October 23, 2006

Cleaning Up Them Tubes

Fred is asked regularly how to clean the tubes on RIBs. The great news is that the tubes require very little maintenance but a little love now and then never hurts. Normally fresh water, boat soap and a sponge work great but at the end of the season, the colored (non-military dark grey) tubes may require something more.

Aurora SpeedClean, http://www.auroramarine.com, works great. Simply hose off the loose dirt, put a generous dollop to a damp rag, and rub on in a circular motion, wait a few minutes, then wipe off any excess with a clean damp rag. Immediately, the tube brightens back to its original color and luster. Using a rag is helpful as it is slightly more aggressive than a sponge but won't scratch the tubes like a scrub brush could.

For those that want to go the extra step, Aurora PolyGuard is similar to a wax for the tube. PolyGuard helps protect from UV damage and restores a nice shine. The down side is that it has to be maintained during the season or stripped (using SpeedClean) and re-applied.

RIBCRAFT sells the Aurora Speed Clean ($12.95 plus S&H) and PolyGuard (12.95 plus S&H).

Posted by ribcraftusa at October 23, 2006 04:15 PM