Barnacle removal anybody?

[Ed Schenck]

Does anyone have a special formula that removes the remnants of barnacles? I worked on the prop and shaft for about an hour today. And forgot to take an "after" picture to go with the "before" picture. I used one of those steely wool like brushes in my drill. But the white stuff is really stubborn. And I have some on the hull, mostly on the bootstripe on tne bow. A sander hardly touches the stuff. And I do not want to damage the gelcoat. Any ideas?

 

[Ron20324]

I was pleasantly surprised to see what On and Off would do to the critters on my bulb keel last year.

 

[Rich Stidger]

I'll cast another vote with Ron for On and Off on gelcoat and with caution on stainless.

My prop is all stainless and I routinely use a SS wire wheel in my drill. Usually only a few spots remain after that process that need to be cleaned-up with a sharp putty knife.

 

[seadaddler]

Putty knife sand paper

Hey ED I have only dive under my boat with scuba and only have used heavy duty putty knife and heavy duty sand paper makes my prop look like new,I onlly have slime on the hull last time I looked and hoping soon to dive again and finding no problems with barnacles.
Nick

 

[Alan]

Best stuff I've ever used is Barnacle Buster. It's safe to use without protective clothing and non toxic. Just soak the prop in a bucket of the stuff and the barnacles disappear in minutes. It's safe for use on all metals.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

when I was in college I worked in a boat yard on weekends.

the trick they did, was lightly hit the barnacles with a torch as the boat comes out of the water (1st hour). (w/ a fan type tip on propane bottle).

seems that kills the live barnacles quickly and they crumble off much easier to remove than if they die a slow death.

ymmv.

 

[jimmcgee]

Someone on another forum suggested CLR (calcium/lime/rust remover).

Sounds good since shells are made of calcium. I'll let you know in a couple of weeks how it worked :neutral: