Lemon juice

SFS

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Aug 18, 2015
2,065
Currently Boatless Okinawa
I hear it anesthetizes as it burns. Yeesh.
That's what they told us in the lab, that it wouldn't hurt until later. Tissue doesn't stop it, your flesh erodes to the bone. If you are burned over a large enough area, it will mess with your calcium metabolism and cause cardiac arrest. The first aid treatment these days is apparently a water rinse and calcium gluconate gel, but I seem to remember sodium thiosulfate solution being pulled out to have standing by. Of course that was 35 years ago, and I've slept since then.
 
Sep 30, 2013
3,538
1988 Catalina 22 North Florida
The juice didn't stain our white bottom paint. We're in the water so very friendly to the fish and I can use the leftovers in my rum drinks.

All U Get
Also, if you get boarded by pirates, you could use some in a squirt bottle and spray it in their eyes.

Right??
 

Bob S

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Sep 27, 2007
1,771
Beneteau 393 New Bedford, MA
So what's the active ingredient in Marykate On & Off? I've been using that following Maine's buffing instructions since 2008. I know it's not safe but it sure works fast.
 
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Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
@centerline - I'm just curious, what are you using HF for? That is some NASTY stuff. I had to play with it once in my career.
yes it is nasty... its the only acid that will eat its way thru a glass container.
I have a pvc tank full of the stuff that I immerse rusty parts in.... it eats away all traces of rust within 12-36 hours, but the steel/iron is left unharmed in that amount of time.... steel/iron can go 7-10 day without any measurable erosion.... I have a few other uses for it too but this is the reason why I have it in such quantity. almost anywhere an acid is needed, hydrofluoric will work at a proper dilution strength for the task...
 
Jun 2, 2007
403
Beneteau First 375 Slidell, LA
I have a pvc tank full of the stuff that I immerse rusty parts in...
I guess it must be really dilute - the stuff at the refinery was as concentrated as they could get it, because small amounts of water would actually make it more corrosive to the steel vessels and piping. And as far as I know, everythig SFS said is correct. Keeping a vat of HF just sitting around is a totally new concept to me.
 
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Jun 21, 2007
2,105
Hunter Cherubini 36_80-82 Sausalito / San Francisco Bay
While on the topic of dollar store cleaning products:

- I have posted this before; (quite a few years ago though). "The Works" at Dollar Tree ( https://www.dollartree.com/catalog/...d=6065&entityType=product&isAlt=false&index=0) does an incredible job of removing tannin stains from fiberglass. Included on it's list of active ingredients are oxalic acid and sulfamic acid. Attached is a picture taken several years ago of my topsides near the water line while my boat was on the hard. The white round area turned from tannin enhanced brown to gelcoat white after two applications with a wet paper towel of "the Works". Now, every couple of years, before waxing, I wipe the entire hull a couple of times with a sponge saturated with "the Works"to eliminate stains and knock down mineral deposit buildup. All I need for my 36' boat is two bottles =$2.00. I use a sponge rather than a garden sprayer to eliminate "drip downs" onto the bottom paint and boot stripe paint.

- I remember reading an article (again several years ago) by a consumer reporting agency about the things one can buy at dollar stores for a real bargain of savings vs. going for the brand name equivalents. Number one on the list was cleaning products. A spray bottle of "Fantastic" might set one back $3-4. A similar type of cleaner at a dollar store is $1. On the "don't consider" list was batteries. Generally low quality that will go dead fast at best, and can leak and destroy your L.E.D flashlight.
 

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Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
So what's the active ingredient in Marykate On & Off? I've been using that following Maine's buffing instructions since 2008. I know it's not safe but it sure works fast.
@Bob S I found the msds for it.
It is a mix of hydrochloric, phosphoric and oxalic plus a surfactant and water
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
:laugh:


I suspect the length of a thread is related to the weather
 

Bob S

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Sep 27, 2007
1,771
Beneteau 393 New Bedford, MA
I think I'll try lime juice next.
I thought it was lemon juice?

It's funny, I bought citric acid in powder form from the food network to see if I could make a strong enough solution to clean rust off stainless steel. Never was successful. Maybe I can try it on the hull. It works well making sour dough pizzas!

Thanks Rgranger - I knew it was nasty but it doesn't take much and works almost instant.
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
I guess it must be really dilute - the stuff at the refinery was as concentrated as they could get it, because small amounts of water would actually make it more corrosive to the steel vessels and piping. And as far as I know, everythig SFS said is correct. Keeping a vat of HF just sitting around is a totally new concept to me.
im not sure what the strength of it is... I get it from the chemical company and the lable says "hydrofluoric acid (concentrated)" and and a lot of numbers following that mean something to someone other than me.... and a LOT of warnings.
my "Vats" or tanks, whichever you want to call them, are not steel, but PVC. its much safer to keep the stuff stored in the tank where it gets used, rather than pumping it back and forth into the barrel every time... and they ARE covered tanks so nothing can get into it accidentally....
 
Oct 29, 2005
2,355
Hunter Marine 326 303 Singapore
I hear it anesthetizes as it burns. Yeesh.
...and it seeks out calcium in your bones too! Have had a colleague die from HF splash. Horrible indeed.
Just stick with lemon juice and vinegar and all is good. :D
 
Jan 25, 2011
2,391
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
Clean it up the best you can by "the chosen means". The sun will bleach the rest out...
 
Aug 27, 2013
41
Moody 346 Kenosha
I had two vats of concentrated HF (2000 gal & 3000 gal) one was heated to 100°C....
The union contract said their guys didn't have to maintain the tanks. That was left to the science types (like me) to crawl under those things and look for leaks...
But to be honest, there are worse (much worse!) chemicals out there.
That being said, I will never be using it on my boat. Nor will anyone give me a valid reason to keep even a dilute solution in a residential area.

I use a paste of baking soda (weak acid) to rub in and scrub/rinse with vinegar then water.
A little more elbow grease? Yep. But no denatured proteins in my hands/face/or lungs.
 
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