Stained Floor

[Texas Blues]

Sorry if this is in the wrong area, but would like to know what would be the best way to remove rust stains from the floor of this old Renken. And also cleaning the floor as a whole. What is safe to use on fiberglass that would be effective? I will include a picture of the floor if it helps! Thanks.

[the1much]

sand it down and repaint is the ONLY way,,,where to in texas?

[PAR]

Unfortunately, Jim is correct, the sole (floor) and inside flanks of your boat are actually painted (the speckled looking stuff). Even if it was gel coat (like the outside of the boat) some chemicals can remove most of the staining, but there will always be some residual discoloration. Sand and paint. For what it's worth, they used that speckled paint job to hide the fact that the surfaces are quite flawed and uneven. This saved the bother of having to smooth out the inside of the boat and provided some under foot traction when wet. If you look closely, you'll actually see the fibers in the 'glass under the speckle paint.

[alan white]

Try muriatic acid on a small area. It cleans rust stains very well. Eye and hand protection, etc., etc..

Alan

[PAR]

I wonder what the muriatic acid will do to the paint.

[the1much]

ya,,,i've never seen or done it,, so will be coolz to know,,,maybe i found a easier cleanin way hehehe,,,and isnt there something about adding muratic and water/,,,see,,i was told once,,and havent done it yet so forgot the rule,,maybe,,,add acid to water,,,NOT the other way round?

[FAST FRED]

I would try OSPHO , it too is an acid , but very mild.

In the old days as an Outfitter we would mix a bowl of OSPHO with some Joy dish soap.

Scrubbing it in the hardly finished SS on Taiwan boats and then let it sit.
The Joy would dry and hold it in place for hours , enough time to remove some surface iron from the SS.

The SS part would stay rust free for a couple of months , instead of instantly blemishing.

Might work in the floor.

FF

[alan white]

Originally Posted by PAR

I wonder what the muriatic acid will do to the paint.

I used to rebuild restaurant equipment. Two strong agents are opposites of each other on the ph scale. I used a caustic, sodium hydroxide, first to get rid of grease. Then muriatic to get rid of rust. Most of the time muriatic didn't take paint off. For that I used a chemical (solvent) stripper.
Dilute, try it weak, say 4:1, see what happens on a small area. Then progress from there.
Muriatic will dissolve metals, wood, grease, organic material, and a few other things, but it cleans gel-coated fiberglass surfaces beautifully, and often paint too. Rinse thoroughly!

Alan

[charmc]

Alan has a good idea to try. Acid will dissolve/loosen many metalic stains and mineral deposits. A weak acid solution as he described should not hurt the paint. Organic (think dried fish guts, dirt, mold, mildew, etc, will usually respond to a caustic (also called lye or sodium hydroxide) solution, so try both (separately). It might save you a sand and repaint job.

BTW, It's add a little acid or caustic at a time to a bucket of water. Always add a little of the strong stuff to a lot of water. Even then, rubber gloves, eye protection, and plenty of ventilation.