Most folks around here use On & Off to remove brown scum.

"Rick" wrote in message
...
After a beaching with Katrina and the refloating with Rita I am left with
a boat with a brown scum smile on the side of the boat. The residue is
from mud mixed with oil and diesel from the sunken boats that were not so
lucky.

Question is cleaning the hull? My thoughts are open at the present time
and am wondering if the groups experience base can help? Right now the
boat is in the boat yard so access is fairly easy.

On Tue, 18 Oct 2005 06:53:30 -0400, "Jim Carter"
wrote (with possible editing):

....snip

Is it possible to hook up the power washer to a hot water source? At my
Marina they use the pressure washer and hot water to clean the hulls of the
brown oily scum from boats that have collected the scum from transiting the
Detroit River. Works great!

Jim

You can rent a power washer with its own built-in water heater. Pretty
cheap, particularly when compared with buying one.
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

There are some very good, environmentally friendly citrus based degreasers
that would do what you need, don't know how they react with paint or
gelcoat.
I used to use a product called "FSR" for fiberglass stain remover until I
found the active ingredient is oxalic acid. Now I buy "Wood Bleach" at my
local hardware for a fraction of the cost.
MMC
"Rick" wrote in message
...
After a beaching with Katrina and the refloating with Rita I am left with
a
boat with a brown scum smile on the side of the boat. The residue is from
mud mixed with oil and diesel from the sunken boats that were not so
lucky.

Question is cleaning the hull? My thoughts are open at the present time
and
am wondering if the groups experience base can help? Right now the boat
is
in the boat yard so access is fairly easy.

Probably used a hot water pressure cleaner. When I cleaned tanks that's what
we used anyway.

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
nk.net...
Capri wrote:
Lew, The pressure wash was my first thought too. It would get rid of
the dirt, mud and junk like that. It might be worth a try but I
really dont think it would help a whole heck of a lot with grease, oil
and diesel fues, might move it around a lot but I don't think It
would remove it. For that I really think Rick is gonna have to get up
close and personal.



My suggestion was based on my next door neighbor who is a tank cleaner,
primsarily in the refineries.

They do most of it with pressure washers incluing a 10,000 PSI unit.

Takes a 300 HP diesel to drive it.

That unit would probably be a tad much for this applicationG, but then
again.

Lew

Lots of great ideas. Let me give these a try. I have a pressure washer
lined up and will look for some of the cleaners that you all suggest.


"Rick" wrote in message
...
After a beaching with Katrina and the refloating with Rita I am left with
a boat with a brown scum smile on the side of the boat. The residue is
from mud mixed with oil and diesel from the sunken boats that were not so
lucky.

Question is cleaning the hull? My thoughts are open at the present time
and am wondering if the groups experience base can help? Right now the
boat is in the boat yard so access is fairly easy.

Rick.

let us know how it works out, what works and doesn't.

G'luck

wrote in
oups.com:

I would get some ON and Off Hull cleaner, that is a spray on, brush
lightly, and rinse cleaner.

"On and Off" is very effective grunge cleaner but I would not spray it
however (read the ingredients list). I wear rubber gloves and wipe it
on with a damp fuzzy pad, followed by a quick fresh water rinse. Very
powerful stuff, be careful with it.


I'll second or third the suggestion for using On Off cleaner. I get a
white line along my blue Awlgrip hull that was next to impossible to clean.
With On/Off I simply wipe it on and wash off the scum line. It's an
amazing product, but very caustic (the bottle also smokes when you open
it). Be sure to use rubber gloves, wash the hull well to get it off and
then re-wax.

-- GEoff

Rick wrote:
After a beaching with Katrina and the refloating with Rita I am left with a
boat with a brown scum smile on the side of the boat. The residue is from
mud mixed with oil and diesel from the sunken boats that were not so lucky.

Question is cleaning the hull? My thoughts are open at the present time and
am wondering if the groups experience base can help? Right now the boat is
in the boat yard so access is fairly easy.

There is a product called "Super Tuff". It's essentially oxalic acid.
This stuff will remove just about anything. Note: wear rubber --lots
of rubber-- as this stuff passes right through your skin and can ruin
your liver and kidneys

Best advice I can give is:
1. Oil, etc. removal with a sodium silicate based detergent .... this
will also penetrate deeply into the open pores of the gelcoat .... and
will also remove the old dead wax. If you can find a sodium silicate
based detergent then use any strong 'caustic' detergent (not lye).
Followup with:
2. bleach wash with a saturated solution of oxalic acid and warm/hot
water .... this will remove the brown tannin and iron staining. To
do this right you have to do #1 above first, then rinse with water then
apply the oxalic.

Use protection when using as oxalic acid will quickly absorb through
your skin and do great harm to your kidneys.


In article , Rick
wrote:

After a beaching with Katrina and the refloating with Rita I am left with a
boat with a brown scum smile on the side of the boat. The residue is from
mud mixed with oil and diesel from the sunken boats that were not so lucky.

Question is cleaning the hull? My thoughts are open at the present time and
am wondering if the groups experience base can help? Right now the boat is
in the boat yard so access is fairly easy.

The product that you see around 'chandleries' is called "tuff-eNuff'
Made by a Wallace and Co. (?) in Florida.
West Marine sporadically carries it .... used to be in their catalogue.

Whenever I see it I buy and hoard a supply ... stuff is expensive
though.



In article ,
Dave wrote:

On Fri, 21 Oct 2005 01:50:31 GMT, Rich Hampel said:

removal with a sodium silicate based detergent .... this
will also penetrate deeply into the open pores of the gelcoat .... and
will also remove the old dead wax.

Can you name a few of the common ones? I was looking for something to remove
old wax this summer, but none of the detergent products on the shelf
indicated that that was what they'd do.