Hull cleaner

[Go Aweigh2452]

Well, after the trip I saw we collected a lot of yellow scum all over the underhull this morning when I decided to wash and get it ready for a coat of wax tomorrow. It was not fun to take off the scum until I bought some EZ-On, EZ-Off by WM. Suppose to apply it with a natural bristle brush and I got tired of that and put some in a plastic spray bottle and went to town. That stuff was awesome. Spray on, wash off. I also sprayed some on my ss prop that was showing some discoloration (rust)... Looks like brushed SS again. Then I searched the entire boat for rust marks from the screws and bolts... sprayed it on and after 3 or 4 mins, rinsed it off... Done... and yes, I was wearing gloves... Could have used one of my car paint respirators too.

[SomeSailor]

Cool tip. Nice to hear of stuff that works for a change. That's the way I felt the first time I ever used Sea Power polish. Good stuff... good price.

[Dream Lands]

Who is WM? and where did you get this stuff.

We have yellow discoloration on ours...

Lonnie and Sue

[Go Aweigh2452]

Lonnie, WM is West Marine... I believe Boat US sell it too. Just not the WM brand. Very good stuff but only use in well ventilated spaces. Because it is so caustic, I spray down my trailer with water so it does not burn the galvanized finish...

I just finished using it the second time and I had about 20 hours of yellow on the hull. I did not even have to scrub the bottom. I let it stand for about 1 minute or more by spraying down one side with a spray bottle from the local dollar store (the spray bottle sprayer will die in about one week if you leave the stuff in the plastic bottle without rinsing the metal sprayer parts with water when you are done). By the time I finished spraying it on the one side, I went back to the stern and started to rinse it off. Then I repeated the other side.

I did make one mistake, I got overspray on the bennet black plastic trim tab cylinder without rinsing it off right away and it is now a whitish gray in color. Not sure I can get the black back but will try.

My stainless prop is real pretty too.... no more little rust flecks...

I also had little rust stains on my deck from grinding the sliding captain seat adjustment handle so it was not so long that it stuck me in the leg if the seat was forward. The metal sand size particles went to rust in one day and I used the EZ ON/OFF and it all went away in about 30 seconds. I then rinsed that all out the cockpit area... no more rust discoloration...

[voyager]

That stuff is great. I have had good luck using a regular garden sprayer, one of those plastic one gallon sprayer that you pump and then spray. I have been using the same one for two years and it does not seem to hurt it. Just rinse it out after your done. In fact this reminds me to take mine with me next time and get ride of the rust stain I have in the cockpit

[Randygh]

Doug--sounds like that stuff is good s__t. Can it be used on painted or varnished surfaces? Can it be safely used on colored gel coat? I've got some small rust stains on the deck by my anchor and since the deck fiberglass color is a very light off-white I think it would be safe to use.

It's a hazardous product so I won't order it online--too much extra for shipping. Guess I'll have to convince the Admiral we need to make a trip to the wetside for something and just by accident find a West Marine store.

[Pegasis]

On/Off is an acid based product. If you have a galvanized trailer, you've reduced the life expectancy of the zinc coating on your trailer.

[1northernstar]

What about the rubber seals, sealants, etc? I'd rather not be spraying this on my thru-hull screws if it breaks that down and turns into a bunch of leaks, etc.

[II Lucky]

Hey, what is the active ingredient. Is it an acid base. Kinda sounds like it. Sounds like the stuff would work great on our Downtown Portland sludge that gets on the boat and the dink. Every year I am amazed at how much s@*% is in the Willamette that is poured in by the city of Roses. But, you better not dump your 8oz of **** in the river and be caught or.....BIG FINE!... Seems kinda stupid to me. The city of Eugene, Salem and Portland dump more raw sewage and contaminants into the Willamette in one day than all of the boaters from Astoria to Kenniwick could do in an entire year. And there you go...my soapbox for the day.

Bryan

[Go Aweigh2452]

Oxalic acid and hydrocloric acid... If you wet your trailer first, you should be OK with any drips. Of course, I'd recommend not soaking the hull so much that the stuff runs off onto the trailer... Or at least buy some cheap plastic drop clothes and drap the trailer if it is that much of a concern...

I just used the stuff on a section of my house where the contractor used steel staples vice galvanized ones and it took the rust away and left the paint in good condition on the house. Now I can seal the staples with some other sealer... The paint is a waterbased gray (second coat) on the house with an oil base on the first coat. I also sprayed the BBQ and cleaned up the iron burners. Came out nice... Gotta watch those fumes however... When you hit a rusty spot, it will send up a fog of acid, not too good to breathe I'm sure...

[Pegasis]

I was out visiting with Nate one day while he was working on my boat. He had another customers boat in the shop for some work. He noted the customer regularly uses on/off on his boat. You could see where the zinc was gone and the rust had started on the trailer.

[SomeSailor]

Yeah... gotta be careful with acids around galvanizing. It's only zinc plating and it can get burned off and start rusting.

[Go Aweigh2452]

Found a better hull cleaner yesterday...

I had one of those bottles of toilet bowl cleaners with the angled head to squirt the blue stuff under the rim. I use it on tree sap stains on the deck... well, I squirted it on my brush because it was conveniently near by and wanted to clean the hull sides. I first wet the yellow stains below the water line caused by the boat being in the salt water with no bottom paint. I then wiped the brush over the yellow stuff when Lea called me in for breakfast. I left the stuff on the boat for about 20 mins... came back out side and the yellow was gone. I decided to try the very bottom of the boat where I have not cleaned it at all the past year... well it worked like a champ. Apply it, let it sit 10-20 mins and rinse off.

Good news is no worries with the galvanized trailer...

I bought the cheap stuff at the dollar store too.

Anyone want to buy a gallon size of ON/OFF?

Oh, and best of all, I wiped over the brass holding tank outlet and it too came bright brass again with no brushing... just apply and rinse...

[rodell]

I wonder what my marina neighbors would say if I stook there with a bottle of tidy bowl on the dock? Probably confirm their suspicions ...

[SomeSailor]

The guy next to mine at Dagmars handed me a bottle of this stuff called Z-Care the other day. I spritzed it on an area I just finished cleaning with 3M Fiberglass Cleaner / Wax. It removed VISIBLE dirt even after that. I was amazed. Supposed to be biodegradable and environmentally good stuff. they have a website, but it's $15 / bottle plus shipping.

Hopefully I can find some locally.

[Boat Nut]

The Z-Care folks had a demo booth at Bremmerton over Memorial weekend. They sold us on it too! It took stains out of the vinyl that we had previously tried about a dozen other cleaners. I believe they said it available at Fisheries Supplies and at J&G's in Tacoma.

[voyager]

I could be wrong but I think the active ingredient in quite a few toilet bowl cleaners is muriatic acid. The same stuff as EZon/EZoff. I know quite a few of the Diesel owners at BOC use it to soak cooling bundles when they take them out of the manicoolers. I just used a muratic acid mixture when I did mine. Some of them also use it as a flush in the cooling system. I have not tried that, I am not sure what it will do to rubber and my manicooler gaskets are rubber.

[SomeSailor]

Yeah... most of this stuff is either acidic or alkali to get the scale off. This Z-Care stuff was mild, but I was amazed it got dirt off AFTER I used 3M on it. I'm generally not easily impressed, but this stuff is pretty good (not sure about $15 bottle good... but good) :)