Algae and mold on fiberglass boat

Grime Busters LLC

New member
This is a first for me, so I ask for your suggestions.

Just had a customer call me who just pulled his boat our of a local lake. Been sitting for several years apparently. He states the hull has excessive algae and mildew.

It's a fiberglass hull, so high pressure is not an option. With a solution of bleach and Dawn work on a project like this, or what would you guys suggest.

As always, your professional advice and willingness to help is always appreciated.
 
If that does not work you might try Hull Cleaner by Starbrite. That is what I use on my boat when the hull starts to get brown and it makes it bright white again. Just spray it on and wipe it off.

Good Luck
 
I use a pump sprayer. Just guessing but maybe a 1/2 to 3/4 cup in a 3 gal sprayer. I tried all kinds of stuff before. I kept a boat slipped on Lake Michigan in some pretty dirty water near steel mills and it did the job. Just spayed let it dwell a few minutes rinse and repeat. Don't know if it works everywhere but it did there.
 
You'll probably find that there's more nastiness on there besides the mold and mildew. My boat used to get a brown buildup on it and I used Calcium Lime Rust remover to take it off (CLR). It's an acidic product so the OX would probably work too. I don't know if it's bad for the fiberglass though. Probably would be a good idea to ask a boat expert before attacking it.
 
You'll probably find that there's more nastiness on there besides the mold and mildew. My boat used to get a brown buildup on it and I used Calcium Lime Rust remover to take it off (CLR). It's an acidic product so the OX would probably work too. I don't know if it's bad for the fiberglass though. Probably would be a good idea to ask a boat expert before attacking it.

I tried straight CLR Chris and I swear the slime just giggled at me. The CLR didn't faze this crap. Glad I spent the $16.50 on the Hull cleaner product. The OX product worked great, after several applications.

Thanks to all for your suggestions.
 
Wow, nice work! That thing looks brand new. My boat didn't look nearly like that!
 
Jim,,,NICE work on that boat. Damn if that thing doesn't look brand new now. Great Job!!!
 
I tried to up sell a wash and wax. Not like the owner didn't have the $$$, just didn't see the need, since he is selling the boat. Actually the buyer stopped by to check out the boat about 1/2 hour before we were done.

The worst past of this job was having to lay underneath it to get the parts of the hull that were otherwise not accessible.
 
Dang Jim you did TOO good a job! That's why the owner did not want the wax job. I swear it looks like you waxed and buffed it. I got my boat out of storage this afternoon and cleaned it with Oxalic (F8), man it did work great. I wish I would have made before pics. We keep it in the water all summer and man it gets a nasty stain on it! I washed !st with housewash, then did the oxalic like you said, then rinsed, all with 30 orifice nozzles so pressure was kept low never used high pressure at all. I did use a little Dawn with the ox to help it stick a while. The ox really took off a lot of the chalky/oxidized parts too and it looks great.
 
Dang Jim you did TOO good a job! That's why the owner did not want the wax job. I swear it looks like you waxed and buffed it. I got my boat out of storage this afternoon and cleaned it with Oxalic (F8), man it did work great. I wish I would have made before pics. We keep it in the water all summer and man it gets a nasty stain on it! I washed !st with housewash, then did the oxalic like you said, then rinsed, all with 30 orifice nozzles so pressure was kept low never used high pressure at all. I did use a little Dawn with the ox to help it stick a while. The ox really took off a lot of the chalky/oxidized parts too and it looks great.

It's a good idea to give the hull a good wax job once a year, especially after a harse, acid wash. It is imperative to protect the clear coat on the gel coat. Once the clear coat deteriorates, the gel caot will start cracking and failing.

A good quality car wax will do. A carnuba wax will help remove most of the oxidation, if any. If no oxidation is present, I like the Turtle Wax ICE product.
 
Nice Job!

I just washed my boat this weekend, been sitting on the side of my house for a couple months....nothing too crazy, just your typical mold & algae much like on a house wash, DS house wash mix and watched the mold disapear, looks brand new again
 
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