fenders

[Cherod]

hi,, i have just recently aquired some fenders, they are used but are in very good condition and made by reputable company, only problem is that they have some staining on them which i do not like, looks like just general usage staining , light brown / greyish mostly, question is how do i clean them ? i have tried soaking in dish washing soap and vigorous rubbing with a nail brush and while this did help in the general appearance it has done little to remove the staining,, i was thinking of trying bleach( diluted ) but am a little scared i might damage them,, anyone any ideas,, i am going to try some Gunk later .

[Suijin]

I've found most heavy duty marine cleaners or industrial cleaners keep mine clean, like Spray Nine.

That said, I have fender covers on most of mine. Pull 'em off and toss 'em in the wash every couple of years.

[John_Trusty]

It depends on what's the stain, as much as what's the material under the stain, which is probably flexible vinyl. You seem mainly worried about not destroying the polyurethane, but perhaps you should worry about what will dissolve the stain. The brown staining is most probably tree tannin or metal. MaryKate makes a inflatable and fender cleaner that says it has no petroleum distillates, but is expensive ($20 / qt). Taylor-made recommends mineral spirits, which is a weak non-polar solvent (Welcome to Taylor Made Products Obviously, avoid paint strippers, such as Methylene Chloride, or products that are powerful non-polar solvents like acetone. There's a ton of videos and suggestions on-line for this topic, so Google may be your best friend.

[WindLove]

You can use something with oxalic acid, and yes, it may harm the vinyl, so do a test spot and only use it as much as you need to to remove the stain.

Trisodium Phosphate (tsp) heavy duty cleaner is another heavy duty one.

Good luck!

[meridian28]

I’ve had good luck with Barkeepers Friend

[Bean Counter]

I gave up trying to clean old ones, just make/buy fender covers, stops marking the side of the boat too,

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I've found most heavy duty marine cleaners or industrial cleaners keep mine clean, like Spray Nine.

I recently re-habbed our fenders; tried a bazillion products (some actually made for cleaning fenders) and Spray Nine was what worked best.

Even that was not spray on/rinse off. First pass with a scrub brush. Second pass with a kitchen scrub pad. Then let them sit in direct sunlight for a while, and remaining stains gradually disappeared (mostly).

-Chris

[davb]

Originally Posted by Cherod

hi,, i have just recently aquired some fenders, they are used but are in very good condition and made by reputable company, only problem is that they have some staining on them which i do not like, looks like just general usage staining , light brown / greyish mostly, question is how do i clean them ? i have tried soaking in dish washing soap and vigorous rubbing with a nail brush and while this did help in the general appearance it has done little to remove the staining,, i was thinking of trying bleach( diluted ) but am a little scared i might damage them,, anyone any ideas,, i am going to try some Gunk later .

Try a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Bar Keepers Friend also works well.

[Cherod]

well thanks all,, got a few things to try there,, ( I asked the barkeepers friend but she says that she is far too busy }

[Jim Cate]

I guess that this is heresy, but we've used acetone for cleaning PVC fenders and cowl vents for years and haven't destroyed them yet. Does remove the glossy finish of new PVC but for fenders that seems a small price to pay for the ease of cleaning that is achieved.

Jim

[deblen]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I guess that this is heresy, but we've used acetone for cleaning PVC fenders and cowl vents for years and haven't destroyed them yet. Does remove the glossy finish of new PVC but for fenders that seems a small price to pay for the ease of cleaning that is achieved.

Jim

Try waxing them after acetone cleaning. / Len

[deblen]

https://www.amazon.com/Roll-Neck-Boa.../dp/B004V8I7KC

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by davb

Try a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Bar Keepers Friend also works well.

FWIW, those were two of the products I tried in my recent clean-up, prior to using Spray Nine. Neither made much progress on our fender dirt and grime.

From memory, other products were Simpy Awesome, Mary Kate something or other, 409, Star Brite Fender Cleaner, Soft Scrub, Kaboom (foam), baking soda, vinegar... and none of those were awesome either.

-Chris

[BlackHeron]

Fenders get nasty really quickly. I guess I don't care all that much about what they look like, or that they match each other or are color-coordinated. We don't buy fenders, we simply find them floating out there. I am thankful that many motorboaters install those fancy fender dispensers on their boats so they can give them away to us poor sailboaters and cruisers. I've never cleaned fenders before. I might try some Spray-9 or BKF on them if they get so crusty that they start marking up the hull. Then again our hull isn't a beauty queen any longer either...

[Tayana42]

I’ve used whitewall tire cleaner like this

Black Magic 120066 Bleche-Wite Tire Cleaner, 32 oz. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YZUK02..._XfwpAb1SQWYDJ

Works well, cleans with a bit of scrubbing. However, it is a good to follow up with a plastic treatment like Armor All.

That said, after a few months of exposure the fenders looked old and stained again. We covered them. Wow! No more cleaning. No more dirty smears on the hull sides. Did I mention no more cleaning?