I got a hullkote bottle to clean the hulls but I realized it is not advisable for areas where grip is needed. So I'm not sure if I should return it or give it a try, maybe avoiding some areas. Anybody tried it? Is it really slippery? I'm more interested in cleaning than anything else, including some rust stains.

Gel coat which is what covers the fiberglass, is basically pigment impregnated resin. Gel coat is very porous and can get "stains' that are deep into the coating and difficult to remove (without) sanding much of it off. (Yes, high dollar paints (Imron etc.) are a much better products for covering fiberglass, but that is another story)

So here is what I have found to be very effective for cleaning up hulls especially if they sail in dark water which has a lot of tannin in the water. This makes boats turn a bit orange or rust colored.

First step I mix muriatic acid with water 50/50. (Be very careful this stuff will hurt you, where rubber gloves old clothes and goggles). I mop this on the hulls and let it work for only a couple of minutes. Then rinse off with water.

Second step I use a bleach cleaner to get any stains resistant to the muriatic acid. Rinse boat well after this too.

Third step is to coat the boat with something shiny. I use "New Glass". I think this is basically "mop and glow" of the old days. It is a plastic coating which looks wet when it is dry and is a bit of protection against the tannic acid that discolors the boat. This "New Glass" (mop and glow) needs to be applied annually as it does wear off. It is a simple application though, you simply spread on with a sponge. When it starts to wear off you will see flat spots (non shiny spots) showing up next to the shiny areas. Simply reapply. You do not need to take off old areas, just reapply to whole boat.

I found this to be pretty effective and the least amount of real work to get a boat looking new.

I has not used hullkote so I have no advise there.

Good luck



Edited by bruiser on Jan 27, 2017 - 01:00 PM.

Gel coat which is what covers the fiberglass, is basically pigment impregnated resin. Gel coat is very porous and can get "stains' that are deep into the coating and difficult to remove (without) sanding much of it off. (Yes, high dollar paints (Imron etc.) are a much better products for covering fiberglass, but that is another story)

So here is what I have found to be very effective for cleaning up hulls especially if they sail in dark water which has a lot of tannin in the water. This makes boats turn a bit orange or rust colored.

First step I mix muriatic acid with water 50/50. (Be very careful this stuff will hurt you, where rubber gloves old clothes and goggles). I mop this on the hulls and let it work for only a couple of minutes. Then rinse off with water.

Second step I use a bleach cleaner to get any stains resistant to the muriatic acid. Rinse boat well after this too.

Third step is to coat the boat with something shiny. I use "New Glass". I think this is basically "mop and glow" of the old days. It is a plastic coating which looks wet when it is dry and is a bit of protection against the tannic acid that discolors the boat. This "New Glass" (mop and glow) needs to be applied annually as it does wear off. It is a simple application though, you simply spread on with a sponge. When it starts to wear off you will see flat spots (non shiny spots) showing up next to the shiny areas. Simply reapply. You do not need to take off old areas, just reapply to whole boat.

I found this to be pretty effective and the least amount of real work to get a boat looking new.

I has not used hullkote so I have no advise there.

Good luck



Edited by bruiser on Jan 27, 2017 - 01:00 PM.

My approach:
if hulls are chalky and have mold in the gelcoat..
1. a good wash,
2. followed by mild mix of simple green and bleach,
3. let it sit a few minutes, clean with a brush, rinse well
4. mild wet sand, say 600 grit...
5. aggressive teflon type wax/polish like brite star (forgot the exact name).
6. when u sail in murky water, rinse the boat after.
7. quick relay every few months.

If your gelcoat is good....
1. wash well
2. use hullkote, easy on, easy off (but pricey) and lasts a while
3. rinse after sailing
4. i probably hullkote 2x year... but I rinse the boat and keep it fully covered (it lives on the beach)

any wax/polish including hullkote will be slippery... mainly an issue when you flip... when you're on the side in the water, just be careful, and only really get on your feet when you're in position to lean out... then when you lean, all your weight goes into your feet, directly pressing on the hull, so you don't slip... but wear protective shoes just in case..

i love hullkote and a bottle probably lasts me 2 years on a 16 foot cat.



Edited by robpatt on Jan 27, 2017 - 12:26 PM.

Thanks!!

A cheap way to get muriatic acid is from an industrial supply shop, one that sells cleaning supplies. We get 2 quart bottles of a product called Brilliant Bowl, an industrial toilet/urinal cleaner with muriatic acid as the main cleaning agent, for just a few $.
Wear gloves, long sleeve shirts, & eye protection. Use it outside, the fumes are pretty strong. Scrub with a stiff bristle brush, then rinse generously. It worked wonders for cleaning grunge & green algae off neglected Cats that we resurrected.
I followed up with wetsand using fine automotive paper to remove the oxidation that no cleaner will remove.
See album on restoring an H18.
I think MN3 mentioned somewhere about teflon wax, Star Brite.
I have had very good success with Collinette cleaner & wax, also with Star Brite product, the stuff with PTEF
I got it at Bass Pro, on a fall sale. A bottle does 2 coats, on several 19' Cats. It's also great for your lexan car headlights.
I have it in both tubs of paste, & liquid. I prefer the paste. Note, if it says "cleaner wax, or polish", it contains a small amount of very fine abrasive.
I only wax about once every 3 years. We are lucky in having very clear water, you can leave boats in all season with very minimal discoloration.





Edited by Edchris177 on Jan 27, 2017 - 02:46 PM.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

Hullkote is a nice product. It does some mild cleaning and makes a boat super slick. However its a product to spruce up an already clean boat before each regatta.

--
Greenville SC

Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans
--

http://poliglow-int.com/how-to-use/

http://poliglow-int.com/how-to-use/

Watch instruction video

Muriatic acid and some of the other products mentioned above are pretty caustic and hazardous. A gel coat hull can be cleaned with Oxalic Acid which is the same stuff you use on wood decks and siding to remove mold, mildew and stains. It works great, but takes a few minutes. The thing is, you can have skin contact with oxalic acid. The West Marine hull cleaner is made from oxalic acid, and the good news is you can buy it cheap at Home Depot in the form of Deck cleaner. It will deep clean, and allow you to add a polish and wax system over the top for sealing.

HCl is certainly powerful, but if you're not into wearing chemical resistant gloves or killing everything where you apply it, get oxalic acid cleaner, or West Hull Cleaner (same thing).

--
Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
--

Thanks for all the tips. I had bought muriatic acid before reading last post so I'll try with extra care, probably tomorrow.

I have used the Star Brite Marine Polish as pictured ^ and used a low rpm buffer and got fantastic results, made the hulls super slick and shiny. Follow that with some good carnauba wax and buff and they gleam!!!



Edited by martyr on Jan 28, 2017 - 01:12 AM.

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Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
--

Quote

I have used the Star Brite Marine Polish as pictured ^ and used a low rpm buffer and got fantastic results, made the hulls super slick and shiny

Good point, I should have added that. It's a lot of work to hand polish/buff a Cat.
On the album of my H18, I used a Porter Cable variable speed polisher, both to compound & apply the wax, & buff it. I started hand sanding, decided the tool was well worth the cost.Different products request different speeds for best use. I got a model with the velcro pads & velcro sheepskins.
When compounding you can use a sheepskin til it loads up, peel it off & toss in a bucket of water, slap a new one on & keep going. When the second one loads, peel it & re-stick the first one on, then spin it to remove water, apply compound & keep going. You can do an entire hull in a short time. Same for polishing/buffing. the sheepskin makes it real easy to work into/over the curves & inside radius. Stripping the hull of all hardware is easier than working around all the fittings.



Edited by Edchris177 on Jan 28, 2017 - 10:27 AM.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

i use newglass2
lots of prep work needed - takes many coats of application (no buffing)
great results

reapply a coat or 2 few times a year (no additional prep work needed) and your good for(ever?)

Muriatic acid worked great but the rubber stains from tires on the dock didn't go

Yea don't underestimate how deep some stains can be in gelcoat. I literally sanded off half to 3/4 of the gelcoat on one of my boats trying to get rid of some previous registration numbers in the hull that never sun faded like the rest of the boat because that spot on the gel coat was under the vinyl. They never went away.

That being said everything else that was more of a stain issue I found the only way was to hand sand the whole boat. I had to go down to 600-800 grit to make a dent. Just be aware that if you are trying to go for a mirror finish afterwards it's a lot of work to recover from that grit. I worked it back up with finer grits up to 1500-2000 and then a DA polisher and there are still scratches that were just too deep to spend my time on.

Never thought about using muriatic acid. I use that stuff in my hot tub to lower TA and it's mean. Nasty mean. You can't play around with the fumes like you can resin. It will hit you like a brick wall. If you don't dilute it I would bet it could chew a hole right through the hull.



Edited by tamumpower1 on Jan 29, 2017 - 02:26 AM.

Vinegar and salt solution creates an acid that is surprisingly tough but less nasty than muratic. I have used it to remove rust from tools, not yet tried it on the boat though.

--
Greenville SC

Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans
--

Quote

Never thought about using muriatic acid. I use that stuff in my hot tub to lower TA and it's mean. Nasty mean. You can't play around with the fumes like you can resin. It will hit you like a brick wall. If you don't dilute it I would bet it could chew a hole right through the hull.

I use sno bol toilet cleaner cleaner on my hulls and boards prior to my hand sanding - then finish with many layers of newglass2 (as mentioned above)

http://www.thehulltruth.c…l-bottom-cleaning.html#b

tominpa

A gel coat hull can be cleaned with Oxalic Acid which is the same stuff you use on wood decks and siding to remove mold, mildew and stains. It works great, but takes a few minutes. The thing is, you can have skin contact with oxalic acid. The West Marine hull cleaner is made from oxalic acid, and the good news is you can buy it cheap at Home Depot in the form of Deck cleaner. It will deep clean, and allow you to add a polish and wax system over the top for sealing.

Bar Keeper's Friend is pure oxalic acid and is available dirt cheap at Safeway and Walmart around here for a couple of bucks.
https://www.walmart.com/i…aner-and-Polish/15026756

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
--

Good tip Bob. I'll pick that up next time. Oxalic acid works great for deep cleaning, but not too thrilled about the HCl that is toxic to breathe and burns on skin contact.

--
Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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