GonzoF1 wrote:
All of my thru-hulls have that green coating of corrosion (before I fixed the bonding system), is there a simple method to clean it off?
*Here's something for you to think about.* I saw this on a rare-coin site.* It said that---
"While a patina (the hard green coating on most bronze coins) is the result of corrosion, a patina actually seals and protects coins."
But before you get to thinking that the green is always good, the article goes on to talk about what they call "bronze disease" which is also green but is the result of electro-chemical corrosion of copper and copper alloys (like bronze).* So the character of the green coating will depend on what's going on with the component and the "environment" that it's in.
When we first got our boat we were in a dealer slip next to a brand new Krogen.* On our 1973 boat, just about all the exterior hardware--- stanchions, cleats, door hinges, nav light housings, vents, etc. are bronze.* On the Krogen, all this stuff was stainless.* One day the Krogen owner, who spent a lot of time polishing his stainless rails, stanchions, etc, looked over at us and said, "You people with older boats are really lucky.* You don't do squat to your bronze hardware, it turns green, and everyone tells you what a great looking boat you have.* If I don't keep all this stainless polished, everyone thinks I'm letting my boat run down."
All our through hulls and seacocks are green or green-ish, and they're all properly bonded.* Scratch them and they are shiny bronze colored underneath, not pink.* I think you will find the same situation on just about every boat with bronze hardware.* Unless you want the green gone just because you want the green gone, I don't think I'd worry about it.* Keeping them polished or not green is way too much work and will be as much an ongoing maintenance chore as varnishing exterior trim.
-- Edited by Marin on Saturday 19th of November 2011 10:34:54 PM