With built in functions for radar, weather, chart plotters, engine data, and radio controls, boat owners are constantly touching their on-board electronics. Also, many boats with a more open design get a lot of salt spray on their dash as well. Shurhold Industries offers tips on how to properly clean a boat’s electronics.
To get started, users will need a hose nozzle that can do a soft mist, PVA Chamois Towel, Microfiber Towels and Shurhold’s Serious Shine. Owners should always start by turning off all their gear. While most electronics are all weather rated, owners should be sure to check their specific user manuals for their recommendations and warnings.
No matter how weatherized the gear is, it’s important to never use hard pressure or forced water on them. When doing a full wash down of the boat, users should only use a light mist to rinse electronics. Then, they should be dried quickly with a PVA towel to remove all standing water. This will help prevent water spots and remove any other foreign particles.
Once the dash is dry or if owners are starting with a fairly clean and dry dash already, the entire area should be sprayed and wiped down with Serious Shine. Only a fine mist is needed and then owners can work the product using a clean microfiber towel with light pressure.
On touch screens, this is going to clean and remove all the finger prints and provide an anti-static protection that will help reduce finger printing in the future. Serious Shine is safe to spray on the screen, frame, buttons and the surrounding fiberglass, steering wheel and more.
Users should always start with a clean towel. Dirty towels might scratch the screens with grime that may have already been in the towel. Microfiber towels can be washed in a laundry machine, as long as fabric softener isn’t used. This will clog the fibers in the towel and make it less effective.