Learned a bit yesterday while washing/waxing - Hull Kleen/BioKleen and Hydrosilex

I can hardly move my arms this morning but I was successful in getting my hull sides washed and waxed yesterday. I quickly learned just how much more fiberglass there is on a 400 vs a 340. Good lord...

There were a handful of others in the building while I was there and I was fortunate to get some solid advice on some useful products. First is "Hull Kleen" (BioKleen). It's an acid cleaner, something I've never used. A gentlemen let me use a few squirts on the brown scumline on the front of my hull and it worked amazingly. In the photos below you can see the before/after under the "step" in the hull at the forward edge. The amount of effort required to remove that scum was nearly 0, wipe away. Super great stuff. Maybe everybody already knows about this but it's new to me. It's definitely going to become a part of my cleaning arsenal. $19.99 on Amazon.

As I was finishing up my waxing I spoke with another guy who swears by "Hydrosilex". It's a spray on ceramic "wax". He showed me his hull after a vinegar wipe down and three coats of the Hydrosilex and it looked quite nice, definitely as much shine as my Meguires Flagship Cleaner/Wax. For the amount of effort he described the process being it seems very, very compelling. Almost too good to be true but I saw the results. If it lasts a full season it would be a no brainer. I'm going to try some topside this spring to see. A bit spendy at $50 a bottle but after spending 5 hours yesterday on my hull sides the thought of "spray on, wipe off" is worth a shot.

Just thought I'd share!

Before:


After:

Ahhh....I can remember when I was younger and could take on that job. Now it hurts just thinking about it (-:

The boat looks good.

Stee6043 said:

There were a handful of others in the building while I was there and I was fortunate to get some solid advice on some useful products. First is "Hull Kleen" (BioKleen). It's an acid cleaner, something I've never used. A gentlemen let me use a few squirts on the brown scumline on the front of my hull and it worked amazingly. In the photos below you can see the before/after under the "step" in the hull at the forward edge. The amount of effort required to remove that scum was nearly 0, wipe away. Super great stuff. Maybe everybody already knows about this but it's new to me. It's definitely going to become a part of my cleaning arsenal. $19.99 on Amazon.

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Looks good!!! I can save you $18 next season though: Just grab a bottle of the cheapest toilet bowl cleaner you can find.

I make sure to keep it away from bottom paint and I keep a mix of baking soda and water nearby to neutralize any splashes/spills.

RollerCoastr said:

Looks good!!! I can save you $18 next season though: Just grab a bottle of the cheapest toilet bowl cleaner you can find.

I make sure to keep it away from bottom paint and I keep a mix of baking soda and water nearby to neutralize any splashes/spills.

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I have a boat neighbor that uses toilet bowl cleaner and I watch him use quite a bit of elbow grease to break free the scum line each fall. Watching him scrub is the only reason I never went that route. Maybe he's using the wrong brand/type? It's a blue gel....seemed pretty typical.

Mary Kate on and off use a little chip brush or foam brush and just like the product says put it on take it off with the hose Next to no effort at all cleans the waterline perfectly

just look for any cleaner that has oxalic acid as the main ingredient....there are several common ones including rust stain removers....or you can purchase a couple lbs. of oxalic acid powder and make your own solution in water....if there is a sufficient concentration of acid in the solution you just spray it on the stain and watch in amazement how the stain just melts away...then rinse with fresh water....

cliff

CliffA said:

just look for any cleaner that has oxalic acid as the main ingredient....there are several common ones including rust stain removers....or you can purchase a couple lbs. of oxalic acid powder and make your own solution in water....if there is a sufficient concentration of acid in the solution you just spray it on the stain and watch in amazement how the stain just melts away...then rinse with fresh water....

cliff

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My bottle of Hull Kleen actually delivered from Amazon yesterday. Based on my experience mentioned above I think it's going to be a go-to cleaner for me. I assume I could do it cheaper, potentially, but $19.99 delivered is hardly excessive for the likes of us boaters.

Biokleen based out of Kalamazoo, and have a small store inside the facility. Stock up when you are in the area. Nice folks.

Stee6043 said:

I have a boat neighbor that uses toilet bowl cleaner and I watch him use quite a bit of elbow grease to break free the scum line each fall. Watching him scrub is the only reason I never went that route. Maybe he's using the wrong brand/type? It's a blue gel....seemed pretty typical.

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I use Sno Bowl, which is hydrochloric acid and some blue dye. It eliminates scum lines on contact. I let it sit/apply a few times on the calcification at the AC discharge through-hulls though.

We use Slimy Grimmy, works the same way but no harmful effects, spray it on, walk away, come back and wax over it.

So I went 50% on the advice I got two weeks ago. The Hull Kleen is awesome. Works like a charm. The Hydrosilex....sadly....absolute garbage. Hopefully this post can save someone $50. Actually...$75 since I bought their pre-cleaner too.

Today I did side-by-side with the Hydrosilex vs my old standby Maguires Flagship before starting in on the entire deck. The Hydro did absolutely nothing to the foredeck on my boat. I reapplied 3 times. Under nice bright lighting you could see absolutely no change in the appearance of the deck area that I tested it on no matter which angle you looked from. The Maguires left the usual and expected improvement in shine.

I don't know why the hull on my neighbors boat appeared to look pretty good using the Hydro. I wonder if he had a better base of wax already on the boat or something else. Strange.

A big waste of coin. But worth a shot I guess. The upside to Hyrdrosilex is that it does smell nice (their rewind, mostly) so I will probably use the rest of it to clean my toilets.