Trojan Boat Forum

So I compared the IMAR Strataglass cleaner to Plexus yesterday. Before cleaning the clear vinyl looked like this.



Pretty bad. I used the IMAR Strataglass cleaner on the left and the Plexus on the right. The results are below.



The Plexus gave much better results. I even used the IMAR Strataglass cleaner twice just to make sure that this was the best it could do. I am confident that these results are the best that each product could give. I decided to use Plexus to clean my clear vinyl and I'm very happy with the results. My clear vinyl is not "like new", but it is much better than it was and much better than I expected to achieve.

(The pictures seem to be cutoff for some reason. To see the complete pictures, right click and select "open image in new tab" or go to page 2 of my Photobucket account)

I used meguiars plastx with a buffer and did both sides then finished off with 303 Protectant, crystal clear ! Plastx is very cheap, I think I paid $4 at Wally World. If you're gonna use a buffer I would recommend terry cloth pads, they're better for cutting.

So i read this topic last week and it got me to thinking about my clear vinyl enclosure on Silver Lining, it was in pretty bad shape in the sense that the clear vinyl was faded, milky/cloudy and the surface was "sticky". I read all of the suggestions here and talked to a friend of mine in boat maintenance business (we pulled a 120 Lehman from a GB 32 yesterday)

Anyway, I stopped at West Marine on saturday and bought a bottle of PlastX and a spray bottle of StarBrite ViewGaurd clear plastic treatment. (I had washed the clear vinyl last week with soap and water) I cleaned the front corner sections of the enclosure with the Starbrite, spraying it on and using a wax applicator pad to work in the product, then buffing it clean with an old T-shirt, this it alone almost cleared up the vinyl and it was amazing how much dirt was on the vinyl, even though it had been washed.
I then used a terrycloth pad cover and the PlastX on my HF random orbit polisher and buffed and polished the vinyl- inside and outside. the clear vinyl now looks almost new...it is amazing because I was about to replace all of the clear vinyl.

I took the larger side panels home and laid them out on two banquet tables covered with a moving blanket and did this same process but this time used my bigger buffer and a wool pad and the results were better than the random orbit. I am not sure how long it will ramain this clear but I know I just bought another summer out of the enclosure!

I didnt get photos but I will and will post them on this thread

When I had Strataglass, I used a Collinite product (925) It worked well. I continued using it on my normal vinyl windows now. I start with Meguiar's plastic wondow cleaner and follow up with Collinite. teh Collinite keeps it supple and helps keep it clean for months.

This Year I had some 210 spray polish. I think it is the same manufacturer as 303. Worked ok as a one step product so far. I still may do my normla routine and then use the 210 spary after. I didn't have time for the whole routine.

I just finished replacing the clear vinyl on the front and rear panels with the roll up sections, they were cracked and brittle..heres my home canvas shop setup, Ill get pictures tonght when I install them