Cleaning dirty Vinyl seats?

L

LeadingEdgeDetail

New member
I'm in the middle of a 30' Boat detail... First boat ever, and its a doozie.



Working on the inside, I can't seem to get the seats to brighten up like they should. I can take most of the dirt off, but they still don't look good.



I'm thinking of trying a Magic Eraser....



Tried Meguiars Heavy-Duty vinyl cleaner, and Bold 'N' Bright, neither worked..
 
I detailed a neighbor's 21' Mariah deck boat. It's less than 2 yrs old and stays on an open lift. His vinyl seats had a lot of UV exposure. I tried several cleaners (303, Simple Green, Folex, and the Magic Eraser). The cleaners removed much of the dirt and the M E got more, but some still remained. I think the vinyl has started to break down and the dirt reacted with the vinyl substrate. Although it looks a lot better, it didn't turn out like new.



A perfect example why boats need regular care.
 
It is true. Once the protective uv inhibitors in the vinyl begin to break down there is not very much that can be done to clean and protect the vinyl. That is the basic problem with attempting to clean and restore older vinyl.



With newer boats, the key is making sure that the vinyl is maintained properly from the beginning. Frequent applications of 303 during the boating season does a great job of adding an extra measure of uv protection.
 
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