Brick cleaner to do hull

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stuartbaggs

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So I've used this to clean some nasty yellow deposits off the hull its worked really well.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Everbuild-E...20859&sr=8-3&keywords=brick+and+patio+cleaner

10% hydrochloric/muriatic acid - apparently commonly found in hull cleaners and used by people for a long time to clean hulls

The boat is not on a trailer so no concerns about getting it on that.

Please could someone reassure me that this won't melt my gelcoat? It was rinsed off after. Thanks.
 
I have always used oxalic acid to clean the yellow stain above the water line which works extremely well and a lot safer to use than hydrochloride acid. However last year I used Wickes brick and patio cleaner to remove some very stubborn staining that forms on top of the antifoul from my drying mud mooring on the Medway. I also used the stronger patio cleaner to remove the yellow staining above the water line, but ended up with a slightly different white colour on the gel coat where the acid had been and couldn't get rid of it with polishing or waxing. As far as I can tell it has not caused any harm and I can only assume it gave a deep clean where I applied it as it is not visible now. This year I was careful to keep the patio cleaner below the water line and will be using oxalic acid to remove the above water line staining.
 
stuartbaggs said:
So I've used this to clean some nasty yellow deposits off the hull its worked really well.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Everbuild-E...20859&sr=8-3&keywords=brick+and+patio+cleaner

10% hydrochloric/muriatic acid - apparently commonly found in hull cleaners and used by people for a long time to clean hulls

The boat is not on a trailer so no concerns about getting it on that.

Please could someone reassure me that this won't melt my gelcoat? It was rinsed off after. Thanks.
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Almost all hull cleaners contain oxalic acid as the active ingredient. Which ones have you found with hydrochloric acid as the active ingredient? Hydrochloric acid won't harm the gelcoat. Buy 0.5kg of oxalic, it will last for ages and be safer to use (though it is poisonous).
 
Last edited:
stuartbaggs said:
So I've used this to clean some nasty yellow deposits off the hull its worked really well.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Everbuild-E...20859&sr=8-3&keywords=brick+and+patio+cleaner

10% hydrochloric/muriatic acid - apparently commonly found in hull cleaners and used by people for a long time to clean hulls

The boat is not on a trailer so no concerns about getting it on that.

Please could someone reassure me that this won't melt my gelcoat? It was rinsed off after. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hydrochloric acid will not harm your gelcoat!
 
Given she is on your trailer then it's the trailer I would worry about. The trailer will be liable to corrosion damage from the acid. Make sure you have really hosed it off well.
 
macd said:
He hasn't found any hull cleaner with hydrochloric acid. He's found brick and patio cleaner. It's all in post #1.
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Yes it is in post #1, OP said "10% hydrochloric/muriatic acid - apparently commonly found in hull cleaners".

Hence my request for examples as I haven't seen hull cleaners with 10% hydrochloric acid, they almost all contain oxalic acid.
 
alahol2 said:
Just to note that the weather (temperature) this week has been ideal for using oxalic acid. I normally try to use it in January/February when it is too cold to work efficiently.
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The rate of reaction is temperature related and is extremely slow below 10C and speeds up quite a bit above that point. However, I wouldn't go so far as to say current weather has been ideal. It was 25C-30C not long before I came back to the UK and you could see stains vanish as you watched. But not exactly likely to happen in UK, so recent weather was certainly as good as it's likely to get for several months. :D

I used to wash the hull with pretty hot water a couple of times just before applying oxalic and work along the waterline a couple of metres at a time to keep it warm. That really speeds things up when temperature is down in low teens.
 
Spuddy said:
I too get the Mudway mud stain (on the boat that is). I'll try patio and brick cleaner next time
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I find it takes a couple of applications to shift it. First attempt was a bit disappointing, but after rinsing off and letting most of the water to dry off a second application starts showing results. I use a floor mop to apply it, it keeps you at a safer distance from the acid. Throw the mop head away once done. Last year despite thouroghly rinsing the mop out, I put the mop in the cockpit locker and later found all that was left with was a pile of rotten foam dust to clear out. Kind of demonstrates the need to wear old water proofs and skin and eye protection when using it
 
Last time ashore I found my antifoul wasn't too good, lots of barnacles. I used brick cleaner to clean them from the hull, worked really well. Forgot gloves and chanced it, that didn't work so well. Ok on bare hands but got in to cuts and ate the flesh away below the skin, took ages for the infection to go and I still have the scars. Do make sure you protect your skin and your eyes, it is not nice stuff.
 
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