New to the forum and new proud owner of 2023 sx24 tritoon. We used it for the first time last weekend and some sunscreen rubbed off on seats. I didn't think much about it but went to clean it off this morning and it was a struggle to get it off, i actually was not able to get all of it off. I used dawn soap and water and some 409... Any suggestions on get the what i couldn't get cleaned ? Also suggestions on what to do going forward, i surprises me that the seats would be that sensitive to sun screen lotion .
Clean Suntan lotion of seats
- Thread starter mohrbs
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Jack M
Moderator
Good luck ,hopefully you or someone else comes up with a way to remove it . My wife is the only one on our boat that is allowed to use it and even then she sits on a towel and absolutely No Sprays .
Ditto.
Vikingstaff
Moderator
Do a search in the upper right hand corner of the forum regarding sunscreen on the boats. Some sunscreens are okay (often the lotion type). Some are not: oil based ones, most spray type ones, and I think there is a specific ingredient in some that “don’t play well” with the fabric.
We have no problem with the dry style spray sunscreens if applied BEFORE getting on the boat and giving it a moment. We spray it on on our deck, nowhere close to boat and seats. Once on the boat, then it’s only my wife’s lotion style sunscreen from there on out.
We have a very strict sunscreen policy with our boat. Guests use ours…period…if going on the boat. When on the boat, only reapply the lotion style sunscreen my wife uses. We keep an ample supply at our lake house for these purposes.
So far (8th summer with the boat), we’ve avoided ANY sunscreen related stains or mishaps. Here’s our fabric condition after following a few sunscreen, food and drink rules on our 2017 with Simtex:
We have no problem with the dry style spray sunscreens if applied BEFORE getting on the boat and giving it a moment. We spray it on on our deck, nowhere close to boat and seats. Once on the boat, then it’s only my wife’s lotion style sunscreen from there on out.
We have a very strict sunscreen policy with our boat. Guests use ours…period…if going on the boat. When on the boat, only reapply the lotion style sunscreen my wife uses. We keep an ample supply at our lake house for these purposes.
So far (8th summer with the boat), we’ve avoided ANY sunscreen related stains or mishaps. Here’s our fabric condition after following a few sunscreen, food and drink rules on our 2017 with Simtex:
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Potomacbassin’
Well-Known Member
Good advice above. But with so many kids on my boat sometimes it's better for the stress levels to just live and let live and not try to keep the boat in museum condition. I'm sure when I go to sell it there will be a "wear and tear (and sunblock on the seats)" discount but realistically on a 7-10 year old boat most buyers are expecting some blemishes. My engine is the where I'm super OCD.
I know you didn't ask but just providing another perspective in case it starts weighing on you.
I know you didn't ask but just providing another perspective in case it starts weighing on you.
CLDave
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Our policy is to use towels, and spray is only allowed to be applied on bow/stern away from the seats. So far, so good in almost 4 years of owning a Simtex boat.
Michiman
Well-Known Member
Wow, I’m really surprised that Dawn didn’t remove the sunscreen remnants. For the benefit of the rest of us, do you have any idea how all this even happened? Spray? Lotion? While being applied or was it a transfer from sitting? Or, no idea?
Lotion applied and then sitting on the seat. This lotion was some formula that has zinc in it and not supposed to be bad for you. I just never would have thought that sunscreen would be so bad , but now i know.
Michiman
Well-Known Member
Zinc based! Believe it or not, I just bought some as it’s suppose to be quite good for you, as far as sunscreen goes. Not so much for your seats, apparently. I guess that goes in the trash as it’s probably not furniture friendly either. Ok
I’d try another round of Dawn and then maybe the cleaning power of sunlight.
Thanks for sharing your misfortune with us. Hopefully you’ll be successful getting it out, but at the very least, you’ve helped some of your fellow boaters avoid a similar fate.
Bobby Bass
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Thanks for the advice. I’m concerned about the same on my new boat. What type of lotion sunscreen does your wife use?
kaydano
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I had this happen maybe 4-5 years ago. I don't know who the culprit was, (we had many people on the boat that day) but the next time we took the boat out I noticed stains on one of the seats. Nothing would remove it.
The good news is over time, it faded. Now you can't even see where it was. My assumption is the sun took care of it. So, the solution may be... GO BOATING MORE! The problem with that theory is I put 303 on at least 2x per year...
Seriously though, it would be great to have a list of what stains and what does not. Zinc could be the culprit...
Here's a tip: When people want to put sunscreen on, I just point the boat into the wind, and have them stand on the back deck when they spray it on. The excess blows away from the boat. That won't keep it from transferring later from skin to seat, but it keeps the seats from getting a direct hit.
The good news is over time, it faded. Now you can't even see where it was. My assumption is the sun took care of it. So, the solution may be... GO BOATING MORE! The problem with that theory is I put 303 on at least 2x per year...
Seriously though, it would be great to have a list of what stains and what does not. Zinc could be the culprit...
Here's a tip: When people want to put sunscreen on, I just point the boat into the wind, and have them stand on the back deck when they spray it on. The excess blows away from the boat. That won't keep it from transferring later from skin to seat, but it keeps the seats from getting a direct hit.
Vikingstaff
Moderator
Here is our main sunscreen option. We’ve used this one for 8 years with no problems. The spray is used before boating, lotion while on the boat. This Banna Boat Light as Air sunscreen seems to be everyone’s preference as well when we have options for everybody. It is certainly my wife and I’s preference in terms of how it “feels” when applied.
These are our backup options when we run out or cannot find the above two types. We haven’t had any seat or fabric interactions with them either, but the sprays in particular have been a bit more lotion sprays vs dry sprays (if that makes any sense?). Again, sprays are always done in the yard or on the deck before boating. The lotions in the pictures are used on the boat.
We keep our place stocked with these for ourselves AND OUR GUESTS. No use having them accidentally cause a stain we have to live with when it can all be avoided. A small price to pay (maybe not so small these days, lol) to protect BOTH the seats and everyone’s skin.
What we sit out out on our patio table for everyone’s use:
