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05-27-2013, 05:46 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
City: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 147
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Cleaning & Protecting your Inflatable
What products do you recommend for cleaning and protecting an Apex inflatable. Also what psi should it be inflated to, if living in hot climate?
Thanks for all your suggestions. Capt Mike
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05-27-2013, 06:40 PM
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#2
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TF Site Team
City: Jacksonville
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 11,682
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For cleaning, any commercial inflatable cleaner for has been as good as any other. We haven't found any stand outs.
For protection, have a set of dinghy chaps made.
Talk to the manufacturer about inflation. We do deflate our RIB when it sits for awhile. The guys who fix them have said, "Why stress the fabric if you aren't using it"?
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05-27-2013, 09:16 PM
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#3
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Guru
City: Port Orchard, WA
Vessel Name: Violet A
Vessel Model: Nordic Tug 42
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 908
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I've always used 303 Protectant avaialble always everywhere. Spray it on and wipe it off.
Ron
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05-28-2013, 08:03 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
City: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 147
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry M
For cleaning, any commercial inflatable cleaner for has been as good as any other. We haven't found any stand outs.
For protection, have a set of dinghy chaps made.
Talk to the manufacturer about inflation. We do deflate our RIB when it sits for awhile. The guys who fix them have said, "Why stress the fabric if you aren't using it"?
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Thanks
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05-28-2013, 08:03 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
City: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 147
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Quote:
Originally Posted by windmist
I've always used 303 Protectant avaialble always everywhere. Spray it on and wipe it off.
Ron
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Thanks
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06-20-2016, 03:45 PM
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#6
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Guru
City: Concrete Washington State
Vessel Name: Willy
Vessel Model: Willard Nomad 30'
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 18,743
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I've got age spots on my rubber duckie from sitt'in on top of the cabin.
What is a good cleaner that won't harm the dink?
Used car washing soap and that helped a little.
Tempted to try Chris's mould on the cap rail stuff. Baking soda, apple cider vinegar and bleach .. I think.
__________________
Eric
North Western Washington State USA
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06-20-2016, 03:53 PM
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#7
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Guru
City: Gig Harbor
Vessel Name: Kinship
Vessel Model: North Pacific 43
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 9,046
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It makes me miss Ron to see his past posts brought up in this thread.
Eric, the guy in the slip next to me has OCD. He owns a 50' go fast boat that always looks like it was just dropped in from a showroom floor. His inflatable is the same. He and I had the exact same dink, same model, same age. Mine looked old, his looked brand new.
I watched him clean his dink one day. He first used boat soap and a brush, then he used bleach on any spots, then he washed again and then treated with some type of treatment like the 303 that Ron mentioned above.
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06-20-2016, 06:53 PM
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#8
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Guru
City: Concrete Washington State
Vessel Name: Willy
Vessel Model: Willard Nomad 30'
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 18,743
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Thanks Dave,
I don't know what OCD is so I must not have it .. good as it's probably bad.
I think I'll use 15 or 20% bleach w apple cider vineger and perhaps some baking soda. I guess silicone is or can be a problem as in Armor All so I'll pass on that. Good I can duck at least one pitfall.
Thanks again,
By the way I admire your boat in the avatar and glad you choose that one. Nice business-like wheelhouse.
__________________
Eric
North Western Washington State USA
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06-20-2016, 07:29 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
City: Gustavia
Vessel Name: Soler Fox
Vessel Model: Selene 62
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 339
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dhays
It makes me miss Ron to see his past posts brought up in this thread.
Eric, the guy in the slip next to me has OCD. He owns a 50' go fast boat that always looks like it was just dropped in from a showroom floor. His inflatable is the same. He and I had the exact same dink, same model, same age. Mine looked old, his looked brand new.
I watched him clean his dink one day. He first used boat soap and a brush, then he used bleach on any spots, then he washed again and then treated with some type of treatment like the 303 that Ron mentioned above.
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Hello,
what is bleach, this is like Clorox ?
Hugues
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06-20-2016, 07:37 PM
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#10
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TF Site Team
City: Seneca Lake NY
Vessel Name: Bacchus
Vessel Model: MS 34 HT Trawler
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 7,828
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drmnj
What products do you recommend for cleaning and protecting an Apex inflatable. Also what psi should it be inflated to, if living in hot climate?
Thanks for all your suggestions. Capt Mike
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During a white water raft trip I observed the guides pay careful attention to inflation pressures - they deflated after removing from cool / cold water when storing ashore at the end of the days travel and reinflated next AM to avoid heating & over inflating in afternoon sun... made me think about inflating mine hard when in cool water and then tipping up on Weaver davits (or hoisting onto a deck) for storage.
__________________
Don
2008 MS 34 HT Trawler
"Bacchus"
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06-20-2016, 07:59 PM
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#11
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Guru
City: New England and Canada to Florida
Vessel Name: Tadhana
Vessel Model: Helmsman 38 Pilothouse
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 596
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What every you use to treat the fabric, be sure that it is intended for inflatable boats. Do not ever use armour all. It has silicons in it. If it is applied to an inflatable, then the tubes cannot be patched. Glue won't stick. The tubes are supposed to be inflated to about 3.5 PSI. at that pressure you can push your thumb in about 1/4" if you can push in more than 1/2" you need to add air. Yes it is a good idea to let off the pressure when it is hot, particularly if the dinghy is just in storage. PVC dinghies with welded seams are much more tolerant of over pressure in hot weather than a glued seam hypalon fabric boat.
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06-20-2016, 08:52 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
City: Washington
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 265
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I just did this a few weekends ago. My inflatable is hypalon. I used the two part inflatable boat cleaner from West Marine. One bottle of cleaner and one of protectant. My kind of work. Wipe the cleaner on, wipe it off, wipe the protectant on, wipe it off. I put a followup coat of 303 Protectant on as well for no other reason than I had it handy.
__________________
-- Rusty
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06-20-2016, 10:35 PM
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#13
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Guru
City: Gig Harbor
Vessel Name: Kinship
Vessel Model: North Pacific 43
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 9,046
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nomad Willy
Thanks Dave,
I don't know what OCD is so I must not have it .. good as it's probably bad.
I think I'll use 15 or 20% bleach w apple cider vineger and perhaps some baking soda. I guess silicone is or can be a problem as in Armor All so I'll pass on that. Good I can duck at least one pitfall.
Thanks again,
By the way I admire your boat in the avatar and glad you choose that one. Nice business-like wheelhouse.
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When I should that dinghy (to a guy my OCD neighbor knew), I cleaned it up really well. I took a page from my neighbor and washed with boat soap, scrubbed using a spray bottle with a 10% bleach solution, but did follow up with the 303. My neighbor sit he was impressed, but when he and his biddy took the dink to my neighbors house where he installed Weaver pads on it for hi buddy, he cleaned the whole boat again as well as buff and wax the hull.
OCD is Obsessive, Compulsive Disorder.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 101TUG
Hello,
what is bleach, this is like Clorox ?
Hugues
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Clorox is a brand name for a household bleach.
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06-20-2016, 10:40 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
City: Gustavia
Vessel Name: Soler Fox
Vessel Model: Selene 62
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 339
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dhays
When I should that dinghy (to a guy my OCD neighbor knew), I cleaned it up really well. I took a page from my neighbor and washed with boat soap, scrubbed using a spray bottle with a 10% bleach solution, but did follow up with the 303. My neighbor sit he was impressed, but when he and his biddy took the dink to my neighbors house where he installed Weaver pads on it for hi buddy, he cleaned the whole boat again as well as buff and wax the hull.
OCD is Obsessive, Compulsive Disorder.
Clorox is a brand name for a household bleach.
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ok thanks not all time easy for a Froggy
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06-21-2016, 05:07 PM
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#15
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Guru
City: Punta Gorda, fl
Vessel Name: Escapade
Vessel Model: Nordic Tug 37 2002
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 1,231
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Quote:
Originally Posted by windmist
I've always used 303 Protectant avaialble always everywhere. Spray it on and wipe it off.
Ron
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303 Protectant that has the BLUE label. There is a Green label 303 that is made for Sunbrella and should not be used on inflatables. But the 303 Blue is great stuff for inflatables.
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