The Cowls

[Ron M.]

Mr. Vigor's suggestion from last week of painting the plastic cowl vents to
remove the discoloration and mildew.... better known as 'the lurgy' was indeed insightful.
I had some extra Perfection and Epoxy Primecoat, with a Preval sprayer I applied this to my cleaned up cowls.......3 coats. Joy......they look great and should continue to shine for a long time.
Thanks John
________
Herbal health shop

[Russell]

Given that the plastic cowls have a lot of flex to them, I wonder how well such paint will hold up in the long term? Paint can handle some amount of flex, but my cowls at least can flex quite a lot, more then I would think a polyeurathane paint can handle. My cowls look pretty bad as well and I have tried all sorts of chemicals on them with little luck. Ultimately I hope to replace them with proper bronze ones, but the price tag keeps scaring me away.

[laustin]

A few weeks ago I was cleaning up some teak oil stains from the gel coat using lacquer thinner ( Klean-Strip lacquer thinner from Home Depot). I decided to try the lacquer thinner on the cowl vents and whoa.... the thinner cleaned those vents right up to a nice new looking white....it even removed that crude /mold whatever it is that seems to grow on the plastic.... I think you will like the results....



Larry Austin
CD30MKII
LAYLA

[John Danicic]

To all:

I have been bedeviled with black mold growing on my plastic cowl vents for years now. It looked like the mold was embedded deep in the plastic structure. Cleaning was a chore and I never got it all off even using Clorox cleansers, bleaches, buffers, steel wool and the like I was ready to throw in the towel and spend the really big bucks and get some proper bronze cowls or at least replace these with new plastic ones. Paint was another option I was considering.

A final search of the Cape Dory board archives resulted in this posting and the answer came.

The photos show the magic result. I love this board.






A few swipes in the middle with a cloth dampened with Lacquer Thinner shows how well it took off the black guck with a minimum of scrubbing.



Thanks Larry Austin of Layla. A great tip.

[Jim Walsh]

I don't have a photo of the result but I used a tip given to me by one of the guys in my Corvette club. I cleaned the surface of my cowl vents with lacquer thinner, masked as necessary, and sprayed them with automotive vinyl dye. It's what the car guys use on faded dashboards. I applied several light coats. The results are flexible and time will tell if they are durable, but it looks good as new.

[Skeep]

Little victories are sweet!

[barfwinkle]

Maybe it'll work on fenders as well!

Merry Christmas

[Steve Laume]

I took the cheap and easy way out with the cowl vents. I cleaned them and sanded a bit, then sprayed with Rustolium. They seem to hold up well and are very easy to repaint. Vinyl spray might have been a better choice and it is also available in most home stores. Cracking has not been a problem but I try not to stand on them, Steve.

[Ron M.]

Not sure whats up with the lead in with this thread.........that is not one I wrote.
Anyway, with the plastic cowls - I cleaned the crud and mildew off with acetone and sprayed them with rustoleum plastic outdoor furniture paint. They have looked good for about 5 yrs. but need to be re-done at this point. Fast inexpensive fix.

[CD_Sailor]

A few weeks ago I was cleaning up some teak oil stains from the gel coat using lacquer thinner ( Klean-Strip lacquer thinner from Home Depot). I decided to try the lacquer thinner on the cowl vents and whoa.... the thinner cleaned those vents right up to a nice new looking white....it even removed that crude /mold whatever it is that seems to grow on the plastic.... I think you will like the results....

I use this solvent frequently, but DO NOT forget that this is one nasty material health-wise. Plenty of ventilation will keep you around until next Christmas.

[John Danicic]

Maybe it'll work on fenders as well!

Merry Christmas

My sentiments exactly on both counts.

[Jim Walsh]

Maybe it'll work on fenders as well!

Merry Christmas

My sentiments exactly on both counts.

Hadn't considered touching up the old fenders. I have one old one that will be perfect for testing the abrasion resistant properties of vinyl dye.

[Markst95]

I would worry about anything I did to the fenders other than cleaning rubbing off on the hull.

[Joe Myerson]

I had pretty good success with Star Brite Black Streak Remover.
--Joe

[Jim Walsh]

This fall I had the opportunity to install a bronze cowl vent. I had purchased from a member who had advertised it for sale on this site. It required a 4 inch, as opposed to the original 3 inch opening, so I used a router to enlarge the existing hole in the lexan top surface of the teak dorade box. Routers are awe inspiring but messy so you can still see some of the lexan shavings on the sides of the teak box in the attached photo, as it was taken immediately following the installation. The surface of the cowl shows some character now but it will be left to attain the natural verdigris patina I prefer.