Advice on bilge and engine cleaning

[Falcoron]

Hi, looking for advice on cleaning the bilge, engine and engine compartment on my old but good Ocean 30 cruiser.
The inner boat skin in engine bay is raw fiberglass (not gel coated) is very grubby, so was wanting to clean this down and paint it to freshen up. I also want to clean out the bilge which is filthy, but not smelly thankfully. I also want to clean the engine from tears of oil and grime.
Few questions here so sorry if a lot to ask; Boat is in water now but will be out soon to redo the anti foul.
1, what would be environmentally freindly to clean these areas, and not affect the raw fiberglass?
2, what would you recommned to paint the fiberglass that is either low VOC or waterbased?
3, what paint is easy to use and fast drying for the perkins 4108 engine.

Boat is moored in Northern Ireland Lough Erne

Thanks
Ron

 

[wipe_out]

When we changed the engine on our old boat I climbed in and used "Gunk" from Halfords to cut through all the grime that was under the engine.. Just used paper towel to wipe all the mess up and dispose of it.. I know some have recommended a solution of hot water and washing powder in the past.. For the engine itself I would say the Gunk would work or any engine cleaner, just use it on a rag or towel and wipe the areas you are wanting to clean up...

 

[Falcoron]

When we changed the engine on our old boat I climbed in and used "Gunk" from Halfords to cut through all the grime that was under the engine.. Just used paper towel to wipe all the mess up and dispose of it.. I know some have recommended a solution of hot water and washing powder in the past.. For the engine itself I would say the Gunk would work or any engine cleaner, just use it on a rag or towel and wipe the areas you are wanting to clean up...

thanks, I guess any good cleaner would do this job really. Need to suss out paint that will not degrade the raw fiberglass that has low voc or waterbased.
Thanks again

 

[jcwads]

I use Simple Green - really good at cleaning grease and oil. My bilge is gleaming from it. You can buy it online. I use it for mostly everything on the boat now, as its multi purpose.

 

[Poignard]

Sugar soap. Cheap and effective.

 

[prv]

Need to suss out paint that will not degrade the raw fiberglass that has low voc or waterbased.

I've not used it myself, but Danbolene is well-regarded for bilges.

Pete

 

[Falcoron]

I use Simple Green - really good at cleaning grease and oil. My bilge is gleaming from it. You can buy it online. I use it for mostly everything on the boat now, as its multi purpose.

Thanks,
What way is this applied and cleaned away again?

I have heard of guys putting in washing up liquid and some water ( bilge pump switched off to prevent dumping into water course) then going for a spin to slosh the solution around the bilge. Then suck out with a simple 12v water pump and hose into a container to dump at a local refuse collection centre. I could do that ok if that works. How do you use the Greenstuff?

 

[jcwads]

Thanks,
What way is this applied and cleaned away again?

I have heard of guys putting in washing up liquid and some water ( bilge pump switched off to prevent dumping into water course) then going for a spin to slosh the solution around the bilge. Then suck out with a simple 12v water pump and hose into a container to dump at a local refuse collection centre. I could do that ok if that works. How do you use the Greenstuff?

It comes undiluted. You can use it undiluted on most things including oil and grease. Then you can dilute it for more general purpose cleaning. I only use it because my brother in law worked on Superyachts and they swore by it. So I gave it a go, and have been happy with the results on my boat.

 

[Falcoron]

When we changed the engine on our old boat I climbed in and used "Gunk" from Halfords to cut through all the grime that was under the engine.. Just used paper towel to wipe all the mess up and dispose of it.. I know some have recommended a solution of hot water and washing powder in the past.. For the engine itself I would say the Gunk would work or any engine cleaner, just use it on a rag or towel and wipe the areas you are wanting to clean up...

Was told not to use gunk on the raw fiberglass as it can weaken it, not sure how true that is but wouldnt risk it, it stinks too.

 

[wipe_out]

Was told not to use gunk on the raw fiberglass as it can weaken it, not sure how true that is but wouldnt risk it, it stinks too.

Maybe it would cause damage if it was left soaking permanently but I can't see a wipe down to cut through the oil and grime with rags or towels hurting the fiberglass.. Then if you like you could follow up with a soapy water wash (which would also smell better).. It certainly didn't hurt our boat and there was no indication it was softening or dissolving the resin.. Obviously it's your boat so your call.. Was merely a suggestion that worked for me..

 

[Falcoron]

I've not used it myself, but Danbolene is well-regarded for bilges.

Pete

Yes looks good but not low voc, will look for a lower voc or water based paint as its a confined space in there and solvents are very hazardous
Cheers

 

[Falcoron]

Maybe it would cause damage if it was left soaking permanently but I can't see a wipe down to cut through the oil and grime with rags or towels hurting the fiberglass.. Then if you like you could follow up with a soapy water wash (which would also smell better).. It certainly didn't hurt our boat and there was no indication it was softening or dissolving the resin.. Obviously it's your boat so your call.. Was merely a suggestion that worked for me..

No not dissing your advice, thankyou for taking the time to reply, i only read that somewhere when i was looking through google on the subjest, and because someone says it dosent make it true. I have used gunk to good effect on motor bike engines. Only issue (if repainting the cleaned area) is the gunk itself has an oily finish after washing down so could reduce the paint from adhering to the surface. Was hoping for a one stop solution really that will leave the surfaces clean enough to paint over GRP and Engine. Thanks again

 

[alt]

Jizer => http://www.swarfega.com/sites/default/files/SJZ5L.jpg

It's the dogs boll1x for cleaning engine / engine bay. I wipe down the engine bay with this every year and finish off by washing down with fairy washing up liquid.

The result is a spotlessly clean engine bay year round (although I still get belt dust... unavoidable)

 

[Falcoron]

Thanks Alt,
Similar to Gunk i think, does this not reek? ( dogs bollox again LOL)
Gunk hums to high heaven, i did a car engine bay once that had split the oil cooler and used Gunk, worked really well then power washed off. Car stank for years could never get that gunk smell out. Could not sell the car for love nor money, smelled like spilt diesel ( petrol car) ended up trading it at half the value to get rid. Tried everything to sort it but nothing worked. Worried i might get the same thing with the boat as she, ( thankfully ) is smell free.
Thanks for the reply.

Used to use WD40 on car belts, stops them spinning on the pully wheel and or squealing as it drives out moisture and keeps them subtle, so im told.

 

[alt]

Jizer does have a smell, but doesn't stink to high heaven... to get the smell of it, you'd have to stick your nose in the cap.

What's odd is that it is 'greasy', despite being a very good de-greaser.

For the reasons above, that's why once you have properly degreased your engine bay, you then wash down with fairy washing up liquid for the nice smell.

Consider it a 2-part cleaning method.

Below is an old pic of the 1st clean after I bought her. (engine bay is usually cleaner), but you get the idea. We've since removed the centre heater (now there's one either side) as it was just asking to be smashed down there (previous owner). Port side header tank also clean now (and gets annual flushes.... clean coolant at the end of the season!)

 

[KevinT1]

I used this Screwfix " NO NONSENSE HEAVY DUTY DEGREASER" on the engine and bilges, it cut through all the grease and didn't smell, the only issue is that being a detergent it took an amount of fresh water to rinse, Being that I am in the yard at the moment that wasn't a problem.

I wouldn't use Gunk or Jizer inside the boat due to the smell, and the reviews for this were very positive.

£7.64 for 5 litres - even used neat I have 4 litres left over

http://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-heavy-duty-degreaser-5ltr/88668

 

[Falcoron]

Jizer does have a smell, but doesn't stink to high heaven... to get the smell of it, you'd have to stick your nose in the cap.

What's odd is that it is 'greasy', despite being a very good de-greaser.

For the reasons above, that's why once you have properly degreased your engine bay, you then wash down with fairy washing up liquid for the nice smell.

Consider it a 2-part cleaning method.

Below is an old pic of the 1st clean after I bought her. (engine bay is usually cleaner), but you get the idea. We've since removed the centre heater (now there's one either side) as it was just asking to be smashed down there (previous owner). Port side header tank also clean now (and gets annual flushes.... clean coolant at the end of the season!)

Thanks looks good.

 

[Falcoron]

I used this Screwfix " NO NONSENSE HEAVY DUTY DEGREASER" on the engine and bilges, it cut through all the grease and didn't smell, the only issue is that being a detergent it took an amount of fresh water to rinse, Being that I am in the yard at the moment that wasn't a problem.

I wouldn't use Gunk or Jizer inside the boat due to the smell, and the reviews for this were very positive.

£7.64 for 5 litres - even used neat I have 4 litres left over

http://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-heavy-duty-degreaser-5ltr/88668

Now that is a very good price! been looking all week and the prices are mental especially the green stuff at over £80 for 10 ltrs.
Need to look at how eco friendly and what solvents are in this as i dont want anything that will attack the raw glass fibre which i have been warned about when using cleaning agents.
Thanks

 

[aquatom]

You can use any strong degreaser but if you have a rough finer glass finish you will need to use a scrubbing brush or a pressure washer to get into the texture. Suck it all out afterwards with a wet vac then paint with Danboline.

 

[jcwads]

Now that is a very good price! been looking all week and the prices are mental especially the green stuff at over £80 for 10 ltrs.
Need to look at how eco friendly and what solvents are in this as i dont want anything that will attack the raw glass fibre which i have been warned about when using cleaning agents.
Thanks

Yeah, it seems that the UK distributor of Simple Green can no longer get normal sized spray bottles that I have purchased before. I checked with them today and the US have stopped exporting to the EU (US product). They are just providing the 10 litre tub, so thats a bit excessive! Looks like I am going to have to use my last reserves that I have left sparingly....