Removing Seawater Corrosion

[Gary Wyngarden]

Hi Gordon,About two months ago the ciphon vent on my Yanmar failed, spraying the starboard side of my engine with sea water. I replaced the vent and thought I had done a thorough job of getting the salt water off everything. Now I'm finding corrosion developing in hard to reach, nooks and crannies of the engine. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where that came from. Do you have any suggestions for me as to how to promptly get rid of the corrosion before it gets any worse? Thanks for your help.Gary WyngardenS/V Shibumi H335

 

[Paul Akers]

Yanmar Paint

Gary, I bought some Yanmar grey paint from Yanmar ($9.00). I had seawater drip off of the heat exchanger hose. After I brushed the area with a small brush I painted it and it looked just fine. I do see some salt crystals returning, so I guess I'll have to wash it again. I do know it doesn't drip any more, so I must not have cleaned it well enough.

 

[red coles]

Re: corrosion

Hello GARY:If by corrosion ,you mean rust,I would suggest you apply a rust converter before painting. This will convert the rust to a harmless coating ( most convert to iron phospate) and prevent rust from returning. Good luck red

 

[Gordon Torresen]

External corrosion

A good question and a couple of good replying posts. If you have any accumulation of salt, you must first get rid of it. I would suggest using water and a small stainless steel wire brush. If you are gutsy enough a high pressure power wash would be good. Power washers are available that put out high pressure and low volume. At any rate, remove as much of the contamination as possible, dry the area well, work some rust converter into the nooks and crannies and then spray the area with a good engine paint. You want to get the paint into the N&K's which is sometimes difficult without having paint running all over the place. This might be better done with a small, stiff brush. We often see engines that look like rust piles. It is good to hear that someone cares for the appearance. It sure makes it easier to spot potential problems more easily. It also helps to keep that surveyor from saying bad things when you go to sell the boat.