A few of the porthole have been leaking. There are rust stains on the vinyl on the inside and also down the hull on the outside. I want to remove all of them and rebed them. However, I have tried to remove the rust stains from the vinyl with no avail. I have tried "the works", lemon juice, clorox cleanup, I even tried muriatic acid full strength!. Nothing touches the stain. Anyone have a solution.
Try "WHINK". I bought it in an ACE Hardware Store in Florida. It's a clear liquid and works great on fiberglass rust stains. I also saw it on eBay. Capt. George
If Whink failed it is most likely because it ran off the stain too quickly. When I've used it I've had to set things up so a puddle of Whink would sit on the stain for 10 or 20 minutes. Vinyl next to portholes is sloped so the liquid would run right off. Soaking a rag could work in principle but Whink has hydrofluoric acid (HF)--extremely dangerous and never to be touched. Please be careful if you try it again and read up on HF to make sure you do it safely.
Removing rust stains from vinyl is near impossible! The reason is the stain is absorbed into the vinyl itself and you are trying to clean the surface leaving the rust stain that has penetrated into the surface. The best way to fix this is to dye the vinyl back to its original color. If you want it perfect, hire a vinyl repair company to do it for you. In most cases they can dye it and you will never be able to tell it was ever stained. If you feel up to the challenge, you can purchase a vinyl repair kit which will contain dyes. In South Florida we have a company called Doctor Vinyl and I have seen them dye entire seats making them look brand new!
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