Ladies and Gents

I wonder if I could tap the combined wisdom of this group to help me
deal witht he results of my stupidity.

I have a nice rust stain in my gelcoat, in the cockpit as a result of
leaving a pair of pliers out in the rain for a week. What would be the
best way to remove the stain without damaging the gelcoat?

I do know that the sun will eventually bleach it our completely but it
would be nice to get rid of it sooner

Many thanks in advance

Matt

SV Mischief
PY 26, #129
Montreal

Matt,

There may be other people here who have had to
deal with your exact situation, and they may have
better ideas, however this is what I would try.

The rust stain is probably not very deep into the
gelcoat. I would get some rust stain remover such
as Carbona "Stain Devils" #9 which is specifically
for rust stains on fabric. I believe that Walmart
sells it.

I'd then test a tiny little drop on part of the
stain to make sure that it didn't hurt the
gelcoat. It probably won't, but if it does you'll
only have a tiny spot. If this works, you can
treat the whole stain, and be done.

If not, you'll probably have to strip the wax,
polish out the stain with fiberglass polish, and
then rewax the polished area.

Good luck,

Don W.

wrote:

Ladies and Gents

I wonder if I could tap the combined wisdom of this group to help me
deal witht he results of my stupidity.

I have a nice rust stain in my gelcoat, in the cockpit as a result of
leaving a pair of pliers out in the rain for a week. What would be the
best way to remove the stain without damaging the gelcoat?

I do know that the sun will eventually bleach it our completely but it
would be nice to get rid of it sooner

Many thanks in advance

Matt

SV Mischief
PY 26, #129
Montreal

wrote:
Ladies and Gents

I wonder if I could tap the combined wisdom of this group to help me
deal witht he results of my stupidity.

I have a nice rust stain in my gelcoat, in the cockpit as a result of
leaving a pair of pliers out in the rain for a week. What would be the
best way to remove the stain without damaging the gelcoat?

I do know that the sun will eventually bleach it our completely but it
would be nice to get rid of it sooner

Many thanks in advance

Matt

SV Mischief
PY 26, #129
Montreal


For removal of rust stains, use oxalic acid. This is a weak organic
acid, closer in strength to acetic acid (another organic acid, aka
vinegar) than to the inorganic acides like sulphuric or nitric acids.
It does an amazing job of removing rust stains completely.

Oxalic acid is available in many over-the-counter products (look for it
in the ingredient list) wood bleach, teak cleaner, Zud cleanser for a few.

The pure substance is a crystalline solid (kinda looks like sugar).
It is not very soluble in cold water, MUCH more soluble in hot water -
make a warm or hot water solution and simply blot it on.

Oxalic acid is the tart flavor in rhubarb.

Oxalic acid is a poison. Don't drink solutions of it, don't let your
fingers get into your mouth or eyes if they might have the solution or
dust on them. Oxalic acid is the primary metabolite of ethylene glycol
in the body, and is the primary reason that ethylene glycol is poisonous
when ingested.

Others have chimed in with Zud, BKF, and the like. Ditto Oxalic acid.
I agree.

However, don't scrub. Just wet it and let it lay. The oxalic acid
will do the job without scrubbing. All you're doing is neutralizing
the ferrous ions; scrubbing, despite how mild the cleansers are, will
dull your gelcoat. OTOH, if you're wanting to give it a new coat of
poli, or whatever, the scrub would probably help the prep :{))

I've got some myself, and I'm using IronOut, a laundry product which is
essentially powdered oxalic acid. I'm also going to try it on my SS
before I try to repassivate - I've got way more staining than I think
appropriate...

L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
http://tinyurl.com/p7rb4 - NOTE:new URL! The vessel as Tehamana, as we
bought her

The Society for the Preservation of Tithesis commends your ebriated
and scrutible use of delible and defatigable, which are gainly, sipid
and couth. We are gruntled and consolate that you have the ertia and
eptitude to choose such putably pensible tithesis, which we parage.

Stamp out Sesquipedalianism

Skip Gundlach wrote:
Others have chimed in with Zud, BKF, and the like. Ditto Oxalic acid.
I agree.

However, don't scrub. Just wet it and let it lay. The oxalic acid
will do the job without scrubbing. All you're doing is neutralizing
the ferrous ions; scrubbing, despite how mild the cleansers are, will
dull your gelcoat. OTOH, if you're wanting to give it a new coat of
poli, or whatever, the scrub would probably help the prep :{))

I've got some myself, and I'm using IronOut, a laundry product which
is essentially powdered oxalic acid. I'm also going to try it on my
SS before I try to repassivate - I've got way more staining than I
think appropriate...

L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
http://tinyurl.com/p7rb4 - NOTE:new URL! The vessel as Tehamana, as we
bought her

The Society for the Preservation of Tithesis commends your ebriated
and scrutible use of delible and defatigable, which are gainly, sipid
and couth. We are gruntled and consolate that you have the ertia and
eptitude to choose such putably pensible tithesis, which we parage.

Stamp out Sesquipedalianism

Another acid to use is dilute hydrochloric acid. Apply with a damp cloth
(wear rubber gloves) and wait until the stain turns green, then slosh lots
of water over it.

Oxalic acid may be easier to obtain, but is much slower.

DP

On 3 May 2006 12:51:09 -0700, wrote:

I have a nice rust stain in my gelcoat, in the cockpit as a result of
leaving a pair of pliers out in the rain for a week. What would be the
best way to remove the stain without damaging the gelcoat?

You've already been steered to products containing oxalic acid. There
are some "marine" stain cleaners which are pretty much just diluted
and marked up oxalic acid. If you want the pure stuff, it's
available here in the US in stores like Home Depot and Lowe's. It's
usually found in the paint section for next to nothing. Right next to
it you'll see tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) which is another ingredient
found in highly marked up "marine" cleaners. Neither is particularly
dangerous, but do read the warning labels, please.
__________________________________________________ __________
Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at world wide wiley dot com
To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious.

Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and
logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/

Many thanks to all who responded. The rust removal shall commence this
weekend!

matt

Ditto on oxalic acid. Apply and it will instantly remove the rust
stain.
Also good for removing the 'brown moustache on the bow and waterline
(which is tannin and iron staining.

Wear rubber gloves when using oxalic as it quickly absorbs through your
skin and recrystalizes in the nephrons of your kidneys .... doing great
damage.

In article , RW Salnick
wrote:

wrote:
Ladies and Gents

I wonder if I could tap the combined wisdom of this group to help me
deal witht he results of my stupidity.

I have a nice rust stain in my gelcoat, in the cockpit as a result of
leaving a pair of pliers out in the rain for a week. What would be the
best way to remove the stain without damaging the gelcoat?

I do know that the sun will eventually bleach it our completely but it
would be nice to get rid of it sooner

Many thanks in advance

Matt

SV Mischief
PY 26, #129
Montreal


For removal of rust stains, use oxalic acid. This is a weak organic
acid, closer in strength to acetic acid (another organic acid, aka
vinegar) than to the inorganic acides like sulphuric or nitric acids.
It does an amazing job of removing rust stains completely.

Oxalic acid is available in many over-the-counter products (look for it
in the ingredient list) wood bleach, teak cleaner, Zud cleanser for a few.

The pure substance is a crystalline solid (kinda looks like sugar).
It is not very soluble in cold water, MUCH more soluble in hot water -
make a warm or hot water solution and simply blot it on.

Oxalic acid is the tart flavor in rhubarb.

Oxalic acid is a poison. Don't drink solutions of it, don't let your
fingers get into your mouth or eyes if they might have the solution or
dust on them. Oxalic acid is the primary metabolite of ethylene glycol
in the body, and is the primary reason that ethylene glycol is poisonous
when ingested.

Hey Skip,

Sounds like you and I are going to be fighting a
similar battle on the external stainless. Our new
boat has been in salt water all of its life, and
has some minor rust spots on the external stainless.

Right now, I'm researching ways to remove the rust
and repassivate. Leaning towards Citrisurf for
the passivation process. It is highly recommended
by the welding crowd.

www.citrisurf.com

I've got a question posted on the
sci.engr.joining.welding newsgroup about removing
the rust spots.

What have you found out?

Don W.

Skip Gundlach wrote:

Others have chimed in with Zud, BKF, and the like. Ditto Oxalic acid.
I agree.

However, don't scrub. Just wet it and let it lay. The oxalic acid
will do the job without scrubbing. All you're doing is neutralizing
the ferrous ions; scrubbing, despite how mild the cleansers are, will
dull your gelcoat. OTOH, if you're wanting to give it a new coat of
poli, or whatever, the scrub would probably help the prep :{))

I've got some myself, and I'm using IronOut, a laundry product which is
essentially powdered oxalic acid. I'm also going to try it on my SS
before I try to repassivate - I've got way more staining than I think
appropriate...

L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
http://tinyurl.com/p7rb4 - NOTE:new URL! The vessel as Tehamana, as we
bought her

The Society for the Preservation of Tithesis commends your ebriated
and scrutible use of delible and defatigable, which are gainly, sipid
and couth. We are gruntled and consolate that you have the ertia and
eptitude to choose such putably pensible tithesis, which we parage.


Stamp out Sesquipedalianism

Of the ones I've tried, I've found "Magica" ( www.magicarustremover.com
) to be the strongest and easier. I'm pretty sure it's oxalic acid. Get
the little tube which is a gel. This is particularly easy to dab onto
stainless fittings and screw heads without getting the stuff
everywhere. Wear rubber gloves anyway. (I have no relation to the
company).

Practical Sailor also just ran a test and like Star Brites rust remover
a lot which is also oxalic acid.

Carl