The Skipper's Blog

Leonard Buchanan asked:

I am interested in your product, but like many others, I see videos of almost ‘miraculous’ restoration of clear vinyl enclosures. I have watched your video, but it is hard to tell whether it is just dirt or what is causing the cloudiness.

I have a 37 Jefferson with both a upper helm enclosure and a sundeck enclosure. It was a New Jersey live-aboard boat, which I have bought and have brought to Michigan. I have streaks of what I assume are oxidation from the hardtops on my vinyl. Before I spend more money on a product that won’t work, do you know if your product will remove these type of streaks?

I have tried ‘Clear to See Eisenshine’ and ‘210 Polisher’. None of these have removed the streaks. Please be honest in your assessment of your product, rather than just say ‘yes’ to sell another set. Honesty would be greatly appreciated and I would be more open to buying other product from you rather than be disappointed in a false statement for the sake of a sale.
Thank you,
Leonard Buchanan

Answer:

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

To be honest; I don’t know. I don’t know what caused the streaks. I don’t know the grade or age of the vinyl windows. I don’t know I don’t know how long the stains have been on the windows and if other factors have aggravated and set the stain, such as UV, pollution, salt air, different cleaners or chemicals, etc. I don’t know is the stains are superficial or indelible. I don’t know your skill set and how much effort you’re willing to put into this project. And, there are other things that I don’t know about your windows and their condition. I’m sure that you don’t know either.

There are, however, some things I do know. I do know that Clear View was invented to remove superficial, not indelible stains. I do know that our company invents and manufacturers some of the best boat care products in the world. I do know that in many cases our products will work, even when competitive products can’t. I do know that we DO NOT make or sell miracles.

Having said that I’m constantly surprised by the results that some of our customers get. For example:

https://www.auroramarine.com/aurora/gallery/gallery-clear-view-saves-strataglass

https://www.auroramarine.com/aurora/gallery

Also, please read the many Clear View Reviews on the product.

As for the windows in the video, what you see is their condition after they were washed. I have no idea about what caused the damage or how old the windows were or anything else about them. We came out specifically to do a video showing how to apply Sure Step to the decks and this was the boat that the marina chose for us (see the Sure Step video in the How To Video section). When we arrived and I saw the condition of this old Sea Ray, it was so rough that I told the video crew to get back in the truck, we’re going home. It was then that Pete and Trish arrived. They were the detailers that we hired to help do the work. I explained that this boat was impossible and we were just going to waste our time. Pete chuckled and said “come on, we’ve done worst projects than this with your products and they turned out fine”. Who was I to argue with that? When you see the after pictures, you can imagine my surprise and delight.

The condition of the windows was so bad that 4 of them had already cracked. We were able to restore the rest like you saw in the video. We could not restore the cracked ones and they were replaced before the boat went on sale. They got an extra $5,000 for the boat and it sold in a couple of weeks, whereas before it had been on the market for many months, with no interest.

In conclusion,if you want guaranteed results, I suggest that you replace the vinyl windows with new, good quality, vinyl.

On the other hand, you can try Clear View. If it works, you’ve saved yourself thousands of dollars. If not, you will know that nothing else will restore them and after you replace them you will have the best product you can buy for maintaining them and extending their life. Regular use of Clear View, on new vinyl windows can at least double their life.

A Jersey boat would have lead a hard life with the salt water, salt air, hardy marine growth and tough air pollution. I suggest that you keep your restoration expectations reasonable so you are not disappointed. Restoring salt boats is not impossible but it does take a little extra effort and the best products that you can get. Shortcuts will get you nowhere. Jefferson’s are nice boats and worth restoring. If you do a good job, you will have added a lot more value to the boat than your expenditure and you’ll be deservedly proud.

That’s as honest as I can be Leonard. Sorry, no miracles, no promises. Now it’s up to you.

Thanks for your question,

Captain Aurora
Richard Kittar

The Skipper Recommends:

CLEAR VIEW KIT

BOAT CLEAN PLUS

SURE STEP