Which brick cleaner for zapping barnacles?

RIN

RIN

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Getting through the out of water tasks and now have to clean the the vile stuff on the bronze props. I understand I need to use an acid based brick cleaner. Can anyone recommend one and where to buy it whilst I still have a little bit of skin left on my knuckles?
 
I've recently done this for the 1st time after moving boat from upper Thames down to Lymington. I tried a couple brick cleaners, which all worked ok-ish but then went and got some Starbrite Hull Cleaner from the chandlery which was expensive but in a different league. It was about £19 for a bottle with a spray head , I would almost say don't use the spray but decant the liquid and use a paint brush, you'll get less wastage. Do use eye and face protection, I used it on a couple of windy days and gave myself a nice gentle facial chemical peel beauty treatment as well as cleaning the props, rudders and shafts.
Brilliant stuff though for the prop cleaning up job.
I'm sure it's just a mix of acids (or something) and water so will look to see if it can be replicated/mixed up at home for next year's clean up.
 
I use everbuild brick & patio cleaner which is 10% hydrochloric acid and that works fine . 1 litre used neat easily does both props/shafts , just use goggles and long rubber gloves and just keep applying / agitating with a 2" brush until it stops fizzing . As a guide we sell a litre for under £3 . Edit , must type faster than Andy .
 
Andy59's brick cleaner sounds stronger than what I had bought from builder's merchants so may well work better then my experience. I think mine were 5 or 7%. I have a feeling the Starbrite one might be a mix of Hydrochloric and Oxalic but that is not based on any scientific knowledge so I stand to be corrected. For that price difference I'll have a go with the Everbuild 1st next time.
 
My experience is that after a week out of the water the barnacles will come off with the pressure washer or a blunt scraper with not too much effort.

But that is on a sailing boat....
 
superheat6k said:
Angle grinder mounted wire cup brush cleans to bright metal in minutes and does not damage the bronze. Proper googles are a must.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys. My phone packed up so I didn't see all the replies. I went to B&Q and bought 5 liters of Swarfega brick cleaner but it really didn't do much of a job. I bought a wire cup brush (17 quid!!!)there too and mounted it on my angle grinder type polisher but that was pretty useless too :(

I will take my angler grinder next week and see if the extra speed will help.
 
A note of caution.....hydrochloric and sulphuric acid should not be used on stainless steel as they have a negative impact upon its corrosion resistant properties. Most 'brick acid' is hydrochloric acid so should not be used on shafts if they are stainless steel. Phosphoric and nitric acids are what should be used apparently. I used phosphoric last year and it worked okay.

As already stated (perhaps the obvious but easy to be complacent) always wear hand and eye protection at all times. A mate recently simply moved a brush and a single drop went in his eye with awful consequences.
 
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When you purchase brick cleaner ( MAKE SURE IT IS THE ACIDIC ONE used for removing concrete stains ec't ) ibought the swarfega one all it did was wash them, then bought the acidic one from tool station did thte job no problem
 
I use the Wickes one annually on my stainless props (the Hydrochloric acid one) without any issues, here they are after cleaning. However one year I did do it in our sink which is clearly a lower grade stainless steel as it did affect the sink :) I now use a plastic builders bucket.
b2ap3_thumbnail_IMG_20141112_214920.jpg
 
Well that was a real struggle. The angle grinder was slightly better but the result was still rubbish. I don't know if it was technique or what but I had to buy another cup brush to finish the job.
20160410_1715401_zps86zljslf.jpg

There was also quite a bit of small pitting on the props. There is no galvanic isolator on the boat so I will be fitting one next week.
I am not sure that I am going to do the same thing next year, I bet the props will be dull anyway within a week or two.
20160410_1715271_zps6yp0ki3d.jpg
 
I reckon I could have done better if I had removed the props but I really. really did not fancy doing that. Funnily enough my previous boat's aluminum duoprops were no problem to clean and paint

So shafts bad, duoprops good
 
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