dink cleaning, help

[nauticalrich]

I have an old quicksilver dink and the top side of the tubes seem to get quite sticky.
I am having trouble cleaning it. Does anyone have anything they can recommend to clean it off with without destroying the material? Also i finally discarded two bumpers that had the same problem. Nothing would clean it off.

Please help, I''m tired of sitting on it.

[wwilson]

There has been an on-again-off-again debate about the advantages of PVC & Hypalon for years. PVC (as used in your Quicksilver) has a number of advantages. One disadvantage (that the backers of Hypalon) attribute to PVC is that it is less resistant to UV light. One of the symptoms of destabilization of the (surface) fabric is the stickiness you describe. Is it only on the top of the tubes, i.e. most exposed to the sun? There is a UV protectant spray for inflatables that you may want to try. It may help stabilize the PVC, if that is indeed the problem. I''ll look for its brand name and post if I find it.

good luck
wlw

[RobHoman]

Island Girl products has a kit for correcting exactly the problem that you are talking about. They have a website and I don''t have the url handy...but a yahoo search will pop it up for you.

[wwilson]

Good recollection Rob - I searched as you suggested, here is the product''s URL

http://www.islandgirlproducts.com/Silkenseal.htm

[bunkins]

I just cleaned my Quicksilver 300 with citrus cleaner that I bought at Wall Mart. A Quicksilver rep. told me to try this to get all that sticky stuff off the air tubes. It worked great. He also told me to rub baby powder on it to help with reducing sun damage.