Cleaning fiberglass boat

[Gobi King]

Greetings from Sunny Michigan!

I was blessed with a nearly free laser sail boat.
This boat was sitting under a tree and has accumulated a bit of everything.

The deck has slip proof surface which has bunch of dirt in the grooves.

How do I go about cleaning this?

[Keta]

Try CLR and a trip to a carwash.

[Gobi King]

Try CLR and a trip to a carwash.

Lee,

I could borrow a trailer and drive through the car wash 

I have the boat on a dolly (another freebie), I have an electric powerwasher, I can blast it with it.

I have never power washed a fiberglass boat, which nozzle should I use?

Spray CLR and then wash it out?

[Keta]

Apply CLR, , let work a bit,  then pressure wash with a wide nozzle.  I would not get realy close.

[ourford]

I always had good luck with Star Brite hull cleaner on my boat. I used it with a stiff brush on the non slip surfaces.

[ExcessiveAngler]

Now I don't know how it would affect other things(metals)on the boat!
But my BIL, is one of the worst people in the world for keeping his boat clean!
There's something in a spray bottle, with bleach in it though!
All right, I took a break and went and found it, it's called scrubbing bubbles with foaming bleach action by SC Johnson!
We use the spray stuff on everything except, directly on the metals!
We normally just mist an area down very lightly, and then spray the stuff on there and watch it go to work lol!
And we don't do this while the boat is in the water, We do this at the end of the season and the beginning of the season, every year!
Doesn't seem to affect anything! I guess unless you missed something and left it on there it, could possibly corrode metal!
But we spray the whole inside of the boat with this and give a quick scrub, or light pressure wash and literally looks like a brand new boat inside, you'd be shocked!
Spray some of the stuff on your white lawn furniture if it gets dirty and then hit it with a pressure washer, can't tell the difference from a new one lol!
If you do use a pressure washer, please make sure, you use the very lightest, fan setting or interchangeable tip!

[Cuttyhunker]

Sometmes acetone is like magic YMMV

[David Hall]

I use a pressure washer on my glass deck all the time for the past 17yrs. There has been zero negative impact. when it gets really grungy I use the strabrite deck cleaner, wet the deck, apply the cleaner, let it soak then scrub it with a stiff brush and powerwash it off. The tip I use is a rotary kind from Amazon.  Works great and no plans to change.

[jurelometer]

Lee:  Does he need to take the boat off the trailer first to clean it with CLR? The stuff is no bueno on painted metal,  aluminum and zinc, so if that trailer is galvanized...

-J

[Cor]

I would first use any kitchen cleaning substance that most of us have around the house, even dish washing liquid, warm water, brush and elbow grease.

You could substitute a power washer for the elbow grease.

I believe fibreglass is pretty inert and durable so you're not likely to hurt it perhaps only if ultraviolet rays have damaged the gelcoat.
If the grooves only have dirt in them, no fungi, then this should also work otherwise a bit of light bleach solution.

Good luck, get a sail and off you go!

[Keta]

Lee:  Does he need to take the boat off the trailer first to clean it with CLR? The stuff is no bueno on painted metal,  aluminum and zinc, so if that trailer is galvanized...

-J

Good to know.

[Gobi King]

The dolly is aluminum, no painted metal on the boat, all stainless, the mast is alu. I will be careful with CLR.

Scrubbing Bubbles, strabrite, acetone, CLR et dish soap.

I have CLR and Strabrite in my stash.
I did give it a go with dish soap (degreasing kind) with a soft broom, the stuff in the cross hatch did not even budge.

I have industrial CAT pump pressure washer and an electric ryobi, I will bust out the electric ryobi and give it a go.

Not sure I have a rotary head, might have to pick one up.

It is supposed to rain today, I will wait for the rain to pre-rinse the hull then start on it.

Thanks guys!

[thorhammer]

Cheap and very effective: bleach and Dawn in a bucket (and water). Scrub brush. You can PW first to knock off the loose stuff but this is my standard deck cleaner.

[Midway Tommy]

Ever think of looking into vinyl siding detergents and low velocity power wash? Seems like that would be a suitable option.