Cleaning paint over canvas.
- Thread starter Mark G
- Start date
I have used simple soaps and water for most cleaning. A very stubborn stain may require a small bit of gentle hand polishing with a very fine grit. Products like this are often sold for polishing fiberglass canoes. Good luck,
Benson
Benson
Todd Bradshaw
Sailmaker
You will want to avoid products which contain silicone (many of the "miracle" wipe-on restoring products for cars and boats - Starbrite, etc.) If you ever need to repaint, the residual silicone will cause all sorts of nasty paint problems, even after trying to sand it off. There are some products labeled marine cleaner/wax (3M, Rule, McGuire's and others) which are liquid wax with a little bit of polishing compound added which work beautifully for cleaning up old paint and gelcoat. Old Town even used to sell one with their label on it which came in a flat can and was a bit thicker than the liquid versions. I don't know whether or not they still sell it. We had an old Hobie Cat sailboat that I repainted the decks on using marine enamel. It sat out in the sun year-round and the paint would eventually chalk badly. Once a year or so we would use the 3M Cleaner/Wax to polish off the oxidation and it would come out looking like new again. The cleaner/wax is overpriced, but worth it in the long run.
(one of the better prices)
https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-16-oz-Marine-Cleaner-and-Wax-09009/310136068
The green color on this sailboat is Brightside marine enamel. When this photo was taken, the boat and its paintjob had been sitting out in my driveway 24/7 uncovered for three years with the exception of the previous summer when it had been moored out on the lake. It was back for spring clean-up and the green enamel had recently been gone over with 3M Cleaner/Wax in the process.
(one of the better prices)
https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-16-oz-Marine-Cleaner-and-Wax-09009/310136068
The green color on this sailboat is Brightside marine enamel. When this photo was taken, the boat and its paintjob had been sitting out in my driveway 24/7 uncovered for three years with the exception of the previous summer when it had been moored out on the lake. It was back for spring clean-up and the green enamel had recently been gone over with 3M Cleaner/Wax in the process.
Mark Gagnon
New Member
Thanks gentlemen. I've used the 3M product before on a Whaler I own. Works great.....
Todd Bradshaw
Sailmaker
Yep, been there done that on mine. It's a 1975 but you wouldn't know it to look at it and the cleaner/wax is one of the easiest ways to keep it looking good.
