How to clean the inside of your ski

[Ryan727]

Hey guys,

Still new to the PWC world, and jet skis all around, but figured I'd share where I can along the way of my process (not so much mechanical at this moment). So I bought a couple of skis the other week and have been working on one. Well over the weekend, since I had many parts out, I figured I'd clean the 10+ year old buildup of gunk on the inside.

So I had been using "Gunk" brand heavy duty Gel degreaser, but that took a while, and too much need for a hose. I know ski parts can be sensative so I tried to go light on it. It did work, but it took two hours of cleaning, and there's a much easier way.

Go to Dollar Tree (I know.. right?), and get this stuff:


For only a dollar, it blows "Gunk" brand products out of the water in terms of removing buildup.

Here's a test to show you an easy job.

Right under the hood of one of the skis (buildup from an oil leak I believe):


Gave it three squirts of the dollar store degreaser, let it sit for not even 15 seconds, and a microfiber towell:



Easy as that. Hope you guys have fun cleaning yours!

 

[Ryan727]

Here was the inner, rear side of the hull.

Before:


After:

 

[mikidymac]

Looks good. I use Castro’s SuperClean.

 

[Ryan727]

Never heard of that one. But after two $10 cans of "gunk" I'll never use that again.. Lol.

 

[Dr Honda]

Yep... seems to work well for $1.

The "Gunk" stuff was designed back in the 50's. We used it in the High School shop in the 80's, and it sucked back then. Not to mention it stinks.

Castrol Super Clean came out shortly after Simple Green... around '91 or so. It's been sold, and lost the Castrol name... but it's still the same stuff. Also... there are some house brands under names like "Purple Power"... but they don't work.

Anyway... super clean is a spray it in... rinse it out kind of thing. AND... it doesn't kill your grass when it goes down the driveway. (works really good if you have warm water at your hose)

 

[Ryan727]

That came out real nice, damn.

 

[Ryan727]

I also have been using this stuff on the outside of my ski. I've got the 98 GTX, so it's primarily white, with red accents.

After working on it for a week, I've got my paw prints all over it from the old buildup. So I've been spraying a microfiber, and wiping down the exterior of the ski and that also works great.

Washed it with car wash, and dawn soap over the weekend and that stuff wasn't coming off. This stuff was able to remove it with ease. I also wipe down with water afterwards, as I'm not sure how this degreaser may affect the gel coat paint.