tbennett
New Member
Janty is getting a new engine and we'd like to paint the bilges - but how do we degrease the wood after years of exposure to engine oil and diesel so that the paint will stick?
Degreasing engine oil and diesel soaked bilges
- Thread starter tbennett
- Start date
MrCramp
Well-Known Member
I used Gunk on one occasion and fairy liquid another time when there wasn't as much oil about.
There was a recent thread on one of these forums that gave a link to a chemical company that made a product that would do what you want..... and I have just found the website
http://www.oiltechnics.co.uk/
Haven't used the product but someone else on here recommended the products. You will have to look at the products to find the correct one. Hope this helps.
There was a recent thread on one of these forums that gave a link to a chemical company that made a product that would do what you want..... and I have just found the website
http://www.oiltechnics.co.uk/
Haven't used the product but someone else on here recommended the products. You will have to look at the products to find the correct one. Hope this helps.
alan006
Well-Known Member
I did a simular job a good few years ago. I got a large container of Industrial hand cleaner and used that then washed it down with clean water, dried it out and used Damboline paint which is great for bilges.
There may be a more conventional way of doing it. Best of luck with it.
There may be a more conventional way of doing it. Best of luck with it.
Seagreen
Well-Known Member
I got some of the Oiltechnics stuff but this was just to get diesel out of the teak and mahogany deck bits. Not used that yet, but I've used Bilgex from cuprinol before to clean the bilges with very good results.
misty56
Well-Known Member
Daz. Scrub. A lot.
Seriously you can use any non-foaming detergent, the cheapest washing powder will do. Non-biological and bleach-free is best. You can get liquid ones too.
Using solvents is better avoided if you can for a number of reasons, including the difficulty of removing them later. Gunk is great for my bike but I wouldn't want to use it on bilges.
Don't use washing up liquid, it leaves a slippery residue which is a sod to get rid of. Makes the dishes sparkle, see?
Seriously you can use any non-foaming detergent, the cheapest washing powder will do. Non-biological and bleach-free is best. You can get liquid ones too.
Using solvents is better avoided if you can for a number of reasons, including the difficulty of removing them later. Gunk is great for my bike but I wouldn't want to use it on bilges.
Don't use washing up liquid, it leaves a slippery residue which is a sod to get rid of. Makes the dishes sparkle, see?
mormargh
Well-Known Member
I've heard a product called Jizer is pretty good (engineers may have some), but regret no first hand experience.
MikeBz
Well-Known Member
Jizer is a fabulous degreaser - I've used it when building car engines etc. Degrease a piece of steel with it, rinse it off (it's water soluble), dry it and within a few hours there will be rust. Not tried it on bilges but I'm sure it would be good, with the proviso that you'd probably need a lot of it since it works by 'consuming' (OK I'm not a chemist) the grease rather than just separating it from the surface so to remove a lot of grease you need a lot of Jizer.
Mike
Mike
misty56
Well-Known Member
Jizer is a brilliant degreaser, no question, as is Gunk. I wouldn't hesitate to use either on an engine or a motorcycle (or even a car, if I were ever to clean one...) Hey, Gunk will even remove the tarmac from the road if it drips on it.
I just would not use these products on wooden boats, and especially not in the bilges.
No doubt there's a petrochemical engineer out there who'll correct me but AFAIK these super-degreasers work by using a combination of powerful solvents and detergents. This really works, no question. But do you want to put stuff like this on a beautiful old wooden yacht? Not me, but that's just personal. Sometimes you just have to put in a bit of elbow-grease.
Call me a curmudgeonly old Luddite if you like, but I hear a lot of "Let's use this or that modern product on our classic boat/medieval house/whatever and get the job done quick." Yeah well the manufacturers will not be taking any blame if in 30 years or so it is found to have caused problems, I suspect.
The other thing is to think about what is required here. aardvark wants to clean off the surface oil and grease so he can paint. Diesel is a fraction of crude oil, just like white spirit, and we have no hesitation in wiping wood down with white spirit before applying conventional paint! He just needs to get the wood touch clean-- what's soaked in over the years will do no harm at all.
I just would not use these products on wooden boats, and especially not in the bilges.
No doubt there's a petrochemical engineer out there who'll correct me but AFAIK these super-degreasers work by using a combination of powerful solvents and detergents. This really works, no question. But do you want to put stuff like this on a beautiful old wooden yacht? Not me, but that's just personal. Sometimes you just have to put in a bit of elbow-grease.
Call me a curmudgeonly old Luddite if you like, but I hear a lot of "Let's use this or that modern product on our classic boat/medieval house/whatever and get the job done quick." Yeah well the manufacturers will not be taking any blame if in 30 years or so it is found to have caused problems, I suspect.
The other thing is to think about what is required here. aardvark wants to clean off the surface oil and grease so he can paint. Diesel is a fraction of crude oil, just like white spirit, and we have no hesitation in wiping wood down with white spirit before applying conventional paint! He just needs to get the wood touch clean-- what's soaked in over the years will do no harm at all.
mormargh
Well-Known Member
As stated: No first hand experience. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Gordonmc
Well-Known Member
Agreed.
When I first got ther boat the bilges were in a bit of a state, so drawing on experience restoring cars I rerached for the Gunk.
Mistake.
The gunk-stink is worse than diesel-stink.
When I first got ther boat the bilges were in a bit of a state, so drawing on experience restoring cars I rerached for the Gunk.
Mistake.
The gunk-stink is worse than diesel-stink.
sue_bagnall
New Member
I have used the chemical product as discussed. I used it on my diesel soaked planks it get it out very well, you might have to do it more than once but the price is very good and the company was very helpful.
