Best way to clean your balls?

[skinut]

I can't wait to see the smart-alec remarks on this one ;) But seriously, we are getting ready to put our course back in for the season and I have all of the buoys from last year and they are covered in moss(below the waterline). Is there a good way to remove the moss, besides a lot of scrubbing? I don't want to chafe them! I am mainly concerned about getting them clean enough to paint since they have faded quite a bit.

[Ham_Wallace]

Clean balls are happy balls! A little new paint may give them a new outlook on life!

[jdarwin]

Any type of household cleaner and a brush. I like to clean them immediately after taking them out so the scum doesn't harden but either way, there is some scrubbing involved.

[Wish]

No pain.. No gain

 

Best ball paint- Krylon for plastic. It expands and contracts with buoy. Won't fade and doesn't chip off. Comes in yellow, green and bright red. Sorry, no orange. There's a plastic resin chair pictured on the can. Walmart or any other big box store.

[briandawsonskis]

Infomercial on cleaning old dirty balls. Its amaizing!!

 

Or youtube "axe ball cleaner".

[Horton]

I have so many comments but would have to move this to members only section ...

[ral]

Hypoallergenic soap?

[04196]

Soak mine in a bucket of bleach for a day then lightly scrub w/ nylon brush, rinse off, hang dry, towel off and paint with krylon. So far, no chaffing, blistering or rash. We are talking slalom balls here aren't we????

[Ed_Johnson]

Here is a article I previously wrote for cleaning and painting Goode Buuble Buoys. Should work for painting regular buoys also.

 

Goode Bubble Buoy Maintenance:

 

Step One: When they fade the first time,you can simply turn them inside out, and they are NEW again.

 

Step Two: When those fade, you can either replace them with New Skins and start over or paint them. The skins I bought were $20 each.

 

Step Three: Painting: First clean and use light sandpaper to ruff up the surface a little. Clean again with a rag with Acetone... Paint - I use Rust-Oleum 500 degree Engine Enamel, Chevy Orange # 248941. Two coats, about 30 mins. apart. Then at least an hour later, Rust-Oleum Clear Automotive Enamel # 257884, two coats, 30 mins apart.

 

Here in Orlando, I pull the buoys every six months, to repaint, clean algae off, (Bleach, then Simple Green) and replace any broken tie wraps. Average two tie wraps per buoy. Usually happens from skiers hitting the buoys.

 

Had one buoy with a slit in the top center from a fin going through it. Super Glue repaired that just fine.

 

Hope this helps, ED

 

 

PS: The Guys I ski with like my painted buoys better than the new Goode's, since they are a brighter, shiney orange. I believe that comes from the Clear Coat I put on them. I used this method painting Aerobatic Airplanes that I built that had to endure a lot of stress.

 

[thager]

I have a submersible course. Every spring I raise the bouys on a calm day, apply bleech, and let them dry in the sun for a few hours. Then one by one I clean them off with a wire brush. Not a pleasurable task but effective! Takes about an hour. I repeat about mid season. I haven't replaced a buoy in a couple seasons.

[skidawg]

New BOS slogan "clean balls are happy balls"' thx Ham

[Phil2360]

Best thing I've found for cleaning water stains of anything including Balls & Gel-cote is Oxalic Acid.

Down under I buy it as "Diggers Rust & Stain Remover", from the local hardware stores.

Absolutely brilliant in removing slime & algae stains. Dissolves it in a matter of minutes.

 

http://www.constructionchemicals.co.uk/blog/2009/06/25/oxalic-acid-an-incredibly-versatile-cleaning-agent-for-your-home/

 

 

[skiboyny]

We use flat rocks off the shore. The rocks seem to work better than anything else we have tried. Been doing it for years. We do it when we pull the course out in the fall.

[A_B]

We always carry a few scrub brushes in the boat and clean the buoys off at the end of the season before we string them up. Takes about 20 seconds per buoy versus all the crap you deal with when you let them dry. The brushes are just cheapies you can buy at any grocery store or car place. Last forever. I like the ones with a handle that curves up and over the brush so my hand isn't in the water all the time.

[GAJ0004]

Immediately after you take them out use a pressure washer on the fan setting. I would love to be able to paint the buoys on our course, but too many other skiers object. They don't want paint getting on their boats.

[Wish]

I've sprayed my boat guides (both sponge and now air filled) with the Krylon for Plastics. My naughbor has a black hull Boo. Mine is a forest green SN. Never had a yellow mark on either boat. I've been painting them for 5 yrs now.

[EF23]

Dial soap, and being faithful!!! Guaranteed!!! :))))

[RCM]

My course is on a public lake so I leave the balls dirty, I found that If I clean them they often get stolen.

[Broussard]

How long will a buoy last if cleaned and repainted annually?

[A_B]

We have foam boat guides that seem to last forever unless you run them over with the prop or muskrats run out of food to eat. We replace skier buoys about every other year for a uniform look (we don't paint them). Seems like one or two lose air after a while and I don't like some new and some used mixed together. That's just my personal preference. I have heard that dyeing them also works well.

[LeonL]

I agree with JD, clean them in the fall before they dry, failing this, which I often do, use a pressure washer. Again, I'll mention that boat guides (polyform) can be dyed. Lasts well and won't transfer to boats. @Ed you might try that with the Goode bubble buoys as they appear to be of a similar material to polyform guides.

[jackski]

I clean mine in the water before I take them out and once in the middle of the summer. No chemicals just a hand scrub brush. They come out almost like new if you don't let them get too dirty. I do it from an aluminum boat so I don't have to bend over. I get 2 years from red/orange and 3-4 from yellow (go figure). Never paint any more.

[east tx skier]

I'm consistently amazed with the combo I use in my home brewery to keep the stainless looking good.

 

3 parts Oxyclean to one part Red Devil TSP. Mild Caustic that doesn't attack the skin.

 

Frankly, you could probably just use regular Oxyclean (or Sun Oxygen Cleaner from Wally World) and warm water. Hit those balls with a brush loaded up with that stuff and watch the scum fall. I keep two jugs mixed up to soak dishes. It really attacks the organic matter.

[A_B]

I use a product called Greased Lightning on my stainless grill, spray on and wipe off and it is very Brite and clean in seconds. Works way better than the stainless cleaner that you buy for a grill. Might work on balls , just never need it. Just scrub them with a stiff brush.

[teammalibu]

I hit em with a pressure washer while they are still soft and wet. a little sore but all the crud came off.

[skinut]

@Davelemons-ummmm....I could reply to that but I might get banned. I'll save it for the campfire. ;P

[lpskier]

@Brent I have knifed a few of those balls just to get rid of the worst of them. They tear my shins up and they don't heal all summer.

[GAJ0004]

I will have to give the Krylon for plastics a try. The last time I tried painting buoys was over 5 years ago. I have had yellow gate buoys last 6+ years, and about the same with the orange ones. Lake Latonka in some ways is like a public lake so I do have to replace buoys that get cut loose, so the same buoys are not always in the water all the time. Since our course has no 55 meter buoys I try to keep the brightest orange buoys at the end gates. I have not bought any buoys since 2006. I suspect I will have to buy new ones after this year. My inventory is getting low due to buoys getting destroyed. I think I have enough to get through the season.

[Marco]

I followed @Ed_Johnson advice (see page 1 of this old thread) on how to paint bubble buoys, and so far I am really happy with the result. The buoys have been in the water for nearly 2 months, and they still look freshly painted. I had to special order a case of the Chevy Orange high temp engine paint, but at $36, it was way cheaper than buying new Bubble buoy skins, and I have enough paint for 3 or 4 more years. The last time I painted buoys with some generic paint and no clear coat, they were faded within a month.

 

[Ed_Johnson]

@Marco ... Don't know if I mentioned this before, but every 6 months, I take the Bubble Buoys, use a really good paint stripper, and remove the old paint. Then repaint with the Chevy Orange Engine Heat Paint, plus a coat of clear. Using the stripper keeps the Buoys really flexible. Just adding paint over paint will make them stiff.

 

 

[Marco]

Thanks @Ed_Johnson - Appreciate the added information. Do your buoys fade much over the 6 months? I haven't noticed any fading on mine over the 2 months they have been installed.

[Chef23]

There is always this:

 

 

[Ed_Johnson]

@Marco ... They don't fade, they actually get darker. Would probably last a year. I just like mine bright and shiny, plus I soak them in Bleach to get all the algae off before I paint them. I also need to tighten all the fittings and check and replace any tie wraps.

 

 

[B_S]

I usually clean my own, but sometimes, when I'm lucky, my wife will clean them for me. She did that a lot more before we got married...

[Horton]

another gem from the bowels of the database

[6balls]

@horton perhaps from the loins of the database

[teammalibu]

Soak em in cider

[thager]

Or a fish tank!!!