What Product To Use To Clean 10 Mil Vinyl Windows

The Ultimate Guide to Caring for Clear Plastic

Look at whatever boat more five years old, and chances are, the clear dodger windows arent and then clear anymore. By comparison, the windows on one of our test boats remained crystal clear for 15 years. Is clear vinyl really that vulnerable, or are gunkhole owners doing something wrong to shorten its life? The answer to both questions is, "Aye."

One of the best known manufacturers of articulate plastic windows for dodgers and cockpit enclosures is Fort Lauderdale-based Strataglass. The company has perfected a highly scratch-resistant coating for clear plastic, originally intended for the automotive industry. It has since get the production of choice for loftier-end yachts.

Strataglass recommends using its own Strataglass-endorsed cleaners and protectants, made by Imar. These have done well in our previous tests of clear plastic cleaners and protectants, and the prices arent significantly more competing brands. But every bit usual, we remain skeptical-and curious. What well-nigh homemade cleaners, similar our anti-mildew concoction that is 35 times cheaper than what you buy at Westward Marine?

With the hopes of finding a cheaper way to protect our $150-plus Strataglass dodger windows, we tested other cleaning products and protectants on the companys ii types of clear plastic. Ii years into the examination, we found that other non-Imar products-too as some combinations of products-finer protected Strataglass.

Strataglass online users maintenance guide states the following:

"NEVER:

Use Windex, Rain-X, Pledge, Plexus, Uncomplicated Light-green, Orpine or whatever other harsh cleaner to clean Strataglass products. This will void the warranty.
Use a car wax or any kind of wash and wax to protect Strataglass products. This will void the warranty.
Utilise cleaners, polishes, scratch removers, or any products intended for commercial grade vinyl or plastic. This may damage the Strataglass and void the warranty."

In add-on to Strataglass' warnings, we were surprised to find that some everyday products-including sunscreen, bug spray, sheet treatments, and mildew cleaners-tin do irreparable harm to Strataglass.

Chemicals

At that place are many common canoeing chemicals that can ruin vinyl windows and are rough on other plastics:

Sunscreen: Sunscreen handprints on vinyl are difficult or impossible to buff out. Sometimes, the handprints occur when a guest helps curlicue up the windows, and you may not see them until the side by side morning, when dew develops them, inside the vinyl. Keep a washcloth handy for wiping hands, or ameliorate, wash hands before touching the articulate vinyl.

Insect repellent: DEET will melt vinyl. Even a fine spray will haze many plastics. We recommend politely asking guests to apply insect sprays well outside of the cockpit area, away from all windows, and to wipe or wash their hands thoroughly when finished. Consider banning droplets bug repellents from your boat.

Vinegar: If rinsing your vinyl windows with fresh water and polishing them with a spray polish does non remove all of their spots, the spots are very likely calcium deposits. Use a 10-percent solution of vinegar and water to make clean them, rinse thoroughly afterward employ, and apply a protectant.

Sail water repellents: As nosotros reported in the Dec 2022 issue, some sail waterproofing treatments are quite tough on vinyl and can ruin it within minutes. If you treat your sail, be certain to apply a fresh protectant glaze to the windows earlier you brainstorm, embrace the windows, and so wipe the vinyl with a cleaner/protectant afterward you are finished.

Silicones and solvents: All manufacturers suggest against using products on vinyl that contain silicones, petroleum solvents, or alcohols. Small amounts of certain alcohols are permitted in some cleaners but non the use of alcohol-based glass cleaners.

Covers

Covering clear-vinyl windows offers fool-proof protection from harmful UV and dirt. The downside-other than cost and the added time before and after sailing-is the risk of abrasive clothing between the cover (typically Sunbrella) and the window. Weve heard of folks using textured Phifertex covers and finding that their windows accept a fine checkerboard pattern inside half-dozen months. Weve also heard reports of damage in windy harbors from the covers constant flapping; in the wind, the best solution seems to be consistent cleaning and use of protectants.

Some folks use Sunbrella with an integral lining, but dirt tin can imbed in the lining, resulting in worse abrasion than plain fabric. Wearable is very often related to the size of the dirt particles, and lined Sunbrella tin hold larger particles than unlined Sunbrella.

For the all-time of both worlds, we suspended awning covers over the dodger windows. Theres no gamble of abrasion even if the window is table salt- and clay-encrusted; UV and bird bombs are blocked; and they can fifty-fifty provide expanded shade and reduce the need to close the windows for a passing shower at anchor.

Cleaning

Use but soft polishing cloths to clean clear vinyl. Clean cotton jersey (T-shirts or polishing cloths) are safe, just newspaper towels may get out scratches (grit left over from the paper-making procedure is much harder than vinyl). Microfiber cloth is a favorite likewise, but it must exist kept very make clean as it speedily attracts dirt.

Rinse the windows with water earlier polishing, and change to a fresh cloth every 5 to twenty square feet, depending on how clean the window was at the outset. Plow the textile frequently.

Storing Windows

Only gyre up vinyl windows when they-and your hands-are clean. Salt spray is abrasive and can cause minor scratching. Its meliorate to squint through salt-encrusted vinyl until a freshwater rinse is practical than to have your view blocked by scratches for years to come. A handy fresh water squirt bottle tin can help rinse at body of water. Alternatively, remove the window panels. If youre rolling up the windows for storage, ringlet them with soft, clean fabric to keep the vinyl from touching itself and potentially abrading the surface.

If you plan to roll upward your windows regularly, youll likely be happier with a thinner vinyl material (thirty mil vs. forty mil) or more than flexible products (OSea and Regalite, vs. the stiffer Strataglass) since less force is required and less scratching results.

Cold Weather Care

While many folks put their boats abroad for the season as soon as they demand socks, some sail into the fall or even year-around; the farther north, the greater the urge to stretch the season. Every bit temperatures collapse, we go more and more accustomed to the chill, and past January, some think 32 degrees is quite comfy for a day on the water, if dressed for it. Notwithstanding, vinyl does not acclimatize, and depending on the gauge-thicker is stiffer and more vulnerable-rolling or flexing old vinyl windows at temperatures below 60 degrees is but request for problem. The more worn and hazed the windows go, the greater the urge to clear the view by rolling them out of the style, and of a sudden the window has a fissure running halfway beyond. A skillful rule of thumb is to wait to roll windows until hats and gloves are forgotten (over threescore degrees). If there is dew or frost on the windows, await for the sun to remove information technology.

Scratch Removal Products

Our early testing suggests the actual vinyl-restoration process might compromise the materials protective coatings and lead to premature weathering, even if applied to just a few scratched areas. Weve added some restored windows to our long-term exam racks, but information technology is clearly better to keep windows scratch-gratis and UV protected than to restore damaged vinyl.

If your vinyl windows accept some damage or weathering, and standard cleaning and polishing is not doing the trick, try laying them on a apartment, towel-covered surface and polishing very firmly with Imar Protective Smooth. This was effective in removing light oxidation and providing deep cleaning as the polishing, without the take chances of abrasion or coating degradation. For a more than consummate study on specific products, refer to our recenttest of clear plastic restorers. That study likewise compared the the value of a professional restoration as compared to a practice-it-yourself solution.