CLR safe for fiberglass / resin?
 

I have a fiberglass or resin (I'm not certain which) shower pan and I
read a thread about deep cleaning it with CLR. It doesn's say anything
about fiberglass on the package. Is it safe?

Nick

"Nick" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a fiberglass or resin (I'm not certain which) shower pan and I
read a thread about deep cleaning it with CLR. It doesn's say anything
about fiberglass on the package. Is it safe?

Nick


IMO. CLR is about worthless for cleaning anything except your wallet. You
might try a marine supply they have cleaners for fiberglass ( check west
marine online) Most of them I've used are abrasive more like a polishing
compound.Never tried on a shower pan. I actually taped the drain on a
fiberglass shower and poured bleach in it and let it sit, hardly did a
thing. It might take some trial and error but you would think there would be
something that would work.

"Sacramento Dave" wrote in message
m...

"Nick" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a fiberglass or resin (I'm not certain which) shower pan and I
read a thread about deep cleaning it with CLR. It doesn's say anything
about fiberglass on the package. Is it safe?

Nick


IMO. CLR is about worthless for cleaning anything except your wallet. You
might try a marine supply they have cleaners for fiberglass ( check west
marine online) Most of them I've used are abrasive more like a polishing
compound.Never tried on a shower pan. I actually taped the drain on a
fiberglass shower and poured bleach in it and let it sit, hardly did a
thing. It might take some trial and error but you would think there would
be
something that would work.



Have to agree with the previous post

CLR is laughable for anything I've ever seen anyone try it with.
You can buy generic muriatic acid for 1/4 the price that works 10 times as
well.

But I doubt you even need that for a shower base.

BTW what exactly is wrong with the base that you can't just use some dish
soap a brush and some elbow grease ?

Rust/mineral stains ?
My wife taught me a good way to get rust stains off things.
(she still is good for something so I let her stay around ;)

sprinkle baking soda, then lemon juice, then a bit of scrubbing.

AMUN

Amun wrote:
"Sacramento Dave" wrote in message
m...

"Nick" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a fiberglass or resin (I'm not certain which) shower pan and I
read a thread about deep cleaning it with CLR. It doesn's say anything
about fiberglass on the package. Is it safe?

Nick


IMO. CLR is about worthless for cleaning anything except your wallet. You
might try a marine supply they have cleaners for fiberglass ( check west
marine online) Most of them I've used are abrasive more like a polishing
compound.Never tried on a shower pan. I actually taped the drain on a
fiberglass shower and poured bleach in it and let it sit, hardly did a
thing. It might take some trial and error but you would think there would
be
something that would work.



Have to agree with the previous post

CLR is laughable for anything I've ever seen anyone try it with.
You can buy generic muriatic acid for 1/4 the price that works 10 times as
well.

But I doubt you even need that for a shower base.

BTW what exactly is wrong with the base that you can't just use some dish
soap a brush and some elbow grease ?

Rust/mineral stains ?
My wife taught me a good way to get rust stains off things.
(she still is good for something so I let her stay around ;)

sprinkle baking soda, then lemon juice, then a bit of scrubbing.

The pan was made rough to be skid resistent, and there's black stuff in
the depressions (I assume mildew) that lightens when scrubbed but I
can't seem to get rid of it. I'm not certain what the base is made of,
but its not a standard size, so I need to use it. I have some CLR that
I bought for another project and never used, so I'll give it a try in
the corner as a test.

If I can't get anything to work, what coverup options are there in a
shower? I'd prefer not to tile over it, although I suppose I could.

Nick

"Nick" wrote in message
oups.com...

Amun wrote:
"Sacramento Dave" wrote in message
m...

"Nick" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a fiberglass or resin (I'm not certain which) shower pan and
I
read a thread about deep cleaning it with CLR. It doesn's say
anything
about fiberglass on the package. Is it safe?

Nick


IMO. CLR is about worthless for cleaning anything except your wallet.
You
might try a marine supply they have cleaners for fiberglass ( check
west
marine online) Most of them I've used are abrasive more like a
polishing
compound.Never tried on a shower pan. I actually taped the drain on a
fiberglass shower and poured bleach in it and let it sit, hardly did a
thing. It might take some trial and error but you would think there
would
be
something that would work.



Have to agree with the previous post

CLR is laughable for anything I've ever seen anyone try it with.
You can buy generic muriatic acid for 1/4 the price that works 10 times
as
well.

But I doubt you even need that for a shower base.

BTW what exactly is wrong with the base that you can't just use some
dish
soap a brush and some elbow grease ?

Rust/mineral stains ?
My wife taught me a good way to get rust stains off things.
(she still is good for something so I let her stay around ;)

sprinkle baking soda, then lemon juice, then a bit of scrubbing.

The pan was made rough to be skid resistent, and there's black stuff in
the depressions (I assume mildew) that lightens when scrubbed but I
can't seem to get rid of it. I'm not certain what the base is made of,
but its not a standard size, so I need to use it. I have some CLR that
I bought for another project and never used, so I'll give it a try in
the corner as a test.

If I can't get anything to work, what coverup options are there in a
shower? I'd prefer not to tile over it, although I suppose I could.

Nick


CLR is just a mild acid, and can't hurt fiberglass.
But just remember to leave the window open as the fumes can leave you
gasping for air especially in an enclosed space like a shower stall

Mildew will disappear almost as soon as you hit it with a bit of bleach

But if there are depressions, chances are it's a bit of mineral deposits,
mud, soap scum, dead skin, etc. all mixed together.

One way or the other, you are going to need a good hard bristle scrub brush.
And for the really stubborn stuff, you may need to sit there and carefully
dig it out with a pick

If you really need to refinish it, you could try a coat of fiberglass resin
(gel coat)
or a good epoxy paint.
And sprinkle a very small amount of sand on top as it drys to keep the skid
resistance

But you MUST clean it completely first.

Tiling ??????
I doubt I would try that unless the base is extremely rigid.
Even then grout will be harder to keep clean than what you have now

Others here may have other options

AMUN

CLR is just a mild acid, and can't hurt fiberglass.

I don't know what surfaces are "safe" for CLR.

It always seemed rather harmless on anything I had ever tried it on, and
eventually quit using it in favor of more effective products.

However, I had some in a little bowl once that had sloshed over the side of
the bowl. I set the bowl on a formica laminate counter top for a few
minutes while I cleaned up some other stuff. When I lifted the bowl up, I
discovered a permanent ring etched into our counter. :(

So, I would be cautious applying it to any plastic surface.

Anthony

I was thinking about painting (maybe a spray paint) and then epoxying
over it.....