# Non skid deck stains



## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

What is the stain?


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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

Be careful handling and rinse with fresh water after treatment.


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## hlane09 (Apr 1, 2019)

Capnredfish said:


> What is the stain?


It appears to be from oak leaves


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

Try rust raze from Morton or an equivalent. It is a resin bed cleaner for water softeners. Culligan stores and ACE have equivalents if out of rustraze as it is discontinued. I mix the power(few TBSP/gal) with water and use it to remove tannin stains for my boat after a day of cast netting shrimp. Removes it immediately. Do not breath in dust.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

Here is perhaps an easy to find product that is the active ingredient in FSR above.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Eco-Clean-2-lbs-99-6-Pure-Oxalic-Acid-Powder-OXALIC-2/306067769


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

Bar Keepers Friend-I'm pretty sure it's just oxalic acid as well. Just make sure you re wax it after you use this stuff.


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## g8rfly (Oct 9, 2011)

magic eraser


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## Rookiemistake (Jan 30, 2013)

Second magic eraser, kind of like a wet sand if you will


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## Jpscott1 (May 2, 2017)

Try the Rust-Remover from Starbrite. The Starbrite non-skid cleaner used with a magic eraser also works well.


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## Water Bound (Dec 12, 2018)

The Starbrite Fiberglass Stain Remover is some good stuff. Let is soak a few minutes


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

SomaliPirate said:


> Bar Keepers Friend-I'm pretty sure it's just oxalic acid as well. Just make sure you re wax it after you use this stuff.


This stuff will clean virtually any stain. It is a very good product and it will not harm your boat. As said above, wax afterwards.

HOWEVER - do not let this (oxalic acid) touch your GALVANIZED trailer. It will start to eat it immediately and it will not quit even after you think you sprayed it off.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

DuckNut said:


> This stuff will clean virtually any stain. It is a very good product and it will not harm your boat. As said above, wax afterwards.
> 
> HOWEVER - do not let this (oxalic acid) touch your GALVANIZED trailer. It will start to eat it immediately and it will not quit even after you think you sprayed it off.


Absolutely. Forgot to mention that. I got it all over my old trailer and it wasn't pretty. Fortunately the trailer was almost at the end of it's life anyway.


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## TheAdamsProject (Oct 29, 2007)

Keep in mind of you use bar keepers friend it can finely scratch or haze your gelcoat on the non-skid. You wont always notice it when looking at it but if you catch your non-skid at the right light at an angle, there will be a hazy spot where you rubbed it with bar keepers friend. Happened to a buddy trying to get the exact stains off you are trying to remove.


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## RJTaylor (Oct 4, 2017)

Bleach will cut oak leaf stains, so it's probably something else. Try FSR as suggested above.


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## PeteS (Dec 30, 2016)

Try a little Soft Scrub and a good scrub brush, it will remove almost any stain. Once the stain is gone apply some Woody Wax


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

I’m telling you. My solution is pour or spray on and done. Rinse and go have a beer.


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## Str8-Six (Jul 6, 2015)

Water Bound said:


> The Starbrite Fiberglass Stain Remover is some good stuff. Let is soak a few minutes


^This^ I use Roll Off, Magic Eraser and this when I first got my current boat. Starbrite FSR is the most effective on removing stubborn stains, including rust.


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## windblows (May 21, 2014)

One other thing to mention with a lot of these products - bright sun is your friend. Get your boat in the bright sun when applying one of these, even bleach. Then make sure you wax afterward to prevent a recurring issue with staining


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## Tilly_Copano (Feb 12, 2017)

Bar keeps friend. Cheap and removes everything but rinse well.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

TheAdamsProject said:


> Keep in mind of you use bar keepers friend it can finely scratch or haze your gelcoat on the non-skid. You wont always notice it when looking at it but if you catch your non-skid at the right light at an angle, there will be a hazy spot where you rubbed it with bar keepers friend. Happened to a buddy trying to get the exact stains off you are trying to remove.


You don't even really need to scrub. The acid will remove the stain. 

If you have never played with oxalic acid before, it is pretty neat. If you add straight oxalic acid to water it looks and feels like the water is thinner and more fluid. You can use it in a pump sprayer and spray on barnacles on a hull, the simply pressure washer the hull clean.

It will not harm cement, grass, plants but it will DESTROY galvanized steel.

You can buy the straight powder off evilbay and probably amazon.


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## Matts (Sep 2, 2015)

I'm too busy to read this entire thread but will add that my brand new 2017 skiff had a sorry, sorry non-skid that I couldn't clean. About a year later, it faded and BT kindly replaced it. I was the 2nd owner and they didn't have cover it at all. Thanks Liz, et al. Talked to other skiff owners and apparently BT wasn't the only company to suffer from defective non-skid that year. BT graciously revised with Awl Grip and it was super spiffy, glossy and easy, easy to clean. Might check to see if your's was a bad batch.


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## FSUDrew99 (Feb 3, 2015)

LA’s totally awesome from the dollar store was mentioned to me by the guys who installed my new vinyl cushions. They say they use it on vinyl all the time. I have used it all over my boat and it has worked awesome. 

That and star brite rust stain remover is great on stubborn stains as well.


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## No Bait / Lures Only (Apr 10, 2011)

Toilet bowl cleaner, dollar store...this is a tip from commercial crabbers to clean their boats.


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## Guest (May 9, 2019)

No Bait / Lures Only said:


> Toilet bowl cleaner, dollar store...


It works great!


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## TieOneOnJax (May 24, 2018)

PeteS said:


> Try a little Soft Scrub and a good scrub brush, it will remove almost any stain. Once the stain is gone apply some Woody Wax


I second this suggestion. I have a bunch of big oaks that drop junk in my skiff and Soft Scrub gets it right off. They make a commercial strength product that is fantastic. I squirt some on a wet deck, spread it around with a brush, let it sit for 5 min, then rinse clean. Takes care of any stain I’ve ever had.


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## gandolf (May 28, 2018)

hlane09 said:


> It appears to be from oak leaves


soft scrub for lyfe


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## State fish rob (Jan 25, 2017)




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## Forgottencoast (Aug 25, 2017)

I just cleaned my boat yesterday after getting it back from the shop where it sat outside for 2 months. Brown spot stains on the ENTIRE boat. After hand scrubbing with a stiff hand brush, they would not come up with just boat soap. I poured a fair amount of bleach into the soap/water mix and re-scrubbed with same brush and let it sit for a minute or two before rinsing. Stains came up and boat is now spotless. 
I’m not sure how good it is to use bleach on boats, I’ve never done it before- but I was desperate to get it clean and it worked well.


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## georgiadrifter (Jan 14, 2009)

I’ve had good results with Starbrite Non-skid Cleaner. Westmarinedotcom has it on sale “2 for 1.”

Regarding Softscrub....isn’t it slightly abrasive? Wouldn’t this take the sheen off of gelcoat surfaces? I ask because I was tempted to use it till I found the Starbrite product.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

georgiadrifter said:


> I’ve had good results with Starbrite Non-skid Cleaner. Westmarinedotcom has it on sale “2 for 1.”
> 
> Regarding Softscrub....isn’t it slightly abrasive? Wouldn’t this take the sheen off of gelcoat surfaces? I ask because I was tempted to use it till I found the Starbrite product.


I take the Starbrite and pour it into a garden spray bottle so I can spread it over the deck evenly and use less of it. I'd say I use 50% less now that I can spray it.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

State fish rob said:


> View attachment 73408


This is a mix of 3 different acids. It does work wonders.


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