Star Brite Heavy Duty Boat Bottom Cleaner - Remove Deposits, Scum Lines & Rust Stains Quickly & Easily from Boat Hull - Safe for Fiberglass, Wood, Iron & Painted Surfaces

Product Information

Whether you own a small or big vessel, proper care and maintenance is the key if you wish to avoid very expensive costs for repair and replacements. The first method of barnacle removal is with good old elbow grease! Many people would prefer to use a pressure washer to remove barnacle buildup but a pressure washer is not that effective on young barnacles and can actually be detrimental to your boat hull by causing damage to the gel coat. Therefore, we suggest you only use a pressure washer if the barnacle build up is extensive and cover large areas of the hull. In between, we exhausted ourselves and became shark bait from barnacle cuts. We learned a lot that day . . . the hard way. And we’ve discovered that cleaning the bottom isn’t so horrible, once you know a few things. Signs the Bottom Needs Cleaning Mild boat hull cleaners contain either a calcium remover (lime remover) or a weaker acid such as oxalic, phosphoric or citric acid to help remove the barnacle residue from the boat hull. You can apply this using a nylon brush, give time for the chemicals to take effect before washing and gently scraping off.

Take in mind that evaluating the appropriateness of bottom paints in distinct types of water is quite paramount. So, you need to make certain that you assess the foul resistance ability of the paint in freshwater or saltwater prior to making the final purchasing decision. Before just jumping over the side, let’s look at what you’ll need. You don’t need SCUBA gear or a hookah, but free diving takes longer and is much more tiring. After cleaning the bottom twice with just snorkel gear, we bought a hookah and have never regretted it. You definitely need at least a mask so you can see what you are doing and fins sure help – particularly if you’re free diving.grit paper, used wet, is just about right for sanding primer. If you find yourself cutting through to the base gelcoat in a lot of places, however, switch to finer paper. For boat owners that do not want to clean the boat hull in the water themselves, there are a few alternative cleaning options available.

Although the plastic knife wears away and has to be replaced almost every cleaning, Winn says that “a metal putty knife just removes too much paint.” Look at the waterline and see if there’s growth!” Unfortunately, this isn’t always reliable. Where we are, oftentimes there isn’t much growth for the first 6 to 12 inches below the water. If you’ve cut down through the primer to the gelcoat in only a few places, touch these up with a patch coat of epoxy primer before applying another full coat. If you’ve cut through in a lot of places, either your hull surface is uneven or you used too coarse a grit of sandpaper. If you need to spot prime more than about 10% of the bottom, just put on another full coat. It will go faster than a spot prime coat. Cleaning the boat hull in the water with an extended rotary brush takes approximately 40 minutes to complete for most recreational boats. While the process of gelcoat blistering is not completely understood, there is little doubt that overzealous sanding of bottom gelcoat can create a porous surface that increases the likelihood of blistering. At the same time, failure to adequately sand the bottom gelcoat means poor paint adhesion, flaking, and ultimately, a repeat of the paint stripping process.

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In tropical waters, we’ve found that the bottom needs cleaning at least once a month, more often in the summer or in “nutritionally rich” harbors or areas with agricultural runoff. The exact frequency will depend on your paint and your location.

Snorkeling Gear: Snorkeling gear is needed to be able to see the hull underwater and breathe while cleaning the hull in the water. This includes goggles and a breathing tube Priming and Fairing Before priming, any obvious gouges in the surface of the hull should be faired out with an epoxy-based fairing putty. The dings must be thoroughly clean and dry before applying compound. A portable hair dryer can be used to remove all traces of moisture from gouges. You can use a premade fairing compound, such as Interlux 4496A/4497B, or you can make up your own from epoxy resin and microballoons or microspheres. Using ultrasonic antifouling solutions are a great option if you would prefer to do less hull cleaning yourself. These systems work by creating very high frequency waves that cause the hull of the boat to vibrate, preventing marine life from attaching without the need for biocides or contamination into the marine environment.Get a motorized waterproof rotary brush system: Get a 21+ Ah powered waterproof rotary brush that is capable of working at deeper depths. Ideally, the rotary brush system should work at depths around 35 feet which When using paint removers, you must mask off areas of the hull that are not to be treated. Splashing of the remover is inevitable, so take the extra time to mask off topsides and boottop with newspaper and masking tape. Use paint remover sparingly near masking tape, as it may dissolve. Applying bottom paint can be done professionally by spraying. However, this can pose the hazards of inhaling dangerous particles and vapors. Marinas and local regulations mean boater owners will have to follow strict guidelines when underwater hull cleaning.

Getting the old bottom paint off is one of the least plea­sant tasks associated with boating. Most bottom paints sand poorly. Using a heat gun puts a lot of unpleasant and toxic vapors in the air. Drill-attached mechanical paint removing tools we have used are hopelessly slow.Beyond question, keeping the hull clear of any sorts of marine growth is quite critical to consider if you wish your boat to keep providing maximum performance. In addition, this could be done only by using the best boat bottom paint. Basically, one or two coats of premium quality antifouling paint is all you need to greatly minimize the cost of fuel and ensure the best possible performance for your boat. Bleach: Bleach can cause harm to the marine ecosystem and it should be avoided when cleaning an underwater boat hull