Oxalic acid for cleaning?

[Sinbad1]

I have just ordered 500gm from my local chemist to clean the boats decks and wheelhouse after the usual winter discoloration. What quantities and ratios to water should I use. The boats topsides are painted with blue awlgrip paint and I don't want to damage any of this with run-off from the deck cleaning.

Any advice appreciated. Tks

 

[Chris_Stannard]

For my boat the builders manual says, just wash with water and let the decks go grey. As I had green mold in places I washed with a 10 to 1 solution of moss killer which I washed off within an hour, rather than leaving it overnight as on the directions. I then washed the deck with Boat wash and rinsed off. The deck now looks fine although it is getting towards grey. I used a mop to clean the deck to avoid scrubbing and it seems to work. Scrubbing takes the soft wood between the grains out. I have seen decks that were cleaned with oxalic acid and I was not impressed, and I believe it does damage the wood and you have to put the oil back somehow.
There were a number of threads on this in february/March

Chris Stannard

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Hi
I used about 10 heaped tablespoons to a gallon of hot water on the teak deck, and GRP top sides . It worked very well It did burn my forearms though Cheers bob t

Bob T

 

[yoda]

Can't help you I'm afraid but how much was the oxalic acid out of interest as I need to get some?

TVM Yoda

 

[vyv_cox]

I bought a tub of teak cleaner, in which the active ingredient is oxalic acid, about 7 years ago for a cost then of around a fiver. I still have about a third of it left in the tub. It only takes a couple of tablespoons of it to clean the whole hull topsides and decks of a 34 ft boat.

 

[ccscott49]

Oxalic will clean your fibreglass topsides and decks, it also wont touch awlgrip paint. six tablespoons to a gallon of water. If they are teak decks, oxalic wont "clean" them, it only brings back the colour, you need to clean the decks first, then brighten them with the oxalic.

 

[Sinbad1]

500gm (which is a lot) cost £5.10

Tks for the info guys