Maintenance of your boats stainless steel

lennartl

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What is the affect of your boats stainless steel surface in the place you are?
What solution do you seem to work fine to restore the surface ?
Other comments?
 

rotrax

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What is the affect of your boats stainless steel surface in the place you are?
What solution do you seem to work fine to restore the surface ?
Other comments?

As I had several tubes of "solvol Autosol" left from my motorcycle shop I use that. It removes rust and provides a deep shine. I have used it on unpolished S/S tube-within a few mins. hard rubbing it brings up a superb polish. If you want a low effort cleaner its not for you...........
 

vyv_cox

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Our stainless tubes seem to suffer far more pitting in the Med than they ever did on Atlantic coasts, presumably due to the greater salinity. We use supermarket Cream Cleaner to restore them to bright shininess, very effective, cheap and it washes off.
 

Annabell

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We use since years ordinary oxalic acid The price for that is round about 6 Euro per Kilo which will be enough for 20 years for a 39 feet boat Oxalic acid is harmless for gelcoat, wood, plastic and paint. You mix a little with water, bring it on to the corroded parts with a little brush and you can see how it works. Later you wash the acid down and put little bit liquid wax on top of the cleaned surface.

This creamy cleaner, offered in several chandlerys contains as well oxalic acid (mostly 10%), but theire prices are incredible. You can get Oxalic acid from ebay. It looks like sugar.

Most likely I made few mistakes, sorry for that, but I had to give you this info.

Regards
Klaus
 

vyv_cox

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This creamy cleaner, offered in several chandlerys contains as well oxalic acid (mostly 10%), but theire prices are incredible. You can get Oxalic acid from ebay. It looks like sugar.

Sorry, you are confusing the product with something else. Cream cleaner is sold in supermarkets for household use, such as this. It costs about £2 for 500 ml and lasts for years. It does not contain oxalic acid.

Oxalic acid is excellent for removing rust stains from all sorts of surfaces, including stainless steel. However, polishing stainless steel helps to prevent re-tarnishing, whereas oxalic acid may have the opposite effect, creating small corrosion pits.
 

CharlesSwallow

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We use since years ordinary oxalic acid The price for that is round about 6 Euro per Kilo which will be enough for 20 years for a 39 feet boat Oxalic acid is harmless for gelcoat, wood, plastic and paint. You mix a little with water, bring it on to the corroded parts with a little brush and you can see how it works. Later you wash the acid down and put little bit liquid wax on top of the cleaned surface.

This creamy cleaner, offered in several chandlerys contains as well oxalic acid (mostly 10%), but theire prices are incredible. You can get Oxalic acid from ebay. It looks like sugar.

Most likely I made few mistakes, sorry for that, but I had to give you this info.

Regards
Klaus

Oxalic acid will certainly have an effect on wood, especially weathered wood. It will remove all the algae and most of the discououration so it is important to avoid splshes onto wooden surfaces or you will get a very messy "camouflage" pattern. Much better to use it all over unvarnished timber in the first place. The results (in 16+C temperatures) are quite remarkable, often bringing up the timber to look like new. This is why it is sold in agricultural pharmacies and supplies stores as it is used to clean farm gates etc without fear of the run-off causing any nasty environmental effects. Good for concrete and patio slabs too.

Chas
 

Marine Reflections

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Sorry, you are confusing the product with something else. Cream cleaner is sold in supermarkets for household use, such as this. It costs about £2 for 500 ml and lasts for years. It does not contain oxalic acid.

Oxalic acid is excellent for removing rust stains from all sorts of surfaces, including stainless steel. However, polishing stainless steel helps to prevent re-tarnishing, whereas oxalic acid may have the opposite effect, creating small corrosion pits.

+1
 

SHUG

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I have good experience with Wichard Wichinox

Quote:"A superior paste that cleans and passivates stainless steel."

It doesn't give the brightest shine but it seems to inhibit corrosion.
I'm sure an expert will be along in a moment to explain "passivates"
 

rr_123

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This creamy cleaner, offered in several chandlerys contains as well oxalic acid (mostly 10%), but theire prices are incredible. You can get Oxalic acid from ebay. It looks like sugar.

Sorry, you are confusing the product with something else. Cream cleaner is sold in supermarkets for household use, such as this. It costs about £2 for 500 ml and lasts for years. It does not contain oxalic acid.

I am guessing that Annabell is referring to Y10 which does contain oxalic acid, is sold in chandleries for an exhorbitant price, and, in my experience, doesen't work all that well
 

vyv_cox

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Oxalic acid will certainly have an effect on wood, especially weathered wood. It will remove all the algae and most of the discououration so it is important to avoid splshes onto wooden surfaces or you will get a very messy "camouflage" pattern. Much better to use it all over unvarnished timber in the first place. The results (in 16+C temperatures) are quite remarkable, often bringing up the timber to look like new. This is why it is sold in agricultural pharmacies and supplies stores as it is used to clean farm gates etc without fear of the run-off causing any nasty environmental effects. Good for concrete and patio slabs too.

Chas

I discovered the effects of oxalic acid in whitening GRP after buying a product called Teak Cleaner. As you say, it is very effective in cleaning wood, matched by its effect on gelcoat. For some years I bought Teak Cleaner for the topsides, although I had no teak by then. Later, a powder that looked exactly like Teak Cleaner was marketed as Hull Cleaner, which I still use.

This was many years ago, a long time before forums were invented, when we had to learn things the hard way. :)
 
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