Not impressed by Imar cleaner

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SLW

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Hailstones punctured my 8-year old Seamark bimini last fall. Thanks to Plexus, what I assumed was 40-mil eisenglass looked nearly new.

The whole enclosure was replaced and Strataglass was used for the windows. I had heard that Plexus wasn't approved on Strata, so I asked the shop owner about it. He said that he hadn't heard about any issues, and then told me that he had been having supplier issues when he made my last enclosure, and may have used Strata on my old stuff anyway! He couldn't tell me for sure.

I didn't want to risk damage, so I bought strata-approved Imar cleaner. I really don't care for it. What little protection it offers doesn't seem to last long. I can see fine scratches already, bird crap has distorted several areas and water doesn't bead very well. This is very different than my experience using Plexus. They state the polish adds more protection, but it also say that it's only necessary every few months, so I haven't bought any for the brand-new strata.

I'm considering trying plexus on a few designated panels to see what happens.

Does anyone else have the same impression of Imar?
 
I used to use Plexus all the time but a friend turned me on to Serious Shine and it seems just as good and about half the price. I too recently had a new top made and I was told I must use the Imar cleaner and I have been only using this for most of the season and it seems OK not incredible but does a decent job the price is ridiculous! The canvas shop gave me one bottle of cleaner and one of the polish I have tried the polish as of yet.

My last top look great at 7 years using other cleaners! I had to replaced the top but not due to the glass.
 
The last time I bought Plexus, I bought a whole case from a motorcross site. (it IS great on helmet visors)

After shipping, it was under $9 a can, so I sold some to friends and neighbors. I think I'm convinced - I'm gonna apply Plexus to at least some of the panels.
 
My canvas guy tried to scare me off of using plexus or serious shine on my makrolon and strata glass..... I have been using serious shine or plexus for 2 years on the new stuff with no ill effects and I think it looks even better than when new.
 
I just replaced my strata glass with makrolon and I love it!
 
quote:
Originally posted by Audrey II

I just replaced my strata glass with makrolon and I love it!

Click to expand...

I also replaced my strata glass with Makrolon. After 5 years, it still looks like new wiithout any scratches and I clean it with Windex.
 
I also got the "bad lot" of strata. I had a brand new boat and my first trip with the windows rolled up completely scratched and hazed the glass. I'm not going to blast the company who made the top on this site but they were completely useless. They kept promising me they would help but after 5 phone calls, they got what they wanted. I gave up. I'm in the middle of redesigning the way I want it and am going with EZ2C on the front 3 panels with vents for air circulation. Haven't decided on the rest of the panels yet. BTW, I always clean with Plexus and use micro fiber cloths and my existing looks like it's 10 years old and has only gone through 4 seasons. I also had to pay $1,000 to have it re-stiched because the stiching they used dry rotted after 3 years. This was a major canvas shop in the Northeast as well who did this work.
 
One thing is for sure. If you roll up a dirty panel it's gonna get scratched. Ours is still in good shape after 5 years of using various products. But I always clean them off before I roll them up.
 
Agree and that is something I always have done and but this case, it was a defective product which no one stood behind.
 
I used the Imar cleaner and wax last year on my new strata. It sucked. I found just about the same results with distilled water (and less streaks!)

I tested Sea-Shield Exhaust Guard wax on a test piece of strata over the winter and it worked will with no ill effects. I did all my windows in the spring with it. It's been 3 months and I still just hose the windows, spray some soap on them and wipe them with a microfibre, rinse and then dry. I do the boat in sections and go back and do the drying after all the washing. I spray a couple squirts of Sea-Shields Nana Fresh (a detail spray) on the cloth since the windows are almost dry and have a few spots.

My window cleaning time has gone from 1.5 hours to 30 minutes from last to this year and I think they look much better after and for much longer.

PS I have lots of strataglass (and some Makrolon).
 
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