CLR safe for fiberglass / resin?

[Nick]

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]

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

[Sacramento Dave]

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.

[Amun]

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]

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

[HerHusband]

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

[Nick]

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