Best Way to Clean Scum Line and Soot/Exhaust Buildup

G

gengiant

New Member
Oct 5, 2006
268
Sacramento, CA
Boat Info
1994 270 DA
Engines
7.3L BRIII
For me, all the fun of boating trips end when I put the boat back on the trailer and then have to deal with the scum line and exhaust buildup on the transom. Based on the previous owner's m.o. and suggestion, I used to use "on/off" acid wash. With proper breathing and skin protection the studd actually worked quite well. Eventually, however, I started worrying about the acid's effect on my allready somewhat rusty trailer as well the negative impacts on the environment. So I stopped using it. Well, now I find it almost impossible to get rid of the line and cr-- on the transom without the use of some type of cleaner/polishing compound or items like Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (another mild abrasive...).

What have you found to work best on your boat? Do I need to go back to using "on/off"?

Thanks!
 
gengiant said:
For me, all the fun of boating trips end when I put the boat back on the trailer and then have to deal with the scum line and exhaust buildup on the transom. Based on the previous owner's m.o. and suggestion, I used to use "on/off" acid wash. With proper breathing and skin protection the studd actually worked quite well. Eventually, however, I started worrying about the acid's effect on my allready somewhat rusty trailer as well the negative impacts on the environment. So I stopped using it. Well, now I find it almost impossible to get rid of the line and cr-- on the transom without the use of some type of cleaner/polishing compound or items like Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (another mild abrasive...).

What have you found to work best on your boat? Do I need to go back to using "on/off"?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


on/off is the best


you can use spray nine right after you pull boat from water, but when you let it dry it is going to be very difficult to clean scum line

BTW on/off kills galvanized trailers
 
If SprayNine marine spray does not take it off, I take a mild compound and then finish off with a wax. Sometimes FSR muriatic acid works too, especially with rust stains, but it is hard on the gel coat.
 
Here are a few sugestions, but I don't highly recommend them becuase they are a little hard on the gelcoat if caution isn't taken when using any of these products. After using any of them I would highly recommend waxing your hull. If you don't the stains will be right back.

1st.- CLR for the light stuff.

2nd.- If thats not strong enough, west marine has a hull cleaner that works on the scum line ok...

3rd. for the nasty stuff that just won't come off with anything else, about a 6 to 1 mix of muratic acid. Use a garden srayer for application.(This will also brighten up the old galvanized trailer too) Rinse IMMEDIATLY after application.

Then, at least two good waxings. your gelcoat is clean down to the pores. As previosly mentioned, re-wax after using any of these products.
 
Try Slimey-Grimey. Mix a few tablespoons with hot water in a spray bottle. Spray on and watch it disapear. Rinse and done.
 
I use Tidy Bowl toilet cleaner. Cheap and works like a champ. Zing is good too (muriatic acid). The toilet cleaner work fine 99% of the time.
 
ANGEL ANNE said:
Try Slimey-Grimey. Mix a few tablespoons with hot water in a spray bottle. Spray on and watch it disapear. Rinse and done.
Click to expand...

ANGEL ANNE,

Thanks for the suggestion! I googled Slimy Grimy and actually was able to locate it at my local Marine Max. According to Slimy Grimy's web site the stuff is non-corrosive and should thus be MUCH easier on my trailer than on/off ever was. It's not cheap ($30, incl. tax) for a 1# can of granules, but that should go a long way. We'll see how it works. Otherwise I might just have to consider some of the other suggestions, though I will probably shy away from the various acid-based cleaners some people have suggested I use. After all, I did just spend $3,000 to get my trailer completely "renovated". :smt089
 
This is amazing! I got a price from the Slimy Grimy web site of $26.95 + $9.40 S&H for the 1# can of granules. But when I went by my local Marine Max last night, they sold me a 1# can for $21.90 out the door! :smt038 They, too, highly recommended that stuff. Additionally, I thought of another great use for it. I just drained my hottub for the summer...well, guess what? Slimy Grimy should do wonders for the cleanup! I'll find out this weekend.
 
Toilet cleaner.... pool acid.... yikes... anyone get to the part of the manual where it lists what not to use on your gelcoat. :grin: It sounds as though you trailer your boat thus I would guess no really long term scum lines. If you keep the hull waxed simple boat soap and water will remove the Sacramento River/Delta scum line. I have had a weeks worth of that lovely scum come off easily with boat soap and water. I am of the opinion that the time spent on a good polish and wax job will net considerable time savings at wash time.
 
280 SeaRay said:
Toilet cleaner.... pool acid.... yikes... anyone get to the part of the manual where it lists what not to use on your gelcoat. :grin: It sounds as though you trailer your boat thus I would guess no really long term scum lines. If you keep the hull waxed simple boat soap and water will remove the Sacramento River/Delta scum line. I have had a weeks worth of that lovely scum come off easily with boat soap and water. I am of the opinion that the time spent on a good polish and wax job will net considerable time savings at wash time.
Click to expand...

Hi Jeremy,

I agree 100% with your comment re the toilet cleaner, pool acid, etc. that people have suggested I try. I also agree that the Delta and local lakes scum lines can usually be wiped off easily enough. However, cleaning up the transom, or, alternatively, cleaning up the scum line after sometimes only a few hours on SF Bay is a different story. I keep my hull reasonably well waxed and still, it's prooven to be nearly impossible to get rid of the scum line using basic boat cleaners and soaps. I did try the Slimy Grimy on my transom yesterday and it worked quite well - not as good as "on/off" has in the past, but I hope that Slimy Grimy will be a bit easier on my trailer than "on/off" was.

Btw. Jeremy, could it be that your dark hull simply doesn't show the remains of the "cleaned" scum line the way my white hull does? :wink: But yes, your boat is absolutely beautiful (I think that it was you I saw at the dock at Brown's Ravine a week ago - if not, it was another new dark-hulled Sea Ray - gorgeous! :thumbsup:
 
280 SeaRay said:
Toilet cleaner.... pool acid.... yikes... anyone get to the part of the manual where it lists what not to use on your gelcoat.
Click to expand...

Power washing bottoms followed by an acid wash of the boot stripe is pretty much the standard procedure that our local marinas use when boats are pulled for storage. This has no adverse effects on the gel coat. My 37 SR had a swim platform that was a duck magnet. The nonskid had a sandlike finish that was hard to clean. Tidy Bowl was the cheapest and easiest way to keep it looking like new. I was at an owners rendezous last summer and the topic of cleaning non skid was discussed. Soft n Scrub with bleach was recommended by the factory rep. All of these products remove wax but that is easy to touch up.
 
Another Voice

being one to alwasy try the easiest and cheapest route to fixxing a problem first ... I bought a gallon of this stuff called Formula 88 at my local Walgreens drug store. The lable clained it was an excellent low foam degreaser and was good for cars and boats etc. I needed just that a low foaming cleaner for the bilge and the price was close to a gallon of coke so I gave it a go. It was $4.88 a gallon, but you use it pretty much straight from the bottle. (Now West Marine ) carries this stuff and has it in mountains in their stores.

This cleaer is a spray it on and rinse it off cleaner ... if the surface is really grimy, hit it with a deck brush ... Shazaam, sparklying clean, no foaming and is squeeky clean. Exhaust, oily grime just disappears. This stuff is the bomb and it doesn't seem to strip the wax. :grin:

Now That Big Store chain has something called "Roll Off" which is claimed ot be the same as F-88 but concentrated, makes 20 gallons of RFU cleaner.
 
Bump...this topic. I'll be doing a cleaning this weekend when I pull my boat out. Does "on/off" or any other acid base products ruin bottom paint if it runs down on it?
 
"ruin" is a strong word but if you let On/Off hit your bottom paint, it can react with the copper in it and turn it green. Do small sections at a time and don't let it sit and rinse right away to minimize the issue... On/Off will take off just about any scum line though.
 
Yes. It does turn the bottom paint green. I deal with this issue by using lots of water, but you really need repaint the water line and touch up the smile.
 
1 gallon of warm water, 1 cup of ammonia, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup baking soda, mix well, pour into spray bottle and you can safely use this on anything in the boat
 
Ummmmm

Vinegar then baking soda ... an acid then an alkali .. yields a salt and what happens to the ammonia ... it snot passive in this chemical stew ... I'll have to do the work up on this one.

Perhaps the vinegar and ammonia as a cleaner and a baking soda rinse would make sense, just not in the same solution.

Anyway, the OP struggles with waterline clean up ...

Just curious, do you scrub the water line as you pull the boat up on to the trailer or after you've left the ramp?


If the former, a pole brush and a squirt bottle of good degreaser would seem to me to be the ticket.

My boat doesn't haul onto a trailer, but periodically I get in the water with fins and a mask and with scrunge scrubber and a squeeze ketchup like bottle filled with degreaser. I squirt the cleaner into the scrubber as I work the water line, it goes on concentrated. As I take a swim and scrub the water line I keep things tidy and all ship shape.
 
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