Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by Gamalot on 03/03/11 - 5:26 PM

Mine are old and chalky and I want to clean them up in some way. Not sure if I should wash them in soap and water and a scrub brush or sand them lightly and paint them or how to tackle this job.

Posted by Bake on 03/03/11 - 5:51 PM

I had a pair that was very chalky I did not have much luck with sandpaper I did better with scraping with a razor blade to remove the dead layer. After you scrape all the dead stuff off you will want to coat it down with Penetrol. Penetrol is found at your local hardware store by the paints and thinners and such.

Posted by bmw90w on 03/03/11 - 6:55 PM

Penetrol made mine look like brand new as well, and it was very easy to wipe on. Just make sure to get all that chalky layer off first. You will beamazed with the results trust me! Mine were nasty and very pinkish/white now they look brand new.

Posted by Gamalot on 03/04/11 - 5:47 AM

Adding Penetrol to my list! Chalky pinkish is an exact description of my Z legs and I will be working on them today. I will try a wire wheel and scraping if necessary. They are pretty ugly right now but I think they can be brought back just like all the Teak that is beginning to look great with all the oil it now has.

Posted by Tom W Clark on 03/04/11 - 7:12 AM

Sand the Z-legs if you must but do not scrape or wire brush them; you will start to gouge the surface.

Penetrol can be applied directly over the chalkiness but the cleaner the surface, the better.

Remember, Penetrol will be a temporary solution; you may have to reapply a coat every year or two depending on exposure.

Posted by Bake on 03/04/11 - 7:41 AM

I can not speak to any other experience other than mine but the chalky dead layer on the set I had was pretty thick. I did try to light sand then rough sand. It did not work until I scraped that dead layer off. Of course like when scraping paint you try to remove the top layer not dig into the surface.

Posted by Gamalot on 03/04/11 - 11:55 AM

#10

These things are ridiculously hard to clean! The photo below represents 2 hours of scrubbing, sanding, washing and scrapping. Fortunately they are only chalky on the outer, sun-beaten side but the chalk is extremely difficult to get off.

What seems to be working the best is soaking them in hot water and using a small pocket knife to do the scrapping. It does not gouge the plastic but will remove the dead surface if done carefully. I have used coarse sand paper and also did a spot check with acetone to see if this might loosen up the chalk. Nothing works well except the pocket knife followed by a good scrubbing with a dark red scotch brite pad.

There has to be an easier way but I sure can't find it! I did find the penetrol at the HD and will use it when I have them as good as I can get them.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v722/Gamalot/Boat/100_0585.jpg[/IMG]

Posted by bmw90w on 03/04/11 - 12:29 PM

#13

Yeah man that is to much work! Just get as much dust off as possible and then use the penetrol. That is all I did, and they came out incredible. I will warn you though you can use too much so wipe a little on at a time. Otherwise it will pool up and dry in blobs.

Posted by Gamalot on 03/04/11 - 1:29 PM

#14

I just now finished the cleaning process and I did find something that was very helpful. Before I ever wet the second one I tried a spot of WD-40 on the chalk. It is the only stuff I found that cuts into the chalk and makes it easier to get off.

I will apply the Penetrol tonight after they are dry.

Posted by Gamalot on 03/05/11 - 6:40 AM

#16

They look pretty good now after I got almost all the chalk off them and hit them with Penetrol.

Question on the Penetrol. I wiped it on and left it for 5 minutes according to the instructions for fiberglass and then wiped it off. Should I be leaving it on and letting it dry?

Posted by drh146 on 04/04/13 - 9:20 AM

#18

I searched and found this thread and it have me the decision to use penetrol. I cleaned them first, but wasn't about to use a razor blade but used pubertal anyway. Since there wasn't a good before after picture, I thought if add this picture to help out any one in the future. No scraping just apply and wipe off

http://m214.photobucket.com/albumview...5.jpg.html

Edited by Tom W Clark on 04/04/13 - 9:29 AM

Posted by cherrybridgecreek on 04/04/13 - 10:31 AM

#19

Try using a bead blaster (preferably in a containment chamber) on a piece of similar, expendable plastic, using quick, short passes until you get the feel of the timing necessary to remove only the encrusted salt/soil/grime/algae/etc. without pitting or otherwise destroying the plastic. Then start on the Z legs with the same technique, then wash down with detergent, let dry thoroughly, then apply Penetrol or several coats of high-grade marine varnish. Good as new.

Posted by Jeff on 04/04/13 - 10:47 AM

#20

The process I used was to sand the legs first with 60 - 100 grit depending of how chalky they are. I sanded all the "Fuzz" off down to a good surface. I then apply a thin coating of a urethane by wiping it on with a cloth. This acts as a sealer encapsulating the fiberglass infused plastic. Give it 24 hours to dry and then sand it with 220. Reapply the urethane with a cloth, let cure and resand with 220. The final step is painting with Krylon Fusion paint (formulated for adhesion to plastic). I used Satin Espresso which was a perfect match to the OEM color and sheen. The standard Espresso is a little glossier if you wanted that.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42...ler/z1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42...ler/z2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42...ler/z3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42...ler/z4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42...ler/z5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42...ler/z6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42...ler/z7.jpg

I have done two sets like this. After 5 years the last set was still looking great.

Edited by Jeff on 04/04/13 - 10:48 AM

Posted by EJO on 04/04/13 - 12:21 PM

#21

check out the products sold by [url]www,auroramarine.com[url] they will have the right product for this and any other cleaning or re-furbishing plastic/rubber/fiber glass job on your boat. the stuff they sell is great and works watch their vids.
I'm not connected with them or work for them, I'm just a happy customer of many of their products over the past 7 years.

Edited by EJO on 04/04/13 - 12:22 PM

Posted by fatcat99 on 05/03/13 - 8:05 PM

#22

I just rejuvenated mine to what looks like new by saturating them with WD40, wiping down well with a rag, and then repeating. They were dry and produced the white chalky residue when touched before this, and now look and feel as if they just came out of their original mold. Was very easy process. Home Depot sells WD40 by the gallon