Topsides and Deck Cleaning

[livefats]

Our heads (not the nautical variety) are reeling with conflicting (and very well-meant) advice on this one! We've got Freebird out of the water this winter, and are popping up to tidy and winterise as per. We've had lots of suggestions on how to wash down her slightly grubby grp, ranging from oxalic acid to Cif and Starbrite (and also basic washing up liquid!). She was waxed last season, so we're also wondering whether we need to strip this off (which I guess the aforementioned products would do) and repolish, of just use something more gentle and not bother.

Any thoughts on topsides and deck cleaning? Thanks, as ever, for your responses.

[tiger79]

The key thing is to avoid as much abrasion as possible.  Start with sudsy water and a sponge (or a microfibre mitt).  For stubborn areas, I use a little Tesco "creme cleaner" (like Cif but much cheaper) on a wet sponge - this will shift most dirt.  For yellow stains around the waterline, oxalic acid - easiest way to use it is by buying a tub of Y10 gel.

Polishing and waxing will protect the topsides.  Easiest stuff to use is Meguiars #45 Polish, followed by Meguiars #56 Wax.  Both are very easy to apply by hand, and polish off easily by hand.

[livefats]

God advice, Tiger - thank you. I was worried about being too savage. The Y10 tip is helpful too - the last person I spoke to recommended powdered oxalyic acid thickened with wallpaper adhesive as a cheap alternative, but I'd rather spend a little more and not worry about needing to unstick the hull!

[Moodymike]

I have always used Oxalyic with wallpaper paste,  works well for me.

[tiger79]

Always bear in mind that oxalic acid, either on its own or in a product such as Y10, is nasty stuff.  You should really wear rubber gloves and certainly eye protection in case of splashes.  A tub of Y10 is only a few quid and lasts for ages, for me it's much more convenient than messing about with wallpaper paste.