Dirty arm rests

fathergoose

fathergoose

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Has anyone tried painting their uncleanable arm rests
 
Never painted them but did find covers for them. Not cheap as I recall couple of hundred bucks
 
Doc Stressor has a concoction he used to clean his armrests with good success. Hopefully he'll be along to help ya.

Here are the results of his cleaning.

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If your arm rest have mold spots, I have found that the best cleaner to restore the vinyl is Star Brite mildew stain remover. Deep cleans and does not harm the vinyl. Great stuff and goes a long way. If the arm rests are discolored supposedly from sun lotion, I do not believe anything will clean them. There was on poster that said he used white ped style socks over them. He said they fit perfect and if they get dirty just throw them in the wash.
 
I don't know what Doc's regimen was, so certainly wait and see, if you want. But good 'ol fashioned bleach does wonders (it's usually the active ingredient in most mold/mildew cleaners). For something like the armrests pictured, it's really easy because you don't have seems/stitching to worry about. That's the only place you'd want to be careful. What I'd do... take a white rag, soak it in a mixture of 5:1 water:bleach (not an exact science here, though) and then lay the rag on the armrest for about 5 minutes. Rinse with water.
 
What I did with mine, which were really bad, was to set up a pair of plastic tubs containing 50% bleach with a drop of Dawn dish detergent (to act as a surfactant) and let the armrests sit in the solution for 4 days. It really took that long to get rid of most of the deep black mold spots. You can see the results in KY Grady's post. I had already bought a pair of new armrests for $$$$ before I tried the extreme treatment on the old ones. TileX, StarBrite Vynl Cleaner, and a rag soaked with straight bleach didn't do the job.

I removed the surface dirt and mold with Simple Green before starting the treatment.
 
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Yup - sometimes you gotta step up 'yer game. And it's certainly worthwhile to try something a little more drastic before just replacing. Always a good idea to start less aggressive first, though, Goose.

One tip, for the future... regular cleaning and use of a protectant (like 303) will help to keep the mold from coming back. Mold is MUCH less likely to grow on a clean surface. On my Grady, I get mold on some of the fiberglass because I don't wax it or clean it that often. It's more of a "workboat", though. On other boats that I have, I keep them waxed much better and I never get mold on the fiberglass (or the vinyl, for that matter). Some of this comes down to environmental conditions, as well.
 
you can try zep mold and mildew followed by a wipe down with a magic eraser. gets most of the stuff off.
 
I place low cut, white men's socks over mine. Just wash the socks when they get dirty. This is also a lot more comfortable to the touch.
 
Have a clean white cloth ready and spray this stuff on them and wipe it off. You won't believe what you see. I think I bought it at Lowes.
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Guys- just cleaned mine and I am trying a new coating I sprayed on called BioShield. It's a surface protectant used in locker rooms, etc to keep MRSA from growing. Supposed to last for up to 90 days. I won't touch them for 90 days and will post results. I get it from an outfit called CFA Medical in NC.
 
Rustygaff said:
I am interested in Doc's cleaning regimen. The armrests on my boat has developed a bad case of the notorious black spots.
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Rusty, are you sure it’s mold , I keep my boat wet dock and had black spots over the seats , spider dropping , bought Hot shot pest and spider strip ,took care of my problem, If it’s mold I use damp rid
 
I haven't had mold come back since I replaced my armrests a few years ago. The trick is to understand that mold requires moisture and a nutrient source in order to grow. It can't grow on clean dry vinyl or rubber. When growing on (and into) vinyl or rubber, the nutrients are obtained from dust and pollen that settles on the surface. Since mold is killed by ultraviolet light from the sun, it grows into pores in the material where it is protected and hard to remove.

I wash down the armrests and vinyl cushions after each trip. If I'm not too lazy, I use StarBrite non-skid cleaner to lift out any deep dirt. Then I dry everything with a towel before putting the boat away.

There are commercial mold inhibitors available from a number of suppliers. They are either quarternary ammonium salts, which have anti-microbial properties, or other proprietary organic compounds that inhibit attachment and germination of mold spores. They all work, but since they are water soluble they need to be re-applied after a few months. I would definitely use one of these products if I was going to put a boat into winter storage under a canvas or shrink wrap cover.
 
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