome diluted 50/50, spray liberally let soak for a minute or two then brush with a soft bristle brush, add cleaner to spots if they get dry, do it in the shade if possible. Wipe clean then rinse and wipe with a clean wet cloth to remove cleaner from cushions. Follow with a liberal application of 303 Aerospace protectant. I just did the interior on my mine to get ready for the spring and get all the "dirt" off and it looks brand new...

http://www.lastotallyawesome.com/
http://www.303products.com/303r-aero...tant-32oz.html

You can buy the Totally Awesome at the dollar store. Don't let the price fool you.

As for the hull, I've used Hula Boat Care, Babe's and Boat Bling... No preference really, usually just buy the one I can find a deal on or that the local shop has in stock...

I'm like the dude from the greek wedding movie, but instead of Windex it's vinegar. I use vinegar, either straight, or diluted, or mixed with baking soda to clean just about everything. This applies to cars, boats, boards, household, you name it. Vinegar is a great go to, all around cleaner, and it's cheap as dirt.

Malco to clean vinyl
303 to protect vinyl
Babes spot remover and boat bright for gel coat

I have detailed lots of boats and am totally particular on mine....
I use Totally Awesome. This has been discussed in many threads if you search the forum. I have not found anything better. I have found equivalent or identical solutions, but they are way more expensive. This is $1 store stuff. I am still just about positive it is Malco's vinyl cleaner just re-marketed at the $1 store for way less money. Do as Connor says above. Spray very liberal and then brush with light brush. Wipe clean with a towel and then condition the vinyl with vinyl conditioner. Do the vinyl first cause then you will need a wipe down spray on any gel coat that gets over spray on it cause it will streak.

To wipe down the gel coat I am still a big fan of Babes Boat Bright. I dilute it 50/50 water/babes and put it in a garden sprayer. Works great, but again I am anal and have my boat looking great all the time, so it is easy. I have some Boat Bling that I am going to try soon too, cause everyone raves about it, but just not a fan of the smell of it and my wife does not like the smell on the towels after. I am going to give it another try. I have also done 50/50 vinegar and water with a splash of liquid auto way in a sprayer and I really like that also, but again, the smell on the towels bugs the wife. We use the same towels in the boat and for wipe down and then wash them.

http://boatbling.net/products/boat-blings-product/
This is worth a read to really understand the Boat Bling lineup and what it will do to your ride.

I use LA's Totally Awesome for deep cleaning my seats. Actually, I should have stock in the company as I not only use it on everything, I tell all my friends and coworkers about it too. It is good for almost anything. I use it to spot clean laundry, clean carpet, shower, etc. I even use it on grease and oil spots on the driveway.

I'm going to have to pick up some of the LA's Totally Awesome on the way home from work.

The awesome stuff works great. The carpet cleaner stuff in I think the red bottle works wonders at getting rid of stains on your carpet. Makes it look like new.

Are you talking about Resolve? Or some other carpet cleaner?
http://www.powerofresolve.com/products/carpet-products/

No Richard. LA's totally awesome makes a carpet cleaners as well.

BTW Canadian residents. I found this stuff at Dollar Tree.

I have tried all of the different product for boats and they all work great but I have found that they cost way to much for constant use and you normally have to order them online.

For exterior, The best bang for your buck is TurtleWax - Wax N Dry either right after you get the boat out the water or right after you wash the boat. Leaves a great shine and wax on the hull. I use this stuff religiously and my hull looks like it was still freshly waxed and has no water spots at all. Allows me to wax my boat once a year and Im anal.

For interior, I use Mother VLR religiously and it does a great job of cleaning and conditioning.

Cant beat totally Awesome for stubborn Stains but I wouldn't use that to much. It should be a last resort to get rid of tough stains followed by a good conditioner.

I can go to Wal-Mart or Autozone and get WAX N DRY and VLR for 10 buck and call it a day. I typically buy multiple bottles at a time and it still cheaper than the others you get online for just one bottle.

Babes, Boat Bling and boat candy are great products but are a little pricey and the two I mentioned do just as good of a job as these three mentioned for a third the price. Just my .02

2 Bunny's and a sponge

I couldn't agree more. I tried the turtle wax n dry stuff after recommended here and it works way better than mothers and the McGuire's product. I also like the vlr stuff as well. But at the begining midway and end of the season I go through with totally awesome to detail it. You can clean with vlr or any product and go behind with TA and still pull more dirt out. Nothing beats it. As mentioned a good protectant is necessary. I find if you don't follow it up with something good the seats actually get dirty quicker though.

Thanks Dave. As some who just dropped a lot of cash into my boat purchase, saving a few bucks is always good. Hopefully it won't rain all weekend and I get the boat cleaned up.

I use Lucas slick mist on the boat hull, just the right amount of clean, shine, without more than a quick wipe.

The interior regimen posted by Connor is a once or twice a year deep cleaning (I think he borrowed that from somebody on Planet Nautique, haha). For daily or weekend quick wipedown I use the Lucas interior cleaner, babes, or just wipe it down with the 303.

I bought quite a bit of babes but overall I am not that impressed with any of the products. They all seem to be midpack performers. The Lucas interior cleaner is also a midpack performer. Vinylx is also decent in a pinch. Too bad they reformulated Fantastic, the stuff from 10 years ago worked great on interiors but now it's not recommended.

The Lucas tire/wheel/trim shine is good for the tires and wheels on the trailer and tow vehicle. I drive a Chevy Avalanche with the black plastic trim around the bed top. The truck stays outside but the trim looks like new, I just hit it with a good wipe of the tire shine once a month or so and it looks like new after 7 years and 135k miles. It also works good on the rubber rub rail of my old Ski Nautique, just need to wipe off the excess off the fiberglass with the slick mist. Being able to use the same cleaner for both tires and wheels is a huge bonus.

agree lucas slick mist

also babes boat bright works on most everything super easy

Interior-
Collinite 855 for the vinyl. Stuff is amazing.
Also, amazing roll off for cleaning vinyl.
I have 303 fabric guard, haven't tried it yet.

Exterior-
Collinite 885 paste wax and 303 aerospace as maintenance coat.

I really want to try some boat bling products. Mainly the hot sauce for wipe downs after I pull from the ramp

What about for carpet? I had to leave the boat on the lift uncovered for a night because of an emergency at work. Come back home to cover it and a blue Herron had eaten a fish in it. Talk about a sickening feeling. I got almost all of the stains out but there are a few that i can't. What would you guys recommend?

We use Simple Green or LA's Totally Awesome in our carpet cleaner with the regular stuff for an extra kick. Seems to work pretty good on our travel trailer and that carpet takes a beating.

I need to find something to get my carpets fluffed back up per say.
They aren't stained, but it's all smashed and flat/beat
If I go through it with my carpet cleaner will it bring a lively look back in it?

Since boat carpet has no pad it gets crushed you can clean it but it will go back to crushed quickly.

I used boat bling for the first time last night. I'm sold on it! Went trough the entire boat with all of there products, 6 hrs of cleaning! All of it amazed me.

My product update:

A One Step Advanced Technology Water Spot Remover with UV Protection Wax.

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I just picked up some totally awesome and I'm in my shop about to clean the seats. I look on the bottle and i got the totally awesome pure ammonia. Anyone know if this will ruin my seats? I'm not going to use it until I get some input lol.

boat bling Hot Sauce smell is addicting...

Glad to hear you got the results you were looking for out of the Boat Bling line! There are a lot of good products on the market so we greatly appreciate your willingness to try us out! As always, I'm happy to answer any questions, just shoot me an email. Would love to see some pics of the boat all cleaned up too.

Zack @ Boat Bling.net

I look on the bottle and i got the totally awesome pure ammonia. Anyone know if this will ruin my seats? I'm not going to use it until I get some input lol.

Careful with anything ammonia on vinyl or plastic if the boat is still under warranty as the vinyl manufacturer may decline the claim. Just went through an extensive process of boat builder approvals and after receiving a crash course in chemistry that is one of the #1 reasons for claims being declined. Same with window tint.