The Skipper's Blog

Bill Fallon asked:

I was given a pretty beat up Quicksilver inflatable (I think it’s from 2000.)

It’s really dirty, mildewed, stained and scuffed. There are a few leaks.

Which cleaner do you recommend for my first cleaning attempt – speed clean or inflatable boat cleaner?

I will most likely clean it up, patch the leaks, and then re-coat and/or re-paint it.

What are your thoughts/recommendations?

Thanks,

Bill Fallon

Answer:

For your convenience, I’ve highlighted the hyperlinks. Click on the hyperlink to get more information about the selected product.

The following images are of an old Quicksilver that was thrown out by a dealer and we restored it with Speed Clean and Poly Guard:

We used this boat for about 3 years to do our product testing and when we were through, put the boat up for sale on ebay and got $3,500 for it. It really turned out great. Here’s another picture of it, in tow behind our company boat:

On really tough boats, some customers have had better success by scrubbing the surface first with Inflatable Boat Cleaner before using Speed Clean. The combination seems to work better in some cases. Keep in mind that if the mold stains have penetrated the substrate that they will be impossible to remove without using strong oxidizing chemicals, making the PVC porous in which case the boat will not hold air and you will have to inflate it on a daily basis.

I would try Poly Guard before painting and use paint as a last resort. The benefits of paint seem to be short lived and anyone that I have talked to that have painted their inflatable have scrapped the boat in a year or so and bought something in better condition.

Thanks for your question,

Captain Aurora
Richard Kittar

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