Magic Erasers / Melamine Foam

[sharkey]

Not sure who came up with this stuff, but if you ever need to clean anything on the boat - especially fibreglass - there is nothing like it.  Scuff marks from shoes come out easier than you would imagine as do everyother type of stain.  Took up all the excess drippings of stain I used on the brightwork with limited elbow grease. 

Scrub brush and soap are pretty much gone from the arsenal of cleaning supplies - however would be interested if these could damage the gel coat...thoughts?

[dlincoln]

Isn't Magic Eraser pretty much like a very fine grit sandpaper?  It does a great job cleaning, but you might be removing gel coat every time you use it.  I recently used one to remove permanent marker from a table top, and i noticed that it removed the finish in places and left swirl marks where I had used it.  My opinion, save it for the occasional tough stuff but don't use it as an everyday cleaner.

Don

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

Any abrasive that will remove a stain will also leave micro scratches in the fiberglass and then the scratched surface will then be more prone to future stains. If you have to use an abrasive to remove a stain, make sure you get a good coat of wax on it to seal the surface.
I always start with a non abrasive spray cleaner like 409 or simple green or sometimes even WD40 will remove a stain, then only as a last resort I'll try soft scrub or comet cleanser and wax afterwards.

Hope I helped,
Mike

[Bob K]

This Spring I noticed my neighbor in the boatyard cleaning his entire hull with Spray Nine.   He convinced me to try it, and boy was I impressed.  It took off the black hull streaks easily, as well as most other stains.    I used to use Collinite cleaner, but the Spray Nine is so much easier to use.    By the way, the Spray nine it took off some yellowing on the inside cabintop which we were unable to remove with the magic eraser or anything else.