It’s not very often that I buy something and when I get it I’m VERY pleasantly surprised by how well it does what it is supposed to do, and advertised to do. Usually when a product sounds too good to be true, it turns out to be not what one would expect.
I recently saw a product described in a boating forum and, while it sounded too good to be true, I thought I’d try it. That product is called Marine Strip, and it’s for cleaning things like fenders and dock lines and other plastic things on and around your boat.
Nobody locally carried it so I called the company. They somewhat reluctantly agreed to send me two quarts and, while the shipping turned out to be expensive, it was worth it. Marine Strip cost just a bit under $18/quart as I recall and the cost of shipping was almost another $18 or so.
I had a chance to try it last weekend and was very pleasantly surprised at how well it worked. I first tried it on a fender that was VERY dirty. It looks like new. I wish I’d taken some “before” pictures because you really wouldn’t believe how the fender looked.
Then I cleaned my power cords. I doubt they had ever been cleaned and were really dirty, but they came out looking great. I did take a photo of the end of my 50A/240V cord so you could see the before and after.
Here’s the “after” picture. Quite a difference. I think if I'd have used a scrub brush on the plug it would have gotten into the corners better than the towel.
Then I attacked another fender. This one wasn’t nearly as dirty as the first one, but you can see the before and after photos and decide for yourself.
So there you have it. I used almost one quart to clean the two fenders and about 50’ of each of the cords. I found that it MUST be used in a well ventilated area. I had the company that sells it send me an MSDS sheet on it and, while I’m not a chemist, I got enough out of the MSDS sheet to know that you don’t want to be inhaling this or letting it soak up through your skin. I used a kitchen-type rubber glove when I used it. FYI, those thin, filmy gloves don’t last more than a couple of minutes. I also found that this stuff works best when using a rough towel like a hand towel, not a smooth rag. And it works best if the rag is saturated in a small area and applied quickly to whatever you’re cleaning.
It takes very little rubbing to clean things if the rag is saturated. I spent just under 5 minutes cleaning the fender and about 5-6 minutes cleaning that last few feet of the power cable and connector.
All things considered I’m very happy with Marine Strip. If your local boating supply store doesn’t carry it you might suggest it to them. If they’re not interested you can get it by calling 205-581-0202. Ask for Sandra and tell her Mike said to call. They’re nice people to work with and will ship it out right away.
I recently saw a product described in a boating forum and, while it sounded too good to be true, I thought I’d try it. That product is called Marine Strip, and it’s for cleaning things like fenders and dock lines and other plastic things on and around your boat.
Nobody locally carried it so I called the company. They somewhat reluctantly agreed to send me two quarts and, while the shipping turned out to be expensive, it was worth it. Marine Strip cost just a bit under $18/quart as I recall and the cost of shipping was almost another $18 or so.
I had a chance to try it last weekend and was very pleasantly surprised at how well it worked. I first tried it on a fender that was VERY dirty. It looks like new. I wish I’d taken some “before” pictures because you really wouldn’t believe how the fender looked.
Then I cleaned my power cords. I doubt they had ever been cleaned and were really dirty, but they came out looking great. I did take a photo of the end of my 50A/240V cord so you could see the before and after.
Here’s the “after” picture. Quite a difference. I think if I'd have used a scrub brush on the plug it would have gotten into the corners better than the towel.
Then I attacked another fender. This one wasn’t nearly as dirty as the first one, but you can see the before and after photos and decide for yourself.
So there you have it. I used almost one quart to clean the two fenders and about 50’ of each of the cords. I found that it MUST be used in a well ventilated area. I had the company that sells it send me an MSDS sheet on it and, while I’m not a chemist, I got enough out of the MSDS sheet to know that you don’t want to be inhaling this or letting it soak up through your skin. I used a kitchen-type rubber glove when I used it. FYI, those thin, filmy gloves don’t last more than a couple of minutes. I also found that this stuff works best when using a rough towel like a hand towel, not a smooth rag. And it works best if the rag is saturated in a small area and applied quickly to whatever you’re cleaning.
It takes very little rubbing to clean things if the rag is saturated. I spent just under 5 minutes cleaning the fender and about 5-6 minutes cleaning that last few feet of the power cable and connector.
All things considered I’m very happy with Marine Strip. If your local boating supply store doesn’t carry it you might suggest it to them. If they’re not interested you can get it by calling 205-581-0202. Ask for Sandra and tell her Mike said to call. They’re nice people to work with and will ship it out right away.
