getting rid of the mustache

FYI:
Did you know that diluted lemon juice works great for removing the dreaded ICW mustache. Buy the big bottle at the clubs ie: Sam's, Cosco etc. I dulute mine about 2 parts water to one part juice. Spray on using a recycled former cleaner bottle. Wait a few minutes until the stain is gone than rinse. No harmful chemicals and very inexpensive. The best way to prevent the mustache is a good wax job to seal the gelcoat.

A sealant like Rejex or Zaino works better than the waxes. Once I went that route, all I had to do was wash down regularly with fresh water after a days cruise.

What George said. And any cheap acid based toilet bowl cleaner will remove the stain almost instantly.

Daddyo said:

FYI:
Did you know that diluted lemon juice works great for removing the dreaded ICW mustache..

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Thanks for the tip. I'll pass it on to my wife who is in charge of keeping these kinds of ideas. While we don't get the buildup it sounds like one does on the ICW, after a couple of years of use we do get a bit of a stain going from the bow wave. The things we've used so far with success are Tilex and Mr Clean Magic Erasers. But our boat has 42 year old gel coat from an era when gelcoat was not as good as it became later, so we try to keep the use of anything abrasive to a minimum. The lemon juice idea sounds like another good one to try.

So few boats ever leave the slip, why remove the evidence?

Goof Off

I think I will try the lemon juice. What I use now is a bit nasty. It only takes a teaspoon on a wool pad to do the bow.

FF: "So few boats ever leave the slip, why remove the evidence?"

It's really a badge of honor!

What's wrong with ICW waters? Are they so terribly polluted? Even in the heavily-polluted 1960s SF Bay waters, we had no such problem.

markpierce said:

What's wrong with ICW waters? Are they so terribly polluted? Even in the heavily-polluted 1960s SF Bay waters, we had no such problem.

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It may have to do with something like tanin in the water. Boats that spend a lot of time in parts of the Inside Passage can develop this "brown bow wave," too, although I don't know how it compares to the boats on the ICW.

But I believe the cause up the Passage is the high concentrations of tanin from the trees. It's why some lakes along the coast appear almost black from the air. When you land on them, you see that the water is like dark tea. It's not pollution, at least not in the man-made sense. It's the tanin from the surrounding trees that have been dropping needles and sometimes themselves into the water for eons.

Perhaps the mud in the ICW contains a dye-like content that, when stirred up by the passage of boats, creates the moustache on the bows.

Yes it is tannin. Nothing to do with pollution.

I painted my boat the same color as the stain. Problem gone.

caltexflanc said:

A sealant like Rejex or Zaino works better than the waxes. Once I went that route, all I had to do was wash down regularly with fresh water after a days cruise.

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Yes Also, a waxed hull spring and fall does the trick for me.

Ski in NC said:

I painted my boat the same color as the stain. Problem gone.

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Ski I like your style!

Anything acidic seems to work, but in this case a packaged marine product really does work, FSR. It's just oxalic acid in a gel base, but it is the gel base that is the magic. One, it lets it cling to a brush so you can easily apply it without having to break out a rag by hand. Second, it slows the drying just enough that it works a little longer and better. I like being able to just squirt some on a soft boat deck brush and quickly get a larger area. Don't scrub, let the product work.

The acidic products also work well for rust stains from stainless hardware.

I've used fsr in the past, but after seeing the results of our dog's morning "walk" around our swim platform, after a trip up the pungo alligator canal I think diluted lemon juice or vinegar may be best. They both have a ph of around 2 and our dogs "stuff" is probably around 6+.


Via iPhone.

Depending on how porous your gel coat is may influence your decision.


Mine is very porous and haven't compounded it yet as the other projects have had priority.


I used lemon juice and even after an hour or 2.....stain still remained. Only if I stood there and kept applying it did it work. Not labor intensive...but require multiple applications and some light rubbing.


The toilet bowl cleaners...my fav is "The Works" for a $1 at the dollar store..well I have paid $1.99 for it occasionally.... seem to work in minutes with just a light swipe from a rag or sponge. I do one side...then the other...by the time I'm done it is time to start rinsing from the other side.


Probably a little more harsh...but a couple ounces does my stache and the acid isn't srtong enough to burn my hands if I pick up the rag without gloves...

psneeld said:

The toilet bowl cleaners...my fav is "The Works" for a $1 at the dollar store..well I have paid $1.99 for it occasionally.... seem to work in minutes with just a light swipe from a rag or sponge. I do one side...then the other...by the time I'm done it is time to start rinsing from the other side.
..

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That is also what we use.

on the works. Fast and easy.

We use "Wood Bleach" it is Oxilic acid and come as a dry power you mix with water in a bucket then apply with your deck brush. No need to scrub....apply let sit for 5 minutes the wash off and the stain is gone. The little container below makes many many gallons. Mix it weak at first then more strong until it removes the stain. Works great on rust too...and is cheap and widely available at Ace hardware and paint stores.

http://www.amazon.com/Savogran-1050...F8&qid=1422797684&sr=8-4&keywords=wood+bleach

We use Oxalic Acid for rust stains and the mustache. We buy it in bulk, dry powder. Mix 1-2 table spoons/quart of water, use a garden sprayer, a spray bottle or sponge, then rinse. You can buy 2 pounds for $10.25 with free shipping. That should be about a lifetimes supply (around 8 gallons of liquid).



Oxalic Acid 99 5 2 lb Metal Cleaning Rust Removal | eBay

Ditto on the Goof Off. Comes off instantly.

Think I'll keep my mousache. It seems to complete the "madman in the anchorage" persona I like to perpetuate, thereby ensuring adequate privacy.

This might be a record. A discussion of this length on this subject and no mention of Bar Keeper's friend????

RT Firefly said:

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Yup, that's about the usual reaction...especially when I silently dinghy over to other boats at first light, sloooowly raise my head up, and peer into portholes

Spottsville said:

We use "Wood Bleach" it is Oxilic acid and come as a dry power you mix with water in a bucket then apply with your deck brush. No need to scrub....apply let sit for 5 minutes the wash off and the stain is gone. The little container below makes many many gallons. Mix it weak at first then more strong until it removes the stain. Works great on rust too...and is cheap and widely available at Ace hardware and paint stores.

http://www.amazon.com/Savogran-1050...F8&qid=1422797684&sr=8-4&keywords=wood+bleach

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The post office made me come get mine from them. No home delivery. I guess a couple pounds white powder got their attention lol