What products NOT to use on Vinyl interiors

Found this link last night.

http://www.baysafe.com/DONOTCLEANYOURVINYL.pdf

Good post, I have been using 303 but my vinyl still seems to dry out. Anybody found any other products that is a good conditioner for vinyl. I haven't tried any of the Babes products but have heard good things about them.

I was just looking for products that remove grease that has been there for a number of years. I was thinking about trying a magic eraser.

Try this Matt. I've used it for years and it CONDITIONS as well.http://www.wakeboatworld.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemi d=74

oh, good read. Thanks Kevin.

Good evening all, I am the distributor or the Exquisite Vinyl and Upholstery cleaner on the wakeboatworld post above. The post above about what not to use on vinyl is a good list. Here is what makes the Exquisite cleaner different than other cleaners and why it does a better job cleaning:
1. most cleaners contain harsh chemicals which strip the vinyl of its top coats and uv protection
2. you cannot clean vinyl with only a cloth, you need to clean it with a brush. If you do not clean it with a brush, the dirt will remain in the grain of the vinyl and over time eat away the finish of the vinyl.
3. you cannot use a brush with a chemical based cleaner or it will eat away the finish of the vinyl, you can only clean vinyl with a brush and mild soap based cleaner.
4. cleaners and protectants together don't work because the protectant keeps the cleaner from cleaning properly.
5. boat vinyl has uv protectant built into it, the best you can do to protect the vinyl from the sun is to keep it clean and to not use any products that strip off that uv coating.

Stephen, I use Exquisite for my deep cleaning and Babes for my after ride wipe down. Exquisite and a brush hands down cleans better than Babe's and yes you can tell it conditions as well but I like the smell of Babes better.

after you hand-brush w/ the exquisite product, do you rinse it off with water? in other words, will the interior end up al wet because of rinsing all theproduct off? Thanks,,

Maguires vinyl/rubber treatment either the marine version or the touch of gold/glass or something like that it comes in a blue bottle for marine or black for the gold or glass stuff. Works great sprey on wipe to evenly distribute keeps the vinyl and interior soft and supple.

I may have to pick up some Exquisite.

I second the Exquisite. It is by far the best cleaner. A brush is a must for cleaning vinyl with the Exquisite followed with a simple wipe down.

Good evening again guys,
note to cosmocat you do not have to rinse off the Exquisite product with water, you just wipe it off with a microfiber cloth and air dry. there is no need for your interior to get wet rinsing it off because there is nothing harsh in it that needs rinsing.
Thank you so much to everyone else for your comments and continued business

any bristle brush will do for vinyl?

I ordered exquisite a few weeks ago. Good product and will order more soon.

so what happens if someone already stripped your uv protectant by not taking proper care of it or using improper products? not trying to be difficult, just asking.

Matt, I recommend a nylon bristle brush for vinyl. That is your ordinary type of scrubbrush you purchase at walmart, etc. Just avoid metal bristles and bristles that hurt if you touch them to your hand.
brucemac, if your vinyl has been improperly taken care of the first thing you need to do is give it a good cleaning with a brush and good non chemical product(Exquisite). Doing a very thorough cleaning a couple of times can help to remove any oily residue left in the pores of the vinyl. Often this will help to reverse the damaging effects of the improper products. Finally, you can use a HIGH QUALITY vinyl protectant, such as the 303 PROTECTANT, to help block those uv rays. The 303 protectant does a good job as a uv screen, it is just that normally it is not something you really need because of the built in uv protection. Never use any product with silicone in it, it will damage the vinyl further!!! oh and btw you are not being difficult I think you asked a great question!

Any suggestions for tree sap? I have a feeling I'm SOL.

The Exquisite is good but MalcoPro Leather and Plastic Cleaner is better. I've used both.

The best suggestion I have for tree sap is to use Goo Gone. Make sure it says that specific name because there are other names which are similar but are NOT the same. Goo gone is a citrus oil based product and if you spray a little on the sap the oils will help to break it down and loosen it from the vinyl. Use an old toothbrush to help you in your effort. After you clean off the sap, and it may take time and a lot of patience, you need to use a good quality cleaner with no harsh chemicals and a brush to remove all of the citrus oil.

I just picked up some Spray Nine marine vinyl cleaner that my cousin swears by...anybody else have experience with it?

The Vinyl Sauce by boatbling is excellent. I've used Babes, and the Magic Erasers but no more. The vinyl sauce took all the dirt out of my vinyl. I followed up with a coat of 303 and the boat looks insane.

What about dirt that has been on there for a long time.

I have no idea when the last owner cleaned the boat, but the vinyl has some really cacked on dirt in some spots.

Kevin Robinson,

Nice link & test. Based on that alone, I just ordered some Exquisite.

Andy,

I've used this product for years and I'm telling you it keeps the vinyl clean and most important conditioned (soft and pliable) so the vinyl does not dry out and crack. When I sold my last boat with about 500 hrs on it, I sold it in February when it was still very cold here in Colorado and it was noticed that the seats were so soft even in an unheated garage. Just spray it on, use a soft bristle brush and wipe. I think you'll like the results.

Sue is my sister-in-law. That is my connection to this product but in no way do I make any money from the sale of this product so please do not think I'm "pimping" her cleaner. It just works and I like to see a small company do well if their product works.

Let me know how it goes.

Thanks,
Kevin

It does work pretty good, thanks for letting us know about it Kevin. The only thing I would add is that it doesn't protect agains UV correct. People still need to use UV protectant.

(Message edited by 05mobiuslsv on June 30, 2008)

OK, after buying and trying Exquisite this last week, I have to RAVE. I've tried others (3M, etc.) and nothing has worked as easily and effectively as Exquisite. My vinyl looked just about new when I was done. I only wish I bought more and did so at the Wakeworld special. Please post when you run another one!

Nice product Susan!

anybody try Meguires on their boat?

Andy,

Glad you liked the product.I'm glad people are starting to catch on. This product works and I wish more people would try it. So many people are a believer in BRAND NAME products which I'm sure do their job but this product seems to work so well or even better. Use this on occasion just to wipe down the interior and even on your autos. You'll see how soft and clean your interior stays.

Enjoy the rest of the summer.

Kevin.

What are peoples thoughts on using Magic Erasers?

how do you get out bug guts from the vinyl around the seat cushions? I have been scrubing with a soft brush and even tried scrapeing it with my finger nail- still just wont come out. We seem to get alot around the sides of the seats.

I have to admit I put allot of trust (no not that much) in some of you yuys and when I read about Exquisite Vinyl and Upholstery cleaner, I figured I could afford to give it a try.

Well I got it in this week and tried it on just a small area and WOW! I can't wait to do the entire boat!! I have never seen something clean so throughly and easily. It even leaves the vinyl softer and has a decent smell. The wife thought I was wasting money until I asked her could she find the small spot and she notice right away.

Susan great product! I will be purchasing more and spreading the word..

I have white seats in my boat, It had some yellow spots and grease on it. I tried everything I could find. I'm a mechanic an last week I was cleaning my hands with Orange hand Cleaner with (NO PUMICE)So I just wiped it across a couple of spots and they were gone. So I did the rest of the interior and all the spots are gone. Its the cleanest and brightest ive ever seen my interior.

Susan,
Do you have any deals for us users on here for your products?
Thanks

Why is the vinyl left softer? Gasoline will also make the vinyl softer. That sounds a bit harsh to me.

for an easy, almost no expense, way to CLEAN vinyl and leather...I've been doing this for years in my cars/trucks as well as my boats and I have to say, it cleans more than you think and actually conditions the leather (and vinyl) extremely well...

Take a bar of dove or ivory soap and either cut it into small pieces or grate it in a cheese grater...put it in a bowl and add 1/2 - 1/3 of a cup of water. put it in the microwave for about a minute and stir it up so its not clumpy. then let it sit...it will turn into a whipped cream consistancy. on less dirty seats you can use a towel, on more dirty seats use a towel to start and a brush to work in. when using a towel, rotate the towel each time you rub it in, otherwise your just spreading dirt back into the seats. work it into your seats and wipe off excess with a clean towel. you'll be amazed at your towel after you apply it to just one small section! it lifts dirt out of the seats! in my cars/trucks I spray a light coat of pledge on it when I'm done. on the boat just spray something with uv protectant in it (like 303). it'll look brand new. what do you have to lose to try that? a few cents for the cost of a bar of soap and a little time?

I know vinyl isn't the same as leather, but it works just as well on both. think about it, you would use it on your face/body to clean it...and that is basically what leather is anyway!

Pledge contains oils that will harm your vinyl. It will break down the top layers. I would also not put dove soap as it contains oils as well.

will vinegar and water damage the vinyl?

I have used Duragloss products and had excellent results. They offer a marine line of products just for vinyl that work great. FYI, I have found the products cheaper on Ebay than their website.

http://www.duragloss.com/catalog.asp?catid=100

Hello again and THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, to all of the people who have purchased the Exquisite cleaner from reading the posts here and on www.wakeboatworld.com. I look forward to all of your repeat business and will honor the request for another special for my WW friends. If you purchase cleaner from us until August 15th I will give you a 20% discount off of all ebay store products(no auctions please) and in addition I will still ship at the $10.25 usps flat rate box even though usps has raised their rates. If you live closer and I can ship for less than that I will correct your shipping charge on your invoice. Just go to my ebay store at http://stores.ebay.com/acedetailsupplies, purchase your products and mention wakeworld in the note to seller box. I will send you an invoice with the 20% discount taken off of the bottom of the invoice. Note that if you purchase the cleaner concentrate to make a gallon, it will be shipped in a quart bottle which you will need to mix in your own bottle. This is so it will fit in the flat rate box.

As far as the question about gasoline softening your vinyl, you are correct that harsh chemicals will soften vinyl and that is basically because the chemicals are breaking down the surfaces of the vinyl. Chemical softening and true clean softening actually feel different on the vinyl. Chemical softening typically feels tacky after you would wipe it. Exquisite cleaner makes the vinyl softer because it deep cleans inside the grain of the vinyl. This is the area where sweat, etc. collect and the oils from your body over time will break down the vinyl and cause it to harden then crack. This is especially important on a boat because of natural body oils and sunscreen oils. (This means I would not use Pledge, which contains oils on my vinyl).Exquisite is a glycerin based cleaner which uses suds to take away that oil and maintain that "like new" feeling of the vinyl. This is where using the brush comes in. You need the brush to activate the suds in the cleaner, whereas a chemical cleaner you would just wipe on and you would not want to brush on because brushing the chemicals into the vinyl could harm it. As far as vinegar goes, the only thing I know is I would not want to use it because it stinks so bad. Thank you for all your business and thank you to ghostrider 2 for making a new discussion just for my product, and to all those who have taken the time to tell someone else about the product, you guys are the greatest!!!

Just placed my 2nd order for the concentrate

Adam,
I'm glad some people like to try new products. Great cleaner and conditioner.
Sue, where's my "props" for the mention of the product from the top?!?!?!?! lol
Kevin.

Susan, thank you and I will be taking advantage of that 20% off!!

I second the MalcoPro Leather and Plastic Cleaner. I use it with a soft bristle brush, and it works great. Have not tried the Exquisite.