June 2006 Woody Wax made cleanup of dirt and fish-blood stains easy - and it improved on-deck traction. Aurora's Sure Step was the slickest. Scrubbing the decks is one of the most monotonous maintenance jobs on a boat. And it's a tough task because most decks are covered with non-skid material, with all of its nooks and crannies that make removal of dirt, grime, mud, or fish blood all that much harder. What if you could coat your boat's non-skid decks with a protectant that would make cleanup a whole lot easier? The decks wouldn't even have to be scrubbed, just rinsed clean? Well, we found three products that claim to do just this. These non-skid "waxes" are supposed to do their job without making the nonskid slippery. One product, Aurora's Sure Step, actually claims to increase the traction of the nonskid. We decided to see about that. What we tested We tested a trio of products: Sure Step from Aurora Marine, Wood Wax from Tower Plus 2000, and Star brite Non-skid Deck Cleaner. As the name says, the Star brite is a cleaner, but it contains a Teflon-like substance (the Company calls it PTEF) that leaves a protective coating. The other two products are strictly protectants. They do, however, require that the decks be clean before application. In fact, Aurora recommends applying two of its other products to clean the surface. Richard Kittar, the owner of Aurora, said there's a risk that residue from other cleaners can get trapped under the Aurora Sure Step and lead to discoloration. This won't happen if Aurora Boat Clean and Aurora Boat Scrub are used on the non-skid first, he said. The three products are sold as a package for $31.37. No special cleaners are required with Wood Wax. It can be applied to clean decks, wet or dry. You let it dry for 20 to 30 minutes, rinse with water, and buff with a clean cloth. Application of Aurora Sure Step is similar: Apply with a brush, let dry (no time is specified), and buff with a brush. Apply the Star brite with a deck brush, too, and then allow it to sit for two to three minutes. Scrub and rinse. How we tested We thoroughly cleaned three small sections of the nonskid-covered (diamond pattern) cockpit sole of our Neptune 212 test boat. We applied each product, following the directions carefully. The test was a two-day affair because Aurora requires a second application of its Sure Step after 24 hours. The remainder of the sole was cleaned but left untreated. We wanted to evaluate how well each product resisted dirt and stains. We also wanted to see if these substances added or detracted from the "grippiness" of the non-skid. So we took a bucket of mud and brushed it on a portion of each treated section. And for a stain, testers/anglers secured some fish blood from a very unwilling 3-pound Spanish mackerel (yes, sometimes the job has its benefits) and splattered it on our test sections. We let the mud and blood cook in the 85-degree sun and then rinsed the deck with a garden hose. The Neptune was on its trailer, which worked out well for our traction test. We used a forklift to raise the trailer tongue and put the boat at a 15-degree angle. We stood on each section with bare feet and two types of footwear: boat shoes and boat sneakers. We tested with the decks dry and wet. Results In the traction test, Wood Wax came out on top, followed by Star brite and Aurora. Testers noticed little difference between the sections when they wore boat shoes or boat sneakers. Differences emerged when testers shed their footwear and the deck was wet, however. The Woody Wax clearly provided the best traction. The Aurora section was the slickest, about equal to the adjacent untreated deck. The Star brite's section as a bit grippier than the untreated deck. In our ease-of-cleaning test, the Wood Wax prevailed again. We were able to completely remove the blood and mud from its section after a rinsing and a light scrubbing with a soft brush (no soap). The mud was similarly brushed off the Star brite and the Aurora sections, but blood stains remained. The stain on the Star brite panel was more evident than the one on the Aurora section. Conclusions The Woody Wax flat-out works. It is relatively easy to apply. It left a nice shine on our deck. And most importantly, it resisted mud and blood stains. Woody Wax is expensive. But if you're an active boater constantly cleaning your nonskid, then it's worth the money, in our opinion. To get the non-skid clean, we recommend 3M or Megular's nonskid cleaners (see January 2005 issue). We plan to check the treated deck sections after six months and publish an update.
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