I need to know what to use to clean crud off my hull.

[slowboatn]

I have some brown or green stuff that is like hard water spots on the lower outside of my hull. It is below the rubber bumper. I don't think it is underneath. Just on the sides. I'll take pictures of it when I get home. I'm in Peru at the moment. My ski is in the states. atriot:

 

[seadoosnipe]

Clean Brite!......

I use Clean Brite hull cleaner. The stuff is kinda high priced but you can buy it at Wal Mart. It has some kind of chemical compound in it that eats anything off the hull but the fiberglass and gel coat. It's tough on the hands too, so wear gloves.

I use it on my boat. Then, come behind with a Clean Brite wax........:cheers:

 

[slowboatn]

I was told on another forum to use CLR and some other stuff. I don't want to damage the hull any more. Just incase this is damage and not some hard stuck on crud.

 

[mcurcio1989]

I have what you want! We keep our 19' four winns in the water for six months out of the year and let me tell you when we pull it out come fall there is a good inch of crap growing on there. This stuff is impossible to remove by hand as I am sure your experiencing. We use a product (sorry can't think off the name) that contains muriatic acid which is another name for hydrochloric acid. It is like a miracle cleaner you spray it on stand back and hold your breath and then just spray it off with water and the hull is like brand new. If you want something a little less strong i would recomend simple green.

 

[coach mike]

I also use muriatic acid from time to time when it is very bad build-up. BE VERY CAREFUL!!! Don't use it in windy conditions and have plenty of ventilation so not in the garage as fumes are very harmful. Be sure to cover the trailer as it can damage metal. Will severely burn so wear gloves and use an applicator like a toilet cleaning sponge head on a stick for extension. Don't just use gloves and a sponge as drips can happen, etc.

Works great on severe build-up but again caution when using it.

 

[seadoosnipe]

Muriatic acid?.....

This is a good solution as long as you keep it off metallic parts. The fiberglass is impervious to the base chemical, yet it will eat the marine growth. We use it too. Pretty strong stuff.....:cheers:

 

[mcurcio1989]

It more than strong its amazing! Somehow i am always the one stuck going underneath the boat to clean it and they aren kinnding about that stuff i remember last year it was dripping all over me. As long as you rinse off its not to bad. But when you spray it on there you definately don't wanna be downwind.

 

[top_speed]

Starbrite bottom cleaner
Just watch it foam away half the crud (has some acid in it but won't harm the fiberglass or gelcoat). Just make sure you keep it away from items effected by acid (clothing, carpet etc.) Rinse well, throw a coat of wax on and you'll be amazed!

 

[poindexter]

crud from hull....

Beleave it or not, the fastest thing that removes the stuff is oven cleaner... but its an immediate spray and and power wash and I do mean immediate. I do this all the time with my boat after its been in the water all year, then coat it with wax to seal it or bottom coat.

 

[seadoo GTS 1993]

I use this stuff thats called E-Z on E-Z off (think thats the name of it) works great... but also is tough on hands and you will need to wear gloves.

 

[slowboatn]

Ok yall. Here is some pic's of the stuff stuck to the side of my ski. It isn't on the other side. Just this side. May be on the bottom too. I'll have to look. What do you think it is and will this stuff yall told me about work? I don't want to mess up the finish. I want to wash and wax it this weekend. The battery went dead also. I have to buy a battery charger for it and the cars.

 

[seadoosnipe]

Clean brite!....

I called the stuff clean brite but after reading top speed....it's "StarBrite" brand cleaner. I get it from Walmart.

This stuff works magic on your hull..........It's an acid type compound by the figerglass is impervious to it's affect. It only eats crude off (and your hands too)......

Wear gloves because if you have a cut or something, it burns pretty bad. The stuff is ultra powerful.

I left my boat in the water for 2 weeks last year (that won't happen again) and it grew scum on the bottom. I put that stuff on, let it sit, gently wiped with a sponge and sprayed it off.........man, was it clean. I also bought their brand of polish to use afterward..............great stuff. I highly recommend it.

 

[slowboatn]

COOL! Thanks snipe. Sorry they are so blurry. I hope that gave you an idea of what is on my hull. What I don't understand is why only on one side. I need to check the bottom. Do I need to clean it first then after. Or what?

 

[seadoosnipe]

water line?...

Kinda weird that it's only on one side. It may have come from the wash of the tide, only to one side. Or if it were at dock, just to that side.

The pix are kinda blurry so I can't tell what it is. Usually, it' something dark, like an oily substance floating on the water. Seems its going to be localized to the water line. The bottom is probably going to be clean.

Try this stuff, StarBrite.........I was surprised on how well it worked.....:cheers:

 

[slowboatn]

I'm gonna try it. Do I need to wash it before I use the Starbrite and wash it after I use the Starbrite? Or just put the stuff on and let it go at that?

 

[seadoosnipe]

Rinse....

I usually rinse the hull a bit to get the loose sand off the hull. When you put it on, you don't want to scratch the fiberglass gettin grit under the sponge. But the bottle says to just wipe it on and let it sit for 5 minutes. I usually scrub just a bit.........:cheers:

 

[timmyboy76]

COOL! Thanks snipe. Sorry they are so blurry. I hope that gave you an idea of what is on my hull. What I don't understand is why only on one side. I need to check the bottom. Do I need to clean it first then after. Or what?

maybe sun-baked from being parked on driveway. When sun up, cant hit other side of boat, or vise versa, being blocked from house roofs, trees,..etc

 

[slowboatn]

No. Well maybe? When we are down in Galveston, it will sit in the water for like 3 or 4 days. Not enough to cause this I presume. I can't find Star Brite anywhere around here. I'm not gonna use muratic acid. I have no idea where to get EZ on EZ off. I'm gonna hit up Academy tomorrow and see if they have anything like this. I'm all out of luck here where I live. Wal mart doesn't even carry it. They used to carry the boat exterior stuff buy not anymore. I guess I'm gonna have to use CLR or the other stuff.

 

[StRanger]

My local boat shop recommended using "Lime Away" for calcium buildup. Its much milder than muriatic acid, and you can get it at just about any supermarket. If you're on the Gulf Coast, though, your problam sounds like salt, not lime/calcium. Not sure how to counteract salt, other than sprinkiling your hull with pepper!

 

[DCKD]

No. Well maybe? When we are down in Galveston, it will sit in the water for like 3 or 4 days. Not enough to cause this I presume. I can't find Star Brite anywhere around here. I'm not gonna use muratic acid. I have no idea where to get EZ on EZ off. I'm gonna hit up Academy tomorrow and see if they have anything like this. I'm all out of luck here where I live. Wal mart doesn't even carry it. They used to carry the boat exterior stuff buy not anymore. I guess I'm gonna have to use CLR or the other stuff.

To me that looks like damaged/weathered gel coat. Since you say it is on one side it makes me believe it is from sitting in the sun. If you haven't began using hull cleaner I would hold off on that for a little bit cause you will only cause more damage.

Does it have a dry powdery feel? How does it look when the ski is wet? If it looks better it is defn damaged gel coat. There are lots of gel coat treatments/conditioners out there that would make it look almost new. Once you treat the gel coat and coat of wax will make it look good as new.

Hope this helps!

Matt

 

[timmyboy76]

To me that looks like damaged/weathered gel coat. Since you say it is on one side it makes me believe it is from sitting in the sun. If you haven't began using hull cleaner I would hold off on that for a little bit cause you will only cause more damage.

Does it have a dry powdery feel? How does it look when the ski is wet? If it looks better it is defn damaged gel coat. There are lots of gel coat treatments/conditioners out there that would make it look almost new. Once you treat the gel coat and coat of wax will make it look good as new.

Hope this helps!

Matt

hey matt...what you have in mind, boat I just picked up, looks like sun beaten. Havn't tried anything yet, but gonna tackle tomorrow. Got me hesitant though, with causing more damage if it is sun-bake and not salt-water...

 

[DCKD]

I used a few different meguiars products. First I washed with the Oxidation remover (they have too...a mild and a heavy duty one, the mild did it for me) and then washed with the premium boat wash...any boat wash will do I am sure. I finished this up with the meguiars polish and their marine paste wax. This did an amazing job...looked just like new and this was on a maroon ski.

All together these products will cost you a bit of money...im sure you could leave out the polish if you wanted to save a bit of money there. I got all this stuff from a local hardware shop but you can also buy it online.

http://marinerv.meguiars.com/product/The-Basics-For-Gel-Coat-Maintenance

I am not sure what other companies make this stuff but Iam sure there are some....this is what was available to me and it worked wonders. I wish we took before and after pics. If you go ahead and try this take some pics for everyone to see.

Matt

 

[timmyboy76]

I used a few different meguiars products. First I washed with the Oxidation remover (they have too...a mild and a heavy duty one, the mild did it for me) and then washed with the premium boat wash...any boat wash will do I am sure. I finished this up with the meguiars polish and their marine paste wax. This did an amazing job...looked just like new and this was on a maroon ski.

All together these products will cost you a bit of money...im sure you could leave out the polish if you wanted to save a bit of money there. I got all this stuff from a local hardware shop but you can also buy it online.

http://marinerv.meguiars.com/product/The-Basics-For-Gel-Coat-Maintenance

I am not sure what other companies make this stuff but Iam sure there are some....this is what was available to me and it worked wonders. I wish we took before and after pics. If you go ahead and try this take some pics for everyone to see.

Matt

appreciate stud, :cheers:

 

[slowboatn]

I found the Star Brite stuff at Academy. I got the hull cleaner stuff snipe was talking about and some Star Brite polish with PTFE in it. It said it was to recondition gelcoats. Plus it made it very slick. Should I wax it now? I also bought some vynal restorer for the seats, rubber and plastic. Turned out great. I have some scratches on the bottom. Some I can see Fiberglass through. About 1/2" side and 1' long. Will I need to fix these? About how much will it be to fix?

 

[timmyboy76]

confused..

alright, been at boat for awhile, and seems to get better, but still has a whitish look. The boats green, and when using stuff, my apllicator pad turns green, let stuff sit-up, then wipe, still whitish. Think it has serious sun cancer. From what DCKD mentions, leaning on using the Maguires, rather than "hull cleaner'. Was goin right now, for "Starbrite", but dont think its "crud" on it. What you guys think?