Yachting Monthly – May 2018

STAR BRITE SAIL &

CANVAS CLEANER

STAR BRITE FABRIC CLEANER

& PROTECTANT WITH PTEF

FABSIL UNIVERSAL

CLEANER

The cloth must be dampened

before the solution is applied and

given a light scrub and then a rinse.

It worked well, assisted by a bit of

elbow grease. On all but the most

stained parts of the cover, it left the

fabric a nice bright blue colour, so

it was certainly doing something.

The addition of a natural cleaning

agent such as limonene seemed

to be effective without being too

harsh, although we can’t vouch

for how kind it is to the fabric.

A simple cleaner to use, we

sprayed this on, gave it a scrub

and rinsed it off. It is advertised as

safe on marine fabrics and did not

come with any major environmental

warnings. It is not bleach based and

appeared to have much less impact

on the colour of the canvas than

other products. It produced

impressive results. Also laced with

PTEF, or Teflon, it is designed to

reduce UV damage and to repel

dirt through the season, although

we weren’t able to test this claim.

Designed to be used on any

outdoor fabrics, this product

was quick and easy to use. It is

also claimed to maintain water

repellency. The canvas was first

dampened and then lightly

scrubbed with the solution before

being rinsed. It was quickly

apparent that the mould was

largely dealt with and the canvas

was back to its original colour.

This was the easiest to use and

most effective of all the products.

SPECIFICATIONS

500ml

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS

<5% non-ionic and

cationic surfactants,

EDTA, d-limonene

USE Dilute 1:4 with water

SPECIFICATIONS

1 litre

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS

Non-ionic surfactants,

EDTA, s-limonene, PTEF

USE Spray on

SPECIFICATIONS

300ml

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS

<5% non-ionic surfactants,

benzisothiazol

USE Dilute 100ml

in 5 litres of water

GROUP TEST

RUNNER

UP

BEST
ON TEST

GROUP TEST

The cleaner left the pontoon

patten visible after the area

had dried out

The Star brite produced

impressive results on both

of its test patches

It dealt with the mould and

green staining, bringing the

covers back to a good condition

£14.95

£20.95

£8.95

This sail cleaner brought the

canvas colour back after

a light scrub

Application methods for

all the cleaners varied

from product to product

A good performer, though it was

more expensive than most

Quick and easy to use

and worked very well