Freaking Barnacles; Any Tricks to Remove?

Sharphooks

Sharphooks

Well-Known Member
Spent the morning under my trailer getting the calipers off for a complete brake rebuild and what do I see? A nice little sub-development of barnacles. Since I owned the boat it sits on a trailer when it's not swimming but it appears the previous owner kept it at a marina.

So the roofs and the children's bedrooms and the livingrooms have been removed on most of them but if you rub your hand over what's left of the basements, no doubt it disrupts laminar flow and compromises efficiency

So I crawled under there with a 1600 PSI power washer, gave therm a real long blast, and they stuck their tongues out at me.

Is there anything short of sandpaper that will get barnacles off fiberglass?

thanks!
 
once your boat has been out of water for awhile they dry out and die then the power washer will blast em off easier, worked on my boats
 
Hey Sculpin

No bottom paint---just high-gloss fiberglass. Boat's been on a trailer for a year now so they're about as dry as they're going to get, bee15. Power washer didn't work---tried that . I shied away from a scraper because of the high-gloss but it's looking like elbow-grease is the only thing that will work
 
The scraper will work great just be careful. I would grind off the corners of the scraper first, because that is what is going to dig in and cut the gelcoat.
 
sharphooks said:
So the roofs and the children's bedrooms and the livingrooms have been removed on most of them but if you rub your hand over what's left of the basements, no doubt it disrupts laminar flow and compromises efficiency. Is there anything short of sandpaper that will get barnacles off fiberglass?
thanks!
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okay - the artillery for barnacle residue is muriatic acid (get it at hardware stores - used by brick mason's for clean-up). Use eye, lung and skin protection - it's nasty stuff. Use diluted (add 25 - 30% acid to water), spray on, let it cook for a few minutes and wash off. It dissolves them. Repeat if necessary (but it's usually done in one shot.) No harm to the 'glass.
 
If they are dried out but still tough and you do not want to go nuclear as per Foxsea’s suggestion; I find they are easier to remove with a little vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray it on and let soak in and dry a time or two and they turn chalky and come off easy. This especially helps in places where you cannot get at them easy to scrape and want to blast them out.
 
A few years back my boat bottom was covered with barnacles. It was my intention to get the boat out and get them off. But the weather turned and I did not get round to it for about two months. The rain had diluted Sooke basin to the point they all died. Moral. If you can put your boat into fresh water for a while, you won't have to do anything else.
 
Thanks for all the comments, Gents. Will probably go the vinegar route first--using muriatic acid upside down on my back under a trailer with one foot of clearance sounds sketchy.
 
sharphooks said:
Thanks for all the comments, Gents. Will probably go the vinegar route first--using muriatic acid upside down on my back under a trailer with one foot of clearance sounds sketchy.
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HCL is inexpensive but unless you can employ good personal protective equipment, I wouldn't use it either. Acid burns take a long time to heal so if you try it, have running water close by, just in case. A spray bottle on "stream" (certainly not mist) will shoot 3-4 feet though. It works really well in the complex areas around the outboard tilt-trim rams.

More powerful than vinegar but less hazardous than HCL: try an oxalic / phosphoric acid cleaner like "Bartender's Friend" or CLR may work, too.
 
I've used caustic cleaners on the fiberglass before and while it doesn't harm the fiberglass it does remove all the wax from the surface. The wax that comes with any new boat sprayed with gelcoat. Once that wax is removed you will get that yellowing/staining of the gelcoat at an accelerated rate. To the point where it is almost impossible to keep up with it if you moor for any length of time. It doesn't hurt anything but doesn't look as good as it should. I do use muriatic acid on stainless trim tabs, to clean zincs, etc....I wear rubber gloves and brush it on with a cheap paint brush I can throw away afterwards.
 
Hey guys, I can appreciated the desire to keep your boats looking and running great. But what has to be considered when using toxic and harmful chemicals is the effects it will have on the local waters and ecosystem. As far as I know, BC has some pretty outdated and barbaric storm sewer systems, and with no filtering in place, it all will eventually end up in a local stream, lake, river, or oceans.
220px-Storm_Drain_Label_EPA.jpg
 
Dave S said:
Hey guys, I can appreciated the desire to keep your boats looking and running great. But what has to be considered when using toxic and harmful chemicals is the effects it will have on the local waters and ecosystem. As far as I know, BC has some pretty outdated and barbaric storm sewer systems, and with no filtering in place, it all will eventually end up in a local stream, lake, river, or oceans.
220px-Storm_Drain_Label_EPA.jpg
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Great consideration, Dave. HCL is neutralized as soon as it his a concrete storm drain (very common), a benched manhole or lime-bearing soil. If used, it should be used in small quantitites. Actually better enviro-wise, than the high phosphate cleaners (TSP).
 
Foxsea said:
Great consideration, Dave. HCL is neutralized as soon as it his a concrete storm drain (very common), a benched manhole or lime-bearing soil. If used, it should be used in small quantitites. Actually better enviro-wise, than the high phosphate cleaners (TSP).
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I have trouble believing that such a toxic substance is neutralized just by flowing over concrete into storm drain. For every gallon of hcl used, you'd need 5 lbs of a neutralizing agent like baking soda to make it non toxic. Just have trouble with the assumption that all this toxic waste will neutralize from contact with concrete. I mean you can use it to clean concrete so it must not neutralize that easily.
Would you water your veggie garden with the run off from an hcl application? Just want folks to think before they use.
 
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Now you know why those big old sailing boats sat in river mouths for months. Fresh water, the natural way. I now people who take their boat into Langford Lake for a few days and voila. No salt water marine growth.
 
Theb55 said:
Now you know why those big old sailing boats sat in river mouths for months. Fresh water, the natural way. I now people who take their boat into Langford Lake for a few days and voila. No salt water marine growth.
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Hmmmm... What do I want to do?
1. Scrub my hull with HCL :(; or
2. Park my boat in a lake :D.

F D
 
Dave S said:
Just have trouble with the assumption that all this toxic waste will neutralize from contact with concrete. I mean you can use it to clean concrete so it must not neutralize that easily.
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Dave, please...
Before we get too carried away: HCL = gastric (stomach) acid. Heartburn? Use baking soda or calcium carbonate (TUMs for your tummy = limestone) to neutralize it... or concrete or barnacles will, as well.

I doubt that anyone would need a gallon to clean a few barnacles (25:1 = 4 gallons in use) - more likely 250 ml. Most is neutralized by the calcium carbonate in the barnacle shells (removing them) and any residue, by contact with concrete, CaCo3 in the soil, etc. - it's chemistry not speculation. The neutralization by-products are water and CO2. Give it a try, then to quell your concerns, use a ph test strip (for a pool or spa) to check that the residue is neutralized prior to release. BTW, where does the chlorine-contaminated, drained spa water go? Likely a much bigger issue for our fish.

But it's sure good by me to go to the lake for a few days. :)
 
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Foxsea said:
Dave, please...
Before we get too carried away: HCL = gastric (stomach) acid. Heartburn? Use baking soda or calcium carbonate (TUMs for your tummy = limestone) to neutralize it... or concrete or barnacles will, as well.

I doubt that anyone would need a gallon to clean a few barnacles (25:1 = 4 gallons in use) - more likely 250 ml. Most is neutralized by the calcium carbonate in the barnacle shells (removing them) and any residue, by contact with concrete, CaCo3 in the soil, etc. - it's chemistry not speculation. The neutralization by-products are water and CO2. Give it a try, then to quell your concerns, use a ph test strip (for a pool or spa) to check that the residue is neutralized prior to release. BTW, where does the chlorine-contaminated, drained spa water go? Likely a much bigger issue for our fish.

But it's sure good by me to go to the lake for a few days. :)
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Alright Foxsea, if you think it's a good idea to flush muriatic acid into our drains ie: streams, rivers, lakes, oceans in confidence that it has all been neutralized from enough contact with concrete, barnacles, lime in soil,etc.....have at er. I just like to play it cautious when it come to feeding our waters with chemicals.

Does chlorinated spa water actually get poured down our drains? That sounds awfully irresponsible for anyone to do. Is that even legal?
 
Dave S said:
Alright Foxsea, if you think it's a good idea to flush muriatic acid into our drains ie: streams, rivers, lakes, oceans in confidence that it has all been neutralized from enough contact with concrete, barnacles, lime in soil,etc.....have at er. Does chlorinated spa water actually get poured down our drains? That sounds awfully irresponsible for anyone to do. Is that even legal?
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Thanks Dave. I agree that we should be cautious however, a small point: I do not recall saying that "...it's a good idea to flush muriatic acid into our drains." That may be happening at industrial facilities though. What I did say was to use a test strip to provide assurance before draining, as is recommended below*.

Another bigger fish to fry:
Spa and pool water is regularly discharged, directly or indirectly to storm drains. It should be neutralized but do you recall ever seeing chlorine or bromine neutralizer on the shelf at Canadian Tire for the DIYer? A responsible spa service company likely will neutralize but do you know anyone that polices this?

* Correct procedure for disposal of pool or spa waste water (a very dilute bleach solution) to sanitary sewer sytems:
1. If the municipal authority grants permission, you can discharge pool backwash water, pool and spa cleaning wastewater and standing water to the sanitary sewer system.

Neutralize water before discharge by following these steps:
a) Prior to disposal of pool water to a sanitary sewer, shut off the chlorination or brominating system or stop adding chemicals.
b) Hold the water in the pool or hot tub for at least two weeks to allow the chlorine or bromine to dissipate.
c) Measure the levels in the pool or hot tub prior to discharging the water. The water should not show any detectable levels of chlorine or bromine.
A longer holding period may be necessary if levels continue to remain at detectable. Analysis can be done with a chlorine test kit (colorimetric).

Reality prevails - the above is not likely to happen.
FYI: I did actually test a 30% muriatic solution on my concrete driveway. 5 pumps of a small spray bottle on an area 60 X 60 cm., then lightly rinsed with water. The ph = 7.5 after 5 minutes. No drainage - all dissipated by evaporation. I suspect if this was done with barnacles the results would be similar.
 
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