Clean this - The Hull Truth

Doug in Bermuda · 03-09-2004, 06:14 PM

OK all you maintenance Xpurts what gets the diesel exhaust soot off the transom? I'll start with what DOES NOT work: laquer thinners, acetone, white vinegar, boat soap, muriatic acid, cursing.

Hub · 03-09-2004, 06:35 PM

Try FSR.* It works like a champ.

BestMate · 03-09-2004, 07:12 PM

Simple Green - full strength. Spray on, let it sit a few minutes, wash off.

jamesbfishin · 03-09-2004, 07:17 PM

After you get the transom clean try using an aviation product called (rejex) sp?Guy I know uses that stuff on his plane and his 38 Henriques, the soot wipes right off.

Shorty · 03-09-2004, 07:27 PM

Whitewall tire cleaner?? Works on gas xhaust soot.......

ZENFOLD · 03-09-2004, 07:44 PM

Liquid Zud? It works on taking rust stains off.

baypro21 · 03-09-2004, 09:27 PM

WD-40

catadromous · 03-09-2004, 10:41 PM

Doug,

I don't remember the name of the product, but I'll try to find out tomorrow. Try a commercial restaurant supply place. Most have a product that will clean the black off the bottoms of frying pans and such. That's baked on carbon soot, and is a bear to get off with normal cleansers. Worth a try.

Jack
Minneapolis

capt. tim · 03-09-2004, 10:55 PM

EASY OFF....Works great... make sure you rinse with water immediately afterwards

SIM · 03-09-2004, 11:50 PM

Greased Lightning....we get it at out local True Value. Spray it on and wipe it off....SIM

round2it · 03-10-2004, 01:41 AM

Well Doug, is it clean yet??

Doug in Bermuda · 03-10-2004, 09:33 AM

Before running out & buying something else I'll try what I already have, Simple Green, restaurant degreaser, WD40 (that might work, sure is a lousy lubricant), Easy Off. Might try Soft Scrub liq & I have an English industrial cleaner called Tepol (looks & smells something like Simple Green). I'm gonna win this battle without removing gelcoat.

mitchfh · 03-10-2004, 09:37 AM

Hey Doug, every time we return to the dock, I rinse the transom with fresh water, spray on the simple green, crack open a beer, then take a soft brush and gently scrub off the diesel soot, and rinse. Couldn't be easier.

Albin31 · 03-10-2004, 10:12 AM

Doug -

I wouldn't use soft scrub. Too abrasive.

Jellybean · 03-10-2004, 10:14 AM

Sudsy ammonia

Megabyte · 03-10-2004, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Doug in Bermuda - 2004-03-10 8:33 AM

WD40 (that might work, sure is a lousy lubricant

WD40 was never designed as a lubricant, tho it is perceived by the public to be one. WD40 was designed as a water displacement material, hence the "WD" moniker. The "40" in the name is the number of try's it took to get the formula right back in 1953.

You can read about the history of the product here: http://www.wd40.com/AboutUs/our_history.html

WD40 has many uses, and can be used as a light lubricant, but that isn't what it was originally designed for.

endoman · 03-10-2004, 05:58 PM

Doug.
It's been awhile since I had to clean transom soot that was caked on, denatured alcohol did the trick. We had a boat that was unfortunately moored under the takeoff pattern from MIA, and couldn't figure out the problem for 5 months, then we were aware it was the residue from jets taking off from Miami that was dropping all the soot on top of the boat.
Denatured alcohol worked.
Now, in Bermuda, that may be something very difficult to find, so try to clean your transom ASAP when you get back to the dock. Then soap and water are fine.
Hope this helps.

baypro21 · 03-10-2004, 06:42 PM

I always thought the 40 of wd-40 was the number of times it had to be sprayed onto something before you gave up and tried something else.