Fire Extinguisher Powder on Upholstery

[waveman]

So I came back from a nice week at the beach, drove over to the dock and uncovered to boat only to find that someone stuck a fire extinguisher hose under the cover and filled the cockpit of the boat with the powder. Once I calmed down and started cleaning it, I found that it was everywhere and especially stuck to everything that had 303 on it, so even the vertical pieces had a layer of powder. I didn't have everything to really clean it, so I just rinsed it off really good and went out on the lake. At this point there were light and dark spots everywhere. I went and really cleaned it as best I could and re-applyed 303; it looks like most of the seat bottoms show discoloration of some sort, but the sides don't look as bad. Ive talked to my insurance company and I feel confident that they will replace anything that shows discoloration, but Im unsure whether I should push for them to replace everything that the powder was in contact with. I know that the powder is chemicals, and I don't want all my stitching to come apart in a year, or all the seats to dry out and crack. Does anyone have experience with the effects of fire extinguisher powder? I didn't want to file a claim if I didn't have to, but 9 of the seat cushions show discoloration. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[nyryan2001]

Wm- give it a few weeks before you go final with your decision... Whichever way you decide to go.

get a good vinyl cleaner... 303 is more of a protectant than a true vinyl cleaner like Babes, Meguires, Boat Candy or Boat Bling cleaners. And let it air out and get plenty of sun. You might be amazed at what happens with sunlight as crazy as that sounds.

if your goal is to not file a claim, or only a claim as small as what's needed... Clean it well and give it direct sun for a week or so.

^^^^ cured remainant stains from pine tree sap I thought was permanent... And the. also Transfered Sharpie marker someone had labeled their wake helmet with their name and set on my seats and it transfered!! Truly sun and air removed both 100%. I know it sounds insane. Good cleaning with a good cleaner, regular rag. Nothing abrasive!!

good cleaning.. 7-10 days of sun exposure... THEN decide. Good luck and sorry for the misfortune. Follow up with us how this pans out.

[NautiqueJeff]

I agree with Ryan, the sun can do amazing things like that.

I was out with Travis Moye one day a few years back on his BRAND NEW X-Star. This dude that was with us had a Parks board that had a black bottom (back in the Hyperlite days), and he left it sitting on the vinyl over the engine while we were off the water for lunch. When we got back, he picked his board up and the black had transferred to Travis' brand new vinyl! He was NOT happy! He left in it the sun for a couple of days, and it faded almost completely away. I am sure it was completely gone within a week.

[waveman]

Thanks for the advice, I will let the boat sit in the sun as much as possible over the next couple weeks. I used Starbrite cleaner with a rag/soft brush to clean the seats. I do have some Boat Candy vinyl cleaner that I will try net time, maybe that will clean it better?