The creatures from the black lagoon attacks my toons!

[RonKMiller]

Sooo, I was parked for the better part of the summer in San Diego Harbor. Even had my logs scrubbed by a pro a couple of times to knock this crud off. He used a 3M nylon pad and good old elbow grease. That's all he was ALLOWED to use.

Now that I'm back in Tucson this stuff has hardened up quite a bit, I was hoping it would lose it's "purchase" in the desert but it's still there. I may have made it even easier for it to cling since he obviously scuffed the surface during his cleaning - and I knew that would happen...

I'm hoping there's a chemical way to get it to dissolve first - maybe phosphoric acid? I don't think pressure washing will work although it may knock off the bigger chunks. So, before I invest a lot of time I would like to hear from you guys that have had a similar problem. My plan is to get as much off as I can while on the trailer then finish the job with a snorkel and mask at a local fresh water lake.

I think it's time for some paint after I get them cleaned off - a good winter project.

toon crud resize.jpg (117.22 KiB) Viewed 3043 times

[HandymanHerb]

Looks like it would make a great camo, but not the best on the toons

[curtiscapk]

yikes! AC coil cleaner?

[RonKMiller]

Looks like it would make a great camo, but not the best on the toons

Now I know why I caught so many fish!

(think I'll try some bleach in a spray bottle first...)

[Strake]

try a pressure washer first. Toon Brite is highly rated for cleaning toons back to bright aluminum again. As we speak, our boat is at the marina on blocks getting Toon Brite (acid wash) and then Sharkhide applied.

I was going to do the Toon Brite and Sharkhide myself, bought 2 quarts as it said Biodegradable as I would have to do it on our lift directly over the lake and then I read the fine print on the jug that said NOT to use it on a lake or river as it "may" kill fish....... I didn't want to be the one to kill everything for a mile around

The marina where I bought the boat (also directly on the lake) said no problem, they acid wash boats ....... so it's with them right now. We'll be back at the lake in another week and it will be done..... HOPEFULLY to my liking. I'm extremely picky about keeping this like new.

Google Toon Brite and there are a number of You Tube video's on how easy it works. So far, I found mostly very positive feedback on it.

Good luck,

[RonKMiller]

Great advice, thanks. This ain't going to be easy. These logs are now really damaged since they are so old and previously etched from our hard water in AZ.

I think I'll try a 4 stage approach...

Kill the sonomabeaches with bleach first. Hopefully they'll slough off. Then blast them with a serious pressure washer. Then some dilute muriatic or phosphoric acid (whichever is cheapest) followed by a mechanical cleaning if needed with Scotch Brite pads on a rotary air powered buffer. The pads come in several different grades so hopefully I can keep the mechanical etching to a minimum.

Then an aluminum specific primer and garden variety epoxy paint similar to that used for garage floors. I just don't get the crazy pricing of so called "Marine" epoxy paints.

Either this or just bite the bullet and buy some shiny new logs. These bad boys are - after all - 27 years old! I can't remember how may times I've put sweat, money, blood and a lot of tears into a project when I should have just said: **** it and bought replacements.

[sunedog]

I vote for acid wash. I do mine every Fall. My local independent hardware store carries mag wheel cleaner for the sole purpose of cleaning toons. Costs $12 a gallon and one gallon will do my entire boat. Others swear by A/C coil cleaner, but I have never used it.

1) fresh water blast from the hose nozzle
2) mix acid (3 or 4 parts H20 to 1 part acid) in a pump sprayer
3) apply the solution starting from the bottom up so it doesn't streak
4) let it sit for about 10 minutes
5) apply more solution to the tough spots as needed
6) rinse thoroughly

It may take a couple of passes and a few minutes, but once the acid breaks the bond between the scum and the aluminum, the scum falls off in sheets. The whole process takes me about an hour or so.

[crookedlaker]

We use the "Works" toilet bowl cleaner
be careful as it is acid based, use protective eye wear and gloves
You can get at the dollar store for 1.00 per bottle
put in a pump sprayer, let it soak for a while the use a stiff brush
repeat as required.

[RonKMiller]

Cool guys - it looks like a dilute acid wash is in the works. Breaking the bond is going to be challenging... I think I'll try a couple of test spots first to see if the bleach will do the job first.

[sunedog]

I think I'll try a couple of test spots first to see if the bleach will do the job first.

I'll bet you a six pack it does nothing. You may even hear the scum giggling at you.

[RonKMiller]

I'm partial to Fat Tire... it worked!

Bleach turned them from rock hard to mush - then I scraped the little boogers off with a plastic bondo scraper. A white 3M pad got off the final residue. Phew, I thought I was going to be into hours of work here. The AC coil cleaner worked well too - but it's really expensive compared to a 3 pack of bleach from Costco. Just don't inhale it and wear nitrile gloves if you want to retain your lungs and finger nails. With a ph of 12.6 it obviously made life very uncomfortable for them.

A little snorkeling and some elbow grease on the area I couldn't reach on the bunks should do the trick at a fresh water lake - but I gotta do it soon. The water starts getting cold in the next month... I'll hit them with bleach again right before I launch and make sure the local water nazi's aren't watching.

The big problem now is that since the logs are newly scuffed the little bastards are going to have an even easier time making a new home... definitely time for some epoxy.

[sunedog]

I'm partial to Fat Tire... it worked!

Haw! I'm shocked, but I've never welshed on a bet before. PM me.

PS: Fat Tire is pretty good.

[RonKMiller]

You can always UPS it to me.

[sunedog]

Seriously. PM me an address and I'll put a check in the mail. I shot my mouth off and lost so I want to pay up.