Will washing and scrubbing remove Sure Step from my deck?

Skipper February 18, 2006 Ask The Skipper

Clark Kilby asked:

I live in South Florida and use your Sure Step. We fish alot and wash down and scrub the decks after each use. I’ve been concerned that I am removing the Sure Step treatment. Not sure that I am but it seems likely, washing and scrubbing the decks after each use.

Can you give me some feed back regarding this? I see you sell a cleanser but they appear as a special duty product. As much as we use the boat, I’d like to use a general wash like simple green into a bucket of water or something like that.

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

Yes, you are scrubbing away the Sure Step. What you are doing should not be necessary if you applied the Sure Step correctly.

You should be able to keep your decks clean by simply washing them with a solution of about 1 part Boat Clean Plus mixed with 10 to 20 parts water. You should do a bit of experimeminting with the ratios to find what works best for you. Start with 20 to 1 and add a bit more until you get the results you want. I suggest that you hose the decks down with water 1st to help loosen up any dried on grime and then use the solution with a mop, not a brush. Rinse it clean and wipe your decks with a Marine Chamois. This works for most fishermen and is a lot easier on your boat than the constant scrubbing with a deck brush.

This is recommended over other boat wash products as many of them are detergent based or corrosive and will either deteriorate the Sure Step or leave a residue on the surface, which can impeed the non slip properties. Boat Clean Plus is non corrosive, free rinsing and biodegradable so its Environment Friendly.

For best results from Sure Step, we recommend scrubbing the non-skid areas with a 1 to 4 solution of Boat Clean Plus and Boat Scrub. This gets the decks deep clean so that the Sure Step can bond to the gelcoat instead of any residue on the surface or in the pores. Two coats of Sure Step should last 3 to 4 months in the Florida area, more or less, depending of how you use your boat. Using other cleaners may not give you the best results as many of them leave a residue. Boat Clean Plus and Boat Scrub are free rinsing so there is no residue to impede the bonding.

All Aurora products are system matched. Using them as recommended on the label will give you maximum life and guaranteed results.

Other products that you will like are Vinyl Guard for protecting your seats and Livewell-Baitwell Cleaner for cleaning your livewells and removing sent from your hooks and lures to increase your catch. Livewell-Baitwell Cleaner is a powerful cleaner, removes dried blood, slime, mold and mildew, and is also free rinsing so that there is no residue to kill your bait or fish.

Thanks for your question.
Captain Aurora