Bimini Sealer and Buff/Wax Questions

[Dschaffer]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

5200 is the only product I would recommend for sealing holes, especially under the waterline.

As for cleaning the hull of water scum I like Mary Kate's On and Off. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS if you use this product, and make sure you are outside or in a well vented area. For cleaning topside, I like a soap and bleach mixture.

As far as the bimini top, I've had good success simply hitting it with a spray bottle of "Fabuloso" and washing it off with a hose.

Never had to seal it so can't help you there.

Thanks for the info. Do you wax the deck at all? I have read of people using mop n glow to make it easier to clean yet somehow not slippery? Any thoughts on the buffing kit? Thanks

[Dschaffer]

Off subject but what do you all do with the “live well” in the middle of the deck? I put ice and salmon in there last summer but I don’t like that the blood and debris drain into the hull. It could be used for storage but definitely gets wet. Mine has a drain hole and a bilge pump it it. Thanks

[phatdaddy]

For patching old holes, i use epoxy mixed with a filler to a peanut butter like consistency. It helps to over drill the hole to clean wood, wet it out with epoxy and then put the slurry in.. i try to do the same thing when mounting something below the waterline.

As far as waxing, never done it. I did have one of those harbor freight cheapie pressure washers under the boat house that i wash the boat with and scrub with soft scrub every now and then

When my bimini got thin, i would spray it with scotch guard. Seemed to help

Like you , i tried the fish hold in the middle and was not happy with the results, now i store cast nets in buckets and other stuff that can get wet. When i use it for fish i use one of those large cheap styrofoam coolers with the sides cut so the deck lid will close on it.

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by Dschaffer

Thanks for the info. Do you wax the deck at all? I have read of people using mop n glow to make it easier to clean yet somehow not slippery? Any thoughts on the buffing kit? Thanks

NO, never waxed any of my decks so I cannot comment on doing that. My 21 footer has a truck bed liner (U-Pol Raptor) sprayed on the deck so slippery conditions are not a problem. To clean I just hit it with the pressure washer. My 20 footer just has a regular from the factory deck, and I've really never had a problem with slipping. I do have several non-skid self adhesive strips that I got from McMaster-Carr placed on the deck, mostly in the stern areas where slips from fish slime etc would be more likely. Again, I just hit them with the pressure washer to clean them.

[Dschaffer]

I think I’ll give the mop n glow a try. I will report the results. The hope is a easy clean deck that is not slippery. As for the hull, If a good cleaning doesn’t do it, I’ll probably purchase the wax/buff kit. Thanks for the tip on the 5200!

[Cam]

I have always used 303 cleaner and sealer for bimini top.

[Duke01]

I used 303 sealer on two different boats. It works well and is applied with a small diameter roller.