Hull Cleaning, another thread about it......

[KewlBird]

The hull on my boat has some sort of build up (feels kind of like sandpaper) and is brown in color. It takes a lot to scratch this stuff of. I've searched through numerous threads on hull cleaning and picked up a few pointers. I went to a store and bought the only hull cleaner they had which was "Simoniz" hull cleaner. I used it according to directions and nothing. Only the lighter stuff above the waterline is coming off with it. Then I tried various cleaners that I have at home. Among them were: Orange cleaner, Oven cleaner, odoban degreaser, toilet bowl cleaner and glass cleaner. I would hate to go to another store and buy another bottle of something that might not work (the Simoniz stuff has same selling points as the rest of the hull cleaners do). What should I do next? Muriatic acid diluted (3 parts water 1 part acid)? The hull is aluminum and i would prefer to keep the paint on it....Here's a picture of the build up.

 

[MikDee]

Re: Hull Cleaning, another thread about it......

As I was advised years ago by some knowledegable boaters, and this works quite well,,, get a bottle of marine "MaryKate" Clean, & Detail, it's a heavy duty abrasive cleaner, (like liquid rubbing compound for boats) but should not scratch, or damage your paint, or finish. I swear by it for tough cleaning, & color restoration jobs.

 

[KewlBird]

Re: Hull Cleaning, another thread about it......

As I was advised years ago by some knowledegable boaters, and this works quite well,,, get a bottle of marine "MaryKate" Clean, & Detail, it's a heavy duty abrasive cleaner, (like liquid rubbing compound for boats) but should not scratch, or damage your paint, or finish. I swear by it for tough cleaning, & color restoration jobs.

Is this the stuff? I might run out and get some at WM.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/5403/377%20710/0/MaryKate/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710&Ne=0&Ntt=MaryKate&Ntk=Primary%20Search&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Nao=0&Ns=0&keyword=MaryKate&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=33&subdeptNum=299&classNum=299

 

[Scout Sport Fish]

Re: Hull Cleaning, another thread about it......

Nope, thats not it.

Try some muriatic acid (On & Off) If that dosent work your looking at some quaility time with a sander. Then a mild to light compound, then finally a nice coat of wax.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Hull Cleaning, another thread about it......

That is scale from setting in the water.The Starbrite is the best i have found to remove this.Spray it on,let sit for about 5 minutes and take the pressure washer to it..
I went through this same problem but much worse..

 

[KewlBird]

Re: Hull Cleaning, another thread about it......

I went to Boaters World couple of hours ago and talked to a few guys there. They said by far the best is Marykate On / Off. So I was going to buy it and then saw the fiberglass writing on it and ask the guy if he has something for painted aluminum. He gave me Marykate Aluminex, he said that's the stronger then the fiberglass stuff. I didn't read the instructions until I got home, that's when I read it's not supposed to be used on painted surfaces. I thought I'd do a test area with it see if it affects paint. Dilluted it per instructions and applied it, nothing the stuff just wasn't coming off. So I try it undilluted, wait 2 minutes rinse off, nothing. I try again with addition of scrubbing, nothing again. Third time spraying I noticed some bubbling of the solution, I scrub more constantly for 2 minutes and the stain starts coming off. I repeat one more time except, I left this Aluminex on for about 5 minutes while constantly scrubbing. I rinsed it off and voila about 6"x6" area is stainless. I didn't notice any damage to the paint so I hope it's ok to used this strong stuff on my boat.
Anyone use Marykate Aluminex on painted aluminum before with good results?

 

[KewlBird]

Re: Hull Cleaning, another thread about it......

That is scale from setting in the water.The Starbrite is the best i have found to remove this.Spray it on,let sit for about 5 minutes and take the pressure washer to it..
I went through this same problem but much worse..

i've seen your work a while ago and the transformation was amazing. My motor is a bit cleaner

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Hull Cleaning, another thread about it......

Thanks! It takes a lot of scrubbing...it took me a month just to clean the hull...
Yours should go pretty fast..

 

[budsbud662]

Re: Hull Cleaning, another thread about it......

To take out light yellowing ive had very good luck with bathroom cleaners containing oxiclic(spelling is incorrect) acid. Found in "the works"


remember to wear gloves. and wash and wax after your treatment!

 

[KewlBird]

Re: Hull Cleaning, another thread about it......

Well, yesterday I scrubbed down the transom area. It took me about 1.5hrs to do it. Today I cleaned the starboard side. After 45 minutes I only had about a lineal foot of it clean. This stuff just didn't want to come off. I decided to leave the Aluminex on for a bit longer to see if it makes a difference. At about 3 minutes into it without any scrubbing, I noticed the dirt start to fade away. I kept spraying the area with Aluminex every few minutes for about 15-20 minutes at which point the dirt/stain basically disappeared without scrubbing . The paint looked good still so I decided to finish the starboard side this way. It took me 20 minutes to finish the rest of the side (about 4-5 lineal feet) . The paint doesn't appear to be damaged by this stuff. I'll do the port side tomorrow and hull if time permits. I had to run out and buy another bottle, I think I'm using less of it by just spraying the area down. Here's a picture of the progress, and I will Clean the rest of the paint after I'm done with the hull.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Hull Cleaning, another thread about it......

SWEET! Looks much better.The Starbrite stuff was the same way,after it was on about 15 minutes it worked much better.Still took forever but mine was much worse than yours.
A good waxing and that thing will look great! New tires and rims too...Nice! Same brand of tire i have..