What is the best easiest way to clean hull?

[tomconnolly]

Noobies question: What is the best easy way to clean hull? I'm looking for some chemical treatment that I can apply then pressure wash the dried crud off the bottom of my fiberglass hull. Anybody have proven solutions? I've heard of using Lysol blue toilet bowl cleaner but I think it would be hard to apply to the entire hull. I assume pressure washing alone won't do the job.

 

[shrew]

Mary Kate "On and Off" Hull and Bottom Cleaner. I use a 1 gallon pump sprayer to put it on. I would advise wearing heavy gloves, eye protection.

 

[Scott Danforth]

depends on what kind of dried crud

most likely will require lots of this:

 

[poconojoe]

I use oxalic acid. It comes in powder form and you mix it with water. It's what makes up most toilet bowl cleaners. You can use toilet bowl cleaners, but this stuff is the real deal.

I wet down the trailer and the ground first so they won't be affected too much.

I think it will stain a galvanized trailer though. Mine is painted. Only my tongue is galvanized and it got stained a little. Not much though. Someone else probably wouldn't notice.

I use a spray bottle to apply it. Then scrub it a bit with a brush that has a long handle, let it sit a little, then rinse thoroughly. You need to wear protection because it is an acid and dont breathe it either.

This was the only thing that got the brown stains out that were embedded in my hull. Power washer did nothing for those brown stains. Commercial boat cleaners did nothing for the brown stains.
I tried just about everything in my automotive and home cleaning arsenal, but nothing helped.

 

[crazy charlie]

The best and most expensive are Marykate spray on On-off and FSR cream paste.Both excellent but expensive.If you want to try a cheap experiment to see what works for your needs (just about everyones bottom fouling is different). spray a section with full strength bleach,regular old bleach,not the fancy crap.Then buy some dollar store toilet bowl cleaner and then buy another toilet bowl cleaner from a double the price store.If I remember correctly there is Sno bowl and The Works and Sno bowl worked better for me for $2 a bottle. Use a spray bottle and rubber gloves and goggles because this crap burns.See which works best and post back results..Charlie

 

[tomconnolly]

The best and most expensive are Marykate spray on On-off and FSR cream paste.Both excellent but expensive.If you want to try a cheap experiment to see what works for your needs (just about everyones bottom fouling is different). spray a section with full strength bleach,regular old bleach,not the fancy crap.Then buy some dollar store toilet bowl cleaner and then buy another toilet bowl cleaner from a double the price store.If I remember correctly there is Sno bowl and The Works and Sno bowl worked better for me for $2 a bottle. Use a spray bottle and rubber gloves and goggles because this crap burns.See which works best and post back results..Charlie

I ended up with Lysol blue toilet bowl cleaner on recommendation. Put one approx 20 oz bottle in a gallon of water in weed sprayer. (Hull was in bad shape so it took two bottles in two gallons) That way I could keep some distance as I sprayed the bottom of the hull.

To scrape the hull I used a drywall sander pole with fine drywall screen. That's different than sand paper, it has a small grid of holes in it and it's next to the drywall sand paper at Lowes. The screen is better because it lets particles pass thru instead of clogging the sand paper. To get to hard to reach places I had to roll under the boat using my mechanics crawler. I would spray a section and then roll in and work from the side to minimize dropping on my body. Kept eye protection and gloves on. Diluted mix didn't really hurt any exposed skin. It took me about 5 hours, but hull looks good now.
Next I'm planning to Jack up one side of the boat using floor jack and 4 foot long 4x4 so I can get under the trailer bunk boards, with two Jack stands for safety...
How necessary is it to wax the hull when I'm done? I'm tired.

 

[crazy charlie]

I ended up with Lysol blue toilet bowl cleaner on recommendation. Put one approx 20 oz bottle in a gallon of water in weed sprayer. (Hull was in bad shape so it took two bottles in two gallons) That way I could keep some distance as I sprayed the bottom of the hull.

To scrape the hull I used a drywall sander pole with fine drywall screen. That's different than sand paper, it has a small grid of holes in it and it's next to the drywall sand paper at Lowes. The screen is better because it lets particles pass thru instead of clogging the sand paper. To get to hard to reach places I had to roll under the boat using my mechanics crawler. I would spray a section and then roll in and work from the side to minimize dropping on my body. Kept eye protection and gloves on. Diluted mix didn't really hurt any exposed skin. It took me about 5 hours, but hull looks good now.
Next I'm planning to Jack up one side of the boat using floor jack and 4 foot long 4x4 so I can get under the trailer bunk boards, with two Jack stands for safety...
How necessary is it to wax the hull when I'm done? I'm tired.

There is no way this should take hours.The idea with these products is to use them full strength and spray it on and leave for 2-5 mins and hose off.Repeat if necessary.IMHO your diluting of the bowl cleaner made it virtually useless.You did the hard work and did it the hard way.Again this all depends on the degree of fouling and what type of water you are fouled up in.Charlie

 

[poconojoe]

In my case, I was slipped in fresh water. No anti foul paint, just bare fiberglass.
There was all kinds of stuff stuck to the hull. I couldn't believe how much there was. Algae, green, brown and some weird jelly clumps, I dont think they were eggs.

After I scrubbed all the heavy junk off, the hull had a waterline brown stain embedded in the glass. The power washer did nothing. It was the powdered oxalic acid diluted in water that totally got rid of it.
Spray on, wait a few minutes, scrub with a long handled brush or stiff broom and rinse.

Personal protection is absolutely necessary when using even the mildest form of acid, including toilet bowl cleaners.

Definitely wax the hull after that.

 

[PITBoat]

2-45... 2 windows down at 45mph...

Lol. Wait, that was the old "air conditioning" joke. I wiped mine off once. Other than that, it's lake water underway, or rain, which ain't much hitting the hull under the tarp, lol. Matches the rest of my land fleet like that. Who's got time for wax and whatnot? Lol.

 

[dingbat]

Personal protection is absolutely necessary when using even the mildest form of acid, including toilet bowl cleaners.

You forgot the “do not drink” warning….lol

PPP warnings make me chuckle. Come from a generation before safety became an “industry” and common sense was common.

 

[poconojoe]

You forgot the “do not drink” warning….lol

PPP warnings make me chuckle. Come from a generation before safety became an “industry” and common sense was common.

Yep, the problem with common sense... It's not so common anymore.

I come from a career in construction. Where safety has been drilled into us constantly. I mentioned PPE because many other have not had that training.

It's amazing some of the [avoidable] dangerous things we did 40 years ago. Sometimes it was just being hasty, no time to put those safety glasses on, etc.
Sometimes it was the underdeveloped equipment of the era. For example, IF we used a harness for fall protection, they were the type that was just one waist belt and a rope as a lanyard, no shock lanyards. If you fell, there was a risk of that thing hurting you pretty badly. There were no full body harnesses at the time.

We know better now. Mostly due to proper training and some common sense too!

Seems as we grow older, we build up more common sense. Maybe it's actually a fear of getting hurt or more likely a respect of your surroundings.

 

[flashback]

We realize were no longer bullet proof.......

 

[JASinIL2006]

Also, some people don’t understand how strong toilet bowl cleaner can be, especially when used over such a large surface. I think it has less to do with common sense than it does with maybe a lack of knowledge.

 

[poconojoe]

Also, some people don’t understand how strong toilet bowl cleaner can be, especially when used over such a large surface. I think it has less to do with common sense than it does with maybe a lack of knowledge.

Good point.
That's the difference between pouring a little into your toilet, a quick brushing, then flush and spreading a large quantity over a large surface.

 

[dingbat]

Yep, the problem with common sense... It's not so common anymore.

I come from a career in construction. Where safety has been drilled into us constantly. I mentioned PPE because many other have not had that training.

It's amazing some of the [avoidable] dangerous things we did 40 years ago. Sometimes it was just being hasty, no time to put those safety glasses on, etc.
Sometimes it was the underdeveloped equipment of the era. For example, IF we used a harness for fall protection, they were the type that was just one waist belt and a rope as a lanyard, no shock lanyards. If you fell, there was a risk of that thing hurting you pretty badly. There were no full body harnesses at the time.

We know better now. Mostly due to proper training and some common sense too!

Seems as we grow older, we build up more common sense. Maybe it's actually a fear of getting hurt or more likely a respect of your surroundings.

As a kid coming out of welding school I took a job as an Iron worker/ Steam Fitter building water towers and large storage tanks.

Only PPE required was a hard hat. Welded with #6 and #7 lens so you could see in direct sun. Fit with polarized sun glasses. Used the crane ball as an elevator, etc.

No harness, no railings. "Real men" walked beams and jumped scaffold without thinking about it. Volunteering to work the "crows nest" and such was considered badges of honor and bravery. Most considered these activities as "skills" required to perform the job.

Used to have competitions running beams and such. Taking personal risk was part of the job description. As noted, harnesses where too restrictive and considered dangerous. Most would take their chances.

Have long since changed industries but still keep my 30 hour OSHA card current to access customer facilities. Literately carry a suit case full of PPE in my trunk to met various site requirements.

Some requirements are beyond stupid. Only a government agency would come up with some of this stuff.

 

[poconojoe]

As a kid coming out of welding school I took a job as an Iron worker/ Steam Fitter building water towers and large storage tanks.

Only PPE required was a hard hat. Welded with #6 and #7 lens so you could see in direct sun. Fit with polarized sun glasses. Used the crane ball as an elevator, etc.

No harness, no railings. "Real men" walked beams and jumped scaffold without thinking about it. Volunteering to work the "crows nest" and such was considered badges of honor and bravery. Most considered these activities as "skills" required to perform the job.

Used to have competitions running beams and such. Taking personal risk was part of the job description. As noted, harnesses where too restrictive and considered dangerous. Most would take their chances.

Have long since changed industries but still keep my 30 hour OSHA card current to access customer facilities. Literately carry a suit case full of PPE in my trunk to met various site requirements.

Some requirements are beyond stupid. Only a government agency would come up with some of this stuff.

I hear you on all points.

I used to test for 120 volts with my thumb and index finger! Pretty dumb huh?

Now everything needs to be shut off, locked out and you're the only one with the key. This is definitely a good thing!

The dumbest requirement I had to comply with was wearing a full harness on a 6 foot ladder. There were several jobs that required this idiocy.
If you did fall, you'd hit the ground before the lanyard was fully expanded.

 

[dingbat]

The dumbest requirement I had to comply with was wearing a full harness on a 6 foot ladder. There were several jobs that required this idiocy.
If you did fall, you'd hit the ground before the lanyard was fully expanded.

Got a warning this Spring for not wearing a harnesses on a 4' step ladder. Something about the magic 48"

Have Orange, Yellow and Green reflective vests...used to need two colors of hard hat until one site got wise and eliminated the need to wear one altogether.

Someone finally figured out a hard hat wasn't of much use if a crane dropped a 30 ton coil of steel on you.

 

[poconojoe]

I was working in a hospital. We were building a new lab. It was an empty existing room with walls and finished ceiling.

Some Bozo safety guy from one of those big contractors who's company name I won't mention, insisted we wear reflective vests.
Inside, in a finished room!
I asked him if he was afraid we might get hit by a passing gurney in one of the hallways. I also told him we were scaring the patients with all this safety garb.

He stopped us from working until we got the vests!
Because of that we had to come in on Saturday and work overtime.
I thanked him for the extra money and benefits. He didn't get it....

 

[Scott Danforth]

Someone finally figured out a hard hat wasn't of much use if a crane dropped a 30 ton coil of steel on you.

Usually hard hats have the wearers name on it to identify the dark/wet spot after such an incident.

Was at a job site after a headache ball and hook came off the becket (cotter was probably forgot) from 180 feet up and pushed a workers hard had and its contents thru his rib cage and into his boots as it came down