How to remove oil stains from board&strap-pads?

[ulfp]

Just got back from a weekend at Manamana. Lots of wind on Saturday (overpowered 6.6 from 1400-1900     ) and a few hours of of wind with nice waves on Sunday (great wave-sailing in the bay east of Manamana     ).

Encountered oil in the water on several occasions, so now I have bad oil stains both in the "step" area between the front&rear straps and also on the strap pads. The board (Drops Flyer) got white strap pads and is mainly white in the area between the straps so it looks real nasty (especially on the pads).

Anyone knows the best approach to remove the stains?
 
 [ 06. January 2003, 12:18 PM: Message edited by: ulfp ]

[sukhdev]

Ulf,

go to any supermarket and buy Dylon oil stain remover. They have 3 stain removers, buy the one in the blue bottle (its labelled #1). Its clothes safe so you can use it on luff sleeves etc. Its a small roll-on bottle, easy to use.

An alternative to this is to use a bicycle chain degreaser (several brands, Pedros is well known, or Finish Line). You can buy these at any good bike shop.

Both of the above are citrus based. I'd avoid using any oil based removers as some of them screw up paint etc.

In an extreme case, after using the oil stain remover, you can use a little bleach to further clean the board. The best bet here is to use a diuluted bleach, don't laugh but Toilet Duck in the spray bottle works really well. It will pretty much clean off any organic based stains.
 
 [ 06. January 2003, 12:04 AM: Message edited by: sukhdev ]

[ulfp]

Is it safe to use the bleach on the on the strap-pads or will it result in a melt-down?

[sukhdev]

Ulf,

dilute bleach such as toilet duck is ok, though make sure you don't get it on your board shorts or clothes. Another safer alternative I've used is color safe clothes bleach (such as Kao).

Powdered full strength bleach does an amazing job on old boards but be very careful and use rubber gloves. Adding soap will make it even more effective but generates ammonia so only do this in a really open space. Doing this in a bathroom is a good way to create a gas chamber..NOT recommended.

[<Al>]

I use a vegetable oil and works good for me.

[sukhdev]

In a pinch, even sunblock will work  

[<Al>]

this means you've never tried it. Sorry for you.

[sukhdev]

We sail at the edge of one of the busiest harbors in the world. Oil spots are a common every day occurence. Its been tried. So has baby oil, turps, car engine degreasers, you name it. In the end I personally settled on Dylon as its the most effective on luff pockets etc. Alot of stuff works ok on the hull but is either too aggressive or too slow on luff pockets.

PS - White luff pockets don't stay white for long in our waters.

[ulfp]

I guess the sunblock will double-up as UV protection for the board. And if you leave some behind it may protect you nose too after you make a "nose-dive". When the wind dies, you can have fun by stepping on it so it spreads all over the board (have a competition on who can make their board look like a butter sandwitch), and then see if you can still sail without slipping (something like the log rolling competitions, but they cheat by using spike shoes). Spike shoes would perhaps be good idea as an alternative to wax when your anti-slip is gone (and when you cant get rid of the sunblock), and if the spikes are efficient you may not need your straps any more, so this way you can get rid of the strap-blisters on your feet. And if you are overpowered and catapult into the sail, the spikes will automatically ensure that your sail will “leak” some wind afterwards, so you will no longer be overpowered. And once you have used your spike shoes for a while, you will no longer notice (and care about) any oil stains.…..

[ulfp]

Sorry Sukhdev, did not have the intention to make fun of your sunblock suggestion, it may actually be the best, since most of us would have some sunblock in the gear-bag (From now on, I will put it next to my spike shoes)….

[sukhdev]

no worries ulf, actually any light oil will dissolve heavier oil..you can use baby oil if you wish. My other half pays a small fortune for a bottle of oil used to clean facial oil..but i dont think she will let me try that on boards  

From both cycling and windsurfing, citrus oil removers are best..biodegradable, light, smell nice too and rinse off very easily.

At one time Manamana used marine fish oil for degreasing, worked well but smelt like..well..fish oil.

Want a laugh? try this..next time you have a small tiny oil spot on your board, wipe your finger on your face and then rub..

[ulfp]

When I started this topic, I did so in frustration after spending ONE HOUR trying to clean up strap-pads on my board using the normal kitchen cleaning stuff (Jif, etc).

Got bad stains again yesterday after a trip to Desaru. This time I was prepared, i.e. I had some of the Dylon that sukhdev suggested at home. When I used the Dylon, I could not believe my eyes. ALL GONE IN ONE MINUTE!!!

Thanks sukhdev.

[<len>]

so how was desaru yesterday? had fun?

[ulfp]

quote:so how was desaru yesterday? had fun?

Was sailing from 10am to 2pm at "Le Cemara", which offers a wide and shallow sand beach, with parking and shower on the beach.

Wind was generally OK for my 6.7 and waves about 1.5-2.5m (around 12pm I was overpowered on my 6.7, and at 2pm the wind dropped down…)

At the beginning wind was about ENE (East = on-shore), and then it takes a lot of energy to get out through the breaks (how to get over 1.5m foam walls in on-shore conditions while being hooked-in?), but at about 11am the wind shifted to NE, and then you have about 45 degrees against the waves on the way out. Just outside the break, you often meet 2m+ waves with vertical faces, so getting height in the jumps and surf on your gybes is no problem...So lots and lots of FUN!!!

Until this season, I have never sailed waves of this size using such a “big board” (260x60) and big sail. With smaller boards (and I guess lighter rigs) I always used to go for nose-first landings, but I find it difficult to do soft nose-landings with a 6.7 and a “big board” (or perhaps I have lost the touch), so now I have discovered the convenience of tail-first landings. Before I always though that nose-landings was the only way to keep the speed, but with a big board, I now realize that tail first landings is an option (and getting older, I also notice that "tail-first" is a lot easier on your arms and knees)...

Now it looks like 9 months wait for the next session.
Hope to see more sailors “up there” next season.