Magic Erasers

Greetings to the Forum.

An offering of product use:

A couple of years back while a wood boat owner, a neighboring glass boat owners wife stopped by to ask if I had any ‘Magic Erasers”. I had no idea of what she was speaking of and asked the purpose. They were in the process of preparing their boat for sale and wanted to clean off marks and embedded stains. No, I said and she wandered off to a nearby store.

Later I out of curiosity I purchased and used the ‘Magic Erasers’ on the boat for interior cleaning of our current glass boat with no thought of using them on the exterior.

To day, after pressure washing the boat , I proceeded to apply the use of Magic Erasers to the exterior surface of the fly bridge, house, and hull. I then brushed the surface with tide soap mix and flushed with the hose. I was amazed at the difference of before and after. Have others discovered the product? Results?
This process is not an excuse or replacement for the serious wax and buff crowd for sure. I am not one of those, clean boat you bet, and this product for my level of maintenance is a time saver.
Regards,
Al-Ketchikan 27’Marben Pocket CRUISER

Magic Eraser works the same a very fine sandpaper, for the same reason. It is an abrasive. So it does work fine but I have always been a bit wary of using it just as I would a sandpaper on my gelcoat. I think you are safe to use it as long as you realize what it is you are doing.

Toothpaste dose the same on a rag

dhays said:

Magic Eraser works the same a very fine sandpaper, for the same reason. It is an abrasive. So it does work fine but I have always been a bit wary of using it just as I would a sandpaper on my gelcoat. I think you are safe to use it as long as you realize what it is you are doing.

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Dave

I never would have guessed - we're used them a lot and didn't understand how they worked... Thanks for the Heads Up!

The details if anyone is interested...

howstuffworks.com/magic-eraser

gaston said:

Toothpaste dose the same on a rag

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Even with a small 27' boat,it would take a tube or two hundred to do the boat!!

I use them to clean diesel soot off my transom effortlessly. I use it with lots of water and very light pressure. One sponge can do my whole transom. I follow up with a spray wax for protection.

FlyWright said:

One sponge can do my whole transom. I follow up with a spray wax for protection.

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Great follow up! I will include this on my efforts, thanks, Al

I've used Magic Erasers for years and love 'em. They remove black marks from vinyl upholstery (followed up with an application of 303), black marks on gelcoat (followed up with some wax over the area where the black marks were).


I keep 'em wet when using them and rub very lightly. I'd be lost without them.

FlyWright said:

I use them to clean diesel soot off my transom effortlessly. I use it with lots of water and very light pressure. One sponge can do my whole transom. I follow up with a spray wax for protection.

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You'll find putting a polymer sealer like Rejex back there will eliminate the need for an abrasive. What soot does stay on there will wash off pretty easy, if bad enough (time to consult a mechanic) , then with a sponge microfiber cloth.

caltexflanc said:

You'll find putting a polymer sealer like Rejex back there will eliminate the need for an abrasive. What soot does stay on there will wash off pretty easy, if bad enough (time to consult a mechanic) , then with a sponge microfiber cloth.

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So far I've only had to do this once in 9 years of ownership. Not bad enough to even term it a problem, let alone time to consult a mechanic. Just passing along another use I've found for the product in discussion.

They also work well for taking transferred paint off a rental car!

I love using them around the house. But, I recently stopped using them on our honed granite counters. They were too good at removing the sealant and made the counters dull. But, for other uses, I love em.

I wish they came in a large size or sized to use on a mop. They are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

As posted above, they are a mild abrasive. They work well on vinyl upholstery because very fine particles break off and clean in the grain of the vinyl. I would be very careful trying them on paint or gelcoat.


I've been using them for ten years or more but like everything else, there are situations where they are the best and situations where they are a poor choice.


BTW: The popular Barkeeper's Friend is also a mild abrasive.

WesK said:

As posted above, they are a mild abrasive. They work well on vinyl upholstery because very fine particles break off and clean in the grain of the vinyl. I would be very careful trying them on paint or gelcoat.


I've been using them for ten years or more but like everything else, there are situations where they are the best and situations where they are a poor choice.


BTW: The popular Barkeeper's Friend is also a mild abrasive.

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Agreed! It is apparent that the use may be detrimentally with boats that are pampered. I don't mean in a snarly way, rather, as an example, our boat is near 30 years in age. It is maintained currently, in a hostile environment. While in the past it had some boat house time, the remainder will be in less than great elements. In the spirit of keeping a nice house, keeping the boat in as best appearance and some indication of pride, one uses what one can to accomplish that. That is the reason that using a wax to recover some semblance of appearance is employed.

At some point if the abrasion appearance is so that wax is not reflecting a visual improvement the thought of repainting the boat, were it worth the expense, comes into play. At least that is the thinking from this end.

Cheers,
Al-Ketchikan 27' Marben Pocket CRUISER

what_barnacles said:

I wish they came in a large size or sized to use on a mop. They are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

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Both are available...

We picked up some large size ones at a boat show (not home or I'd give you the mfg info). They are about 3-4x the size of the usual ones.

Wife also has picked up mop refills at big box store that fit std mop head.

Give them a try on your fenders and power cord. It really beings the life back to these without trashing the cover.

Bacchus said:

Both are available...

We picked up some large size ones at a boat show (not home or I'd give you the mfg info). They are about 3-4x the size of the usual ones.

Wife also has picked up mop refills at big box store that fit std mop head.

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Thats great, I'll have to look again.

This stuff sounds a wee bit like the marble paste one can use to clean up the ceramic stove cook tops. I found that was great for getting a nasty linear mark of grey plastic off the side of our nice newly 2 packed hull, when we rubbed against the marina fuel dock some time ago. For some reason it does not have the usual padded edging, but just grey plastic type of material. it is horrible, and I have raised it with Marina Admin several times to no avail. I was pleased it polished off the mark without dulling the nice shiny finish of the International (Interlux in US) Perfection white finish.

what_barnacles said:

I wish they came in a large size or sized to use on a mop.

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barnacles...

Here are a few links...

Walmart - Eraser Mops

Sponge Outlet Some unique oversize floor options + conventional sponges

Fantastic, thank you sir!