Help needed for stained decks!

[Riley]

Okay guys, here's one for the record books! I had to head out of town for a few days for a business trip, so I thought I'd leave my 3 week old '99 18 Classic in my dad's driveway for safekeeping, right? Wrong! Some sort of tree debris covered the decks while I was away, and after several washes and another good wax job, there are still small brown stains all over my white decks. The stains look like small, light brown water spots. I even tried using Star-brite color restorer on a couple of small areas, to no avail. HELP! Any ideas? Are the stains in the clear coat? What could they be from? Any ideas on how to remove them without scuffing the deck or the clear coat? I'll tell you guys, if it wasn't for my faith in this forum I'd either be pulling my hair out or crying like a baby! Any help or ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Chris Riley.

[Blewbyu]

Now listen, and listen good Pilgrim......
Don't use wax/compounds/FSR/Roll-On or Roll-Off/Spray Nine/Color Restorers/Oxidation Removers or manything else abrasive or w/acid base.Go to your Marine stora and get a 22 oz. bottle of SeaBowld Hull Cleaner or their Spray on Boat Cleaner.Spray it on evenly and walk away. Come back in 20 minutes and your deck will be sparkling white again.Wash it, then use Starbrites Premium Teflon Boat Polish which should give you a spectacular shine with very little elbow grease- and last for almost a YEAR! No hoohoo Lone Ranger!If you don't have a marine store convenient to take your money- go to a grocery or hardware store and get a spray bottle of Rust Stain Remover- which will do exactly the same thing as the Hull/Boat cleaner-and probably cost a buck or two less.
Best Regards-Jeff
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[Scott Pearson]

Ok...a little more info and its cheap! It sounds like it might be tree sap or something like that. Your gonna laugh! Use Isopropyl Alcohol...You know Rubbing Alcohol! This works great on stains and tree sap. It WILL NOT hurt your finish. Works on cars great. Just strips the wax. Good luck!

(NJ)Scott

[johndmay]

I've also heard that gasline antifreeze will take off tree sap.

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John D. May
Manotick, Ont.
www.jackmay.com

[Scott Pearson]

John,
Thats because gasline anti freeze does have some Isopropyl Alcohol in it. Thats what keeps the lines from freezing. Its like putting a gallon of Vodka in the freezer. It gets cold but doesn't freeze. Alcohol....ahhh what a wonderful thing!

(NJ) Scott

[AVickers]

I had those same damned stains on my '76! Kind of brownish -- they look almost like rust spots. Nothing would touch them.

Then I tried and old can of TR-3 Auto Finish Restorer. I've had this can since the 70s -- I don't even know if they still make it. It took the stains right off and didn't leave a scratch or mar anywhere. The stuff is a light tan color and smells like it's got petroleum distilates in it.

During the course of the spring and summer, I used all that I had left in the can. I haven't looked for another, but it worked like a champ!

[Rich]

Try some FSR (fiberglass stain remover). I believe West Marine carries it.

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Rich

[Stan]

OK Here it is ...THE Ultimate deck whitner


Soft scrub ( it contains bleach )

This stuff works !!

Stan

[Riley]

Wow, what a lot of great information! Thanks to one and all for the reply's. Here's the current status of my stain problem:

First I tried the rubbing alchohol, and it wouldn't touch the stains. Then I used a "rust-remover", which actually seemed to work pretty well, but there are still several faint stains. In fact, if you weren't looking for them, you'd never notice them. However, being a freak for attention to detail, and this being a Donzi, I'm going to test the Soft Scrub in a small area, as well as the FSR.

Other than a few faint rust stains, this was a killer weekend for boating here in the Les Cheneaux Islands. I've got the sunburn to prove it!

Thanks again for all of your suggestions....Chris Riley

[Stan]

Riley,

Well........how'd it go ??

Stan