Acrylic Glass Treatment for Boat
In this section, the topRik marketplace offers a large selection of acrylic glass care products. It is not only the structural elements of the yacht made of this durable and lightweight material that need maintenance - windshields, portholes, doors, hatches, etc. It is possible that there are acrylic dishes on board, as well as work surfaces made of acrylic stone. All this requires if not complicated, but regular care. Here you will find not only cleaners for this, but also polishes, protective coatings and other effective acrylic glass treatment products to keep your yacht always looking perfect.
What Is Acrylic Glass Treatment and What It Is Used For
Acrylic glass has become widespread in yacht building not by chance – it is:
- much lighter than silicate and triplex;
- stronger than silicate glass;
- provides high-quality natural lighting in cabins and other enclosed areas of the yacht through side and ceiling windows (transmits 92% of visible light);
- perfectly reflects ultraviolet rays, especially after special processing and tinting;
- easier to bend than other types of glass to the required degree;
- resistant to mechanical stress - it is quite difficult to leave a scratch on acrylic glass;
- due to low porosity, completely waterproof;
- is highly resistant to water, including sea water;
- environmentally friendly and safe for health if used to make dishes.
That's why yacht and boat manufacturers use acrylic glass when making windshields, portholes, deck hatches, glazing for the saloon and flybridge, sliding and swing doors, fire shields, etc. That is, a significant part of your yacht consists of acrylic glass, so every yachtsman should know how to care for this material and have a supply of acrylic glass treatment products for all cases.
What problems might you encounter when dealing with acrylic glass elements during vessel operation? This could be the usual contamination of windows, hatches, windshields of the cockpit or flybridge, which interfere with the view and disrupt natural light. Agree, most owners of pleasure yachts purchase them in order to experience comfort during a cruise, and not irritation from a cloudy windshield. It's also no fun having to turn on the lights in the cabin on a sunny day because the overhead hatch and side window are dirty and don't let in natural light.
There are also more serious issues - for example, scratches. And even on acrylic glass, they are not jagged, but very noticeable, and immediately give the yacht an unkempt, abandoned look.
Of course, any yachtsman after washing acrylic glass, will remove all scratches and carry out polishing, and will ask whether it is possible to keep the yacht in this condition for as long as possible. topRik experts will answer this question in the next section. Based on their own practice, marketplace specialists will tell you what tools you need to have on board or in the boathouse to make sure that the problems with acrylic glass don't take you by surprise.
Types of Acrylic Glass Treatment
It is advisable to remove even simple stains on acrylic surfaces immediately, without waiting for the seasonal preparation of the yacht for wintering or navigation. We hope you have made it a habit to wash your deck regularly, especially if it has a teak surface. It is during this process that you should inspect the interior glazing, hatches, portholes, etc. It will not be difficult to remove dirt that has accumulated in a short period of time. But multi-month plaque is much more difficult to remove.
In the first case, you don’t even need special cleaners - a soap solution and a soft cloth will be enough. But with advanced accumulations of dust, salt, etc. you will have to resort to special cleaning agents.
Acrylic cleaners are detergents for acrylic glass. For express cleaning, you can use water-based products - they are ideal for regular use. The composition does not contain aggressive components that could damage plexiglass. The main active ingredients are surfactants. Such products provide a triple effect: they clean acrylic, prevent fogging and repel dirt.
Antistatic agents are also used for cleaning and maintaining acrylic glass. This product provides enhanced protection against static electricity buildup by preventing or slowing down the settling of dust onto the acrylic surface. This means that you can care for plexiglass with less frequency. These products are also water-based, contain surfactants and contain no aggressive substances or abrasives. A useful advantage of antistatic is the prevention of fogging.
We recommend professional cleaning products such as those produced by Star brite, designed specifically for glass on yachts and boats. This UK company produces a full range of products for acrylic glass treatment, which includes not only detergents, but also polishes and protective coatings specifically for acrylic glass and products made from this material, including work surfaces.
Protective coatings for acrylic glass may contain wax and other additives to achieve the following effects:
- repels dust and other contaminants;
- creation of a hydrophobic layer, as a result of which rain or splashes of sea water roll over its surface without stopping or accumulating;
- preventing stains from dried salt;
- ensuring visibility through the windshields of the wheelhouse and flybridge even in heavy rain.
Protective coatings can be used both after regular cleaning of acrylic glasses and after polishing them.
Polishes are used if abrasions or slight scratches are found on the surface of the acrylic polymer glass. These products can polish out such minor damage. All of the procedures described above can be safely performed independently if you use the acrylic glass treatment products presented in this section. Read more about the method of applying cleaning agents, polishes and protective coatings in the next section.
To eliminate more significant defects of acrylic glass will require preliminary polishing using special tools and technical devices. It is better to entrust such work to professionals, and we will not describe this process here.
How to Apply Products Acrylic Glass Treatment
Methods of using such products depend on their category.
Acrylic cleaners, antistatic agents and other water-based cleaners should be shaken well before use. Then a small amount of the product is sprayed and the surface is wiped with a soft, lint-free cloth. Remaining antistatic agent is removed with a clean cloth until the dirt is removed and the surface is clean and dry again.
For this simple procedure to bring the expected effect, it is enough to remember a few simple rules for cleaning acrylic glass from normal contaminants.
- The tool for removing dirt should be soft cloths made of felt, microfiber, cotton, or flannel.
- Do not use hard materials, rough sponges or newsprint.
- The use of rags that have already been used to clean other surfaces is strictly prohibited.
- Napkins must be perfectly clean.
- To remove calcium deposits and other stubborn contaminants, a special nylon brush is used.
- Areas located at great depth or height can be cleaned using brushes with extended handles.
- To clean plexiglass, you cannot use products containing ammonia, solvents, alcohol, coarse abrasives and turpentine - those can cause scratches, clouding and other defects on the surface.
If the product is not contained in an aerosol package, but in a regular bottle instead, it should first be applied to a cloth of suitable composition, and then cleaned with this cloth, regularly changing the cloth as it gets dirty.
Protective hydrophobic agents are sprayed onto the surface of the glass or applied in a very thin layer using a napkin and left on the surface until completely dry. Then a second coat is applied to ensure complete coverage. The dried double layer is wiped with a slightly damp cloth (moisten with water only!), and then the glass is polished with a dry, clean cloth until completely transparent and streaks are removed. If you are using Star brite or similar manufacturers proven over many years of practice, this treatment will last you for several months.
All the recommendations that topRik experts give, and all the products that we offer, have been tested in practice when servicing our SimpleSail fleet, which is located in our marinas in Croatia and Montenegro. The topRik group also provides all services for repairing yachts and preparing them for navigation and wintering.
If you have any questions, please contact our team to receive professional free advice. For that you can use Contacts section, phone number or email – [email protected].