Turner Burwick joined PartsVu Xchange Talks Boating to discuss all things boat cleaning: the science behind the stains that manifest within the marine environment, how to best remove these stains, and how to protect your boat’s surfaces in the future.
Turner works for Star brite, one of the marine industry’s leading manufacturers of cleaners, waxes, polishes, fuel additives, and many other products that help boaters maintain and protect their boats.
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Can you explain the four types of stains we have to manage on our boats?
Turner: The stains you can find around different surfaces of your boat include:
- Dirt and grime
- Rust and tannin
- Mold and mildew
- Scuff marks or transfer stains
Dirt and grime are your everyday stains like mud, road dirt from trailering, footprints, food, drinks, fish blood, and so forth. Rust stains and tannic stains include rust stains from metal hardware or hooks you left around. Tannins are naturally produced in plants as they break down in the water, and they leach into the pores of your fiberglass, causing those signature orange stains at the waterline.
Mold and mildew stains are those black, green, brown, pink, etc. stains caused by excessive moisture. As the name suggests, scuff marks and transfer stains are transferred from another surface to your boat. Transfer stains come from many sources, including chemically resistant shoes leaving scuff marks or marks left from dragging a rubber hose around the boat when you’re cleaning.
All four types of stains require different boat cleaning and protection technologies.
Can you explain the science and chemistry needed to tackle each of these types of stains?
Turner: You can use a surfactant or a surface-active agent to tackle dirt and grime. These chemicals break the bond between the dirt and the surface it is attached to, making it easier for you to clean.
Acidic products are instrumental when cleaning rust and tannin stains. You need a bleaching agent to eliminate mold and mildew stains. The bleaching agent attacks and breaks the mold and mildew, eliminating the stain and associated discoloration. Finally, gentle abrasives can help eliminate scuff and transfer stains.
Can you use Clorox for boat cleaning?
No. It’s important not to use a regular chlorine bleach, like Clorox. Chlorine bleach causes more harm than good, destroying your gel coat, breaking down your fabric, stitching, and other surfaces on your boat.
Our chemists have developed buffered bleach products that are safe to use and do a great job of eliminating mold and mildew stains while protecting your boat’s surfaces.
Why is dishwashing soap not recommended for boat cleaning?
Turner: Using a boat wash for boats and dish soap for dishes is advisable. A boat wash doesn’t have grease-cutting agents found in dishwashing detergents that help cut through food grease and oils.
If you use dish soap on your boat, those cutting agents will cut through protective coatings such as polishes, waxes, and other compounds that protect your boat from UV rays—just like it cuts through grease left behind on your plates and fry pans.
Can you explain Star brite’s approach to cleaning and protecting boat surfaces from future damage?
Turner: Star brite’s mission is to walk boaters through the process of cleaning these different types of stains and protect their boat from each, so the stains don’t quickly return. Realistically, it’s impossible to stop these stains from returning completely; but our products ensure that they don’t come back quickly.
For dirt and grime stains, we recommend Non-skid Deck Wax, an excellent follow-up product to our Non-skid Deck Cleaner or Boat Wash. This product adds a nice protective layer to textured surfaces, creating a little invisible shell so that you can easily rinse off the surfaces with fresh water without the hard work of scrubbing or rubbing.
One of our marine polishes will be the best for preventing rust and tannin stains. Our marine polish seals the boat’s fiberglass pores considerably, preventing water from seeping in and the stains quickly returning. Ultimately, our marine polish deters rust and tannin stains from manifesting, but when these stains eventually do appear, you can use an instant hull cleaner to remove these stains in the future.
Our Mildew Stain Blocker is a great follow-up product for our Mildew Stain Remover and can last for several months, depending on how often you use your boat. Simply spray the Mildew Stain Blocker across the seats and other appropriate parts of the boat after cleaning and allow it to dry. Applying the product forms a protective film on the surfaces, preventing (or at least significantly delaying) the return of mold and mildew.
There’s no particular way to protect boat surfaces from scuff marks and transfer stains. Nevertheless, we recommend using a speed detailer protector. A perfect example is our Boat Guard Speed Detailer which gives your boat considerable shine and UV protection.
How can boaters protect their boat’s surfaces from UV rays and salt?
Turner: If you don’t actively protect your boat’s surfaces from UV rays, your boat will look much older than it is. UV rays break down the pigment in your gel coat, ultimately causing it to fade and can also cause discoloration.
The good news is that using a quality polish or boat wax will help you to stay ahead of potential UV damage.
For saltwater boaters, we highly recommend using Salt Off to help remove salt, neutralize it, and prevent salt deposits. Salt is incredibly hard on everything from tackle, dive gear, your boat’s surfaces, and your engine.
We offer an applicator that circulates Salt Off through the engine to ensure the salt is removed from surfaces inside the engine.
How can boaters best protect our marine environments when they choose boat cleaning products?
Turner: First, we always highly encourage customers to read the labels of the products they are considering. Also, boaters need to be familiar with the regulations of the waterways they are boating—certain lakes and rivers may not allow certain chemicals while other places may.
At Star Brite, we are 100% committed to doing our best to keep our waterways clean and protected. In fact, we recently launched our Sea Safe collection. Also, we had our first event at Marker 24 Marina in Merritt Island, Florida, where we replanted several hundred mangroves and did a trash cleanup.
How can boaters best clean and protect metal surfaces like aluminum or stainless steel?
Turner: First, identify which type of stain is on the metal surface, whether a rust stain, mineral deposit, water deposit, etc. With the stain identified, you can select the best product.
After removing the stain, follow with the right protective product for the metal surface. For instance, Star Brite has a full line of aluminum products, including but not limited to our Aluminum Cleaner & Restorer, Ultimate Aluminum Polish, and others.
We also have a Chrome & Stainless-Steel Polish designed for those surfaces. As I mentioned earlier, to prevent rusting, regularly polish your boat. Of course, the rust would still manifest eventually, but regular polishing will delay rust and extend the life of your boat.
What’s the best way for boaters to clean their bilge?
Turner: Star Brite has bilge cleaners that work great; however, if you don’t have a bilge cleaner handy, you can simply use a boat wash. Pour a couple of cap fulls of the boat wash into your bilge, fill it with water, and swish the cleaner around with a brush, then let it sit for a couple of hours. After a couple of hours, the cleaner will have broken down the grime. You can pump it out with your bilge pump, and this process will also keep your bilge pump nice and clean.
Ensure you read the labels to ensure it doesn’t have any harsh or caustic chemicals; otherwise, you risk destroying the housing of your bilge and could risk harmful chemicals being introduced to the marine environment.
