Wax or other sealer for textured fiberglass floor

[arbogaster]

What do you guys like to put on your textured fiberglass floors as either a wax or other protectant to make them easier to clean. I just spent a ton of time cleaning the boat and would like to use soem sort of protectant made for floors to help keep it cleaner longer. I have a Trophy so some of you may be familiar with thay type of textured floor. They are common on a lot of walk arounds

[FsnMachine]

I don't have an answer but could use the same on my Trophy floor. I love the washdown floor for rinsing the fish blood and slime down but for that once or twice a year cleaning.

[wingnut]

I have a textured floor on my wellcraft and when It starts to look bad I get out the 3500 PSI power washer. Blasts about 95% of the crud off. For the stained spots I spray it down with black streak remover (meant for RV use). My first thought about putting a wax on is It's going to be slippery.

[ChampionShip]

We have a brand new textured floor on the boat I was on all summer. The only thing that would even begin to clean it was comet and a ridiculously stiff bristle brush. It got cleaned twice a day and needed it every time- especially with smokers on board. The smoother floors do fine with soft scrub with bleach and a decent brush. Keeps the smell to a minimum and looks like new when scrubbed. Wash down pump is a must IMO. If you have those crazy Trophy in floor fish boxes.......Well, let's just hope you don't.

[Hazzard]

Soft scrub with bleach is all I use in my Trophy. It works great. I have the fish boxes and I pump them out till they stop pumping then use a sponge to get the rest of it. I also added some window sealer foam to the hatch seems to keep most of the water out.

[perchjerker]

on the non skid of my Grady White, I just use the Boat Deck cleaner with PTEF they sell at Boat US, usually Star Brite brand.

I just put it on, work it in, give it a few minutes, scrub a little more then hose it off. Just follow the directions

I think it works just fine. You dont need much, its highly concentrated. My buddy thought he would do me a favor and did mine once and used the whole bottle, I about crapped my pants lol

http://www.amazon.com/Starbrite-Non-skid-Deck-Cleaner-Protector/dp/B003CYTNPY

[arbogaster]

Woody's wax is an easily applied wax made for textured floors of boats so that it is not slippery. Apparently it does a great job of keeping the crud from sticking so that the schmutz comes off with the washdown and does not require a power washer.

[Hooked Up]

Boating Mag just did a comparison of the "best" overall cleaners...the winner was Soft Scrub w/ Bleach. It got the cleanest & whitest results.

The West Marine brand deck cleaner was a close 2nd.

I have used both and think the SS is a better cleaner, haven't found anything yet as a protectant (like wax that would spray off easy)~

[mattmishler]

We use a product Purple Power cleaner and degreaser. This stuff works wonders for us.

[SeaCatMich]

Woody's wax is an easily applied wax made for textured floors of boats so that it is not slippery. Apparently it does a great job of keeping the crud from sticking so that the schmutz comes off with the washdown and does not require a power washer.

I have used Woody's Wax in the past and it does a good job of making the textured decks easy to clean. I actually need to do it again to my boat's decks as it has been three seasons since my last application. It is a very good product.

[pentwater bite me]

Many years ago I bought a boat that was detailed by the marina workers.they waxed the deck.Many falls slips and the like before it wore off.scrub with era laundry soap and bleach,power wash off and on to get up the scales that do not scrub off

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

Never heard of a wax application to apply to marine decks, esp. cockpits. I also use the SS/bleach for normal daily usage, also a pressure washer, 2800 psi or higher, for the cockpit. If the area is really old, dirty, incapable of cleaning with comet and all the rest, consider in hot weather, masking it off and repainting the entire floor, adding a non-slip type dust to the paint to prevent slippage. I believe west marine and interlux both have specialized paint for this purpose. Good luck and stay away from wax, could be a real slippery fall in your future if applied.

[Cork Dust]

I'll put another vote in for Woody Wax applied after a Starbrite Non-skid cleaner with PTEF washdown. This non-skid cleaner, if left to sit on tough spots, will remove almost anything. Follow the directions exactly as stated on the Woody Wax application, a little goes a long way. Over application is not necessary.

Just one additional point for all you folks using scouring cleaners on fiberglass decks. You are micro-etching your fiberglass and increasing the number of nooks and crannies for "stuff" to accumulate. Visualize this in terms of a well used fish cleaning board with thousands of micro-cuts in it.

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

Cork, how do we make micro-etchings in fiberglass with a cleaner and brush? Does "micro" involve not visible to the naked eye? Either way, the stress cracks involved in any boat over the years is unavoidable imho. So, if that theory was true, which I doubt, it could not be weighed as a significant contributor to the cockpit's cleanliness as a whole, no doubt. A wooden fish cleaning board does not equate to a fiberglass cockpit, in any shape, way, or form to me, doesn't compute to me anyhow, with all due respect.

[Line Dancin]

Looks like i am heading to yact basin to pick up some of the woody's wax. i have been wondering the same thing. I know when i do my bow with regular wax you cant walk on it as it is way to slippery.

[fishsniffer]

We use a product Purple Power cleaner and degreaser. This stuff works wonders for us.

great stuff!! i get it at autozone or advanced auto..cant remember wich

[Paulywood]

Cork, how do we make micro-etchings in fiberglass with a cleaner and brush? Does "micro" involve not visible to the naked eye? Either way, the stress cracks involved in any boat over the years is unavoidable imho. So, if that theory was true, which I doubt, it could not be weighed as a significant contributor to the cockpit's cleanliness as a whole, no doubt. A wooden fish cleaning board does not equate to a fiberglass cockpit, in any shape, way, or form to me, doesn't compute to me anyhow, with all due respect.

The products you guys are talking about have a solid scouring agent in them that helps them clean. That does lead to very small scratches in the surface of the gel coat. A better analogy would be rubbing sand on a paint job. The small scratches will tend to catch and hold dirt and grime better than a smooth surface. Whether or not it makes a difference is beyond me. I use the deck cleaner and the Woody's Wax. I will caution that the Woody's Wax is probably better for boats that are slipped. My boat sits in my yard and we live on a dirt road surrounded by fields, so there is a lot of dust. Even with the cover on I tend to get a lot of dirt down in the cockpit because the walk around drains into the back of the boat. The Woody's Wax seems to trap the dirt and it actually comes off harder. I usually end up cleaning my deck before or after every trip with the cleaner and have gone away from the wax until we move and I can park the boat inside.

[Cork Dust]

Cork, how do we make micro-etchings in fiberglass with a cleaner and brush? Does "micro" involve not visible to the naked eye? Either way, the stress cracks involved in any boat over the years is unavoidable imho. So, if that theory was true, which I doubt, it could not be weighed as a significant contributor to the cockpit's cleanliness as a whole, no doubt. A wooden fish cleaning board does not equate to a fiberglass cockpit, in any shape, way, or form to me, doesn't compute to me anyhow, with all due respect.

It's a pretty simple physics application based on MOHs hardness ratings of different compounds.

I am not talking about stress cracks in the gel coat. These occur where the gel coat was sprayed in the mold too thickly. Gel coat is quite brittle, so these overy thick areas, when flexed under load, crack.

If you are using any abrasive cleaner that has silica particles, or any other abrasive, including a fiberglass emulsion like Bon Ami uses, the "scouring powder" portion is harder or of equal hardness to that of the fiberclass and etches the surface of the non-skid. The same holds true with those magic eraser pads. Using a blue bristle Shurhold brush may decrease the dynes of energy expended in moving the water/scouring cleaner emulsion around on the non-skid, but it sure doesn't alleviate the simple reality that the scouring particles are harder than the surface they are being swept around on, and therefore are scratching it. All this does is increase the surface area for bacteria, fish slime, blood and "gunk" to adhere to, making each sequential cleaning that much more difficult to get the deck back to clean.