Barnacles & Hypalon :(

[Kirkey]

Hi All

First time poster so I guess I'd better introduce myself as I can definitely imagine annoying you all with loads of questions in the coming weeks... sorry in advance. I'm an RYA PBI and have always been much more on-the-user and general upkeep-of-boats so this is my first proper foray into the dirty side of powerboating
So, I'm getting my University's SubAqua Club's RIB back up to scratch after it was left on a mooring for over a year gathering dust, sealife and rainwater (transom was about 3 inches below the waterline )

So far I've managed to remove the fish and crabs from inside the boat, and scraped the barnacle shells from the bottom (going to remove the barnacle 'feet' remaining with diluted HCl and sponges) but, as the boat was weighed down so much, the back 1/2 of the sponsons were submerged and are coated in barnacles... any suggestions at all as to how to get rid of them without damaging the hypalon?

Cheers in advance,
Kirkey

[ribraff]

I have used a mould spray made by HG, you can find it at the builders merchants and it works really well.

[Kirkey]

Originally Posted by ribraff

I have used a mould spray made by HG, you can find it at the builders merchants and it works really well.

So HG Mould Spray them, leave for 5 or so minutes, knock them off with a sponge/really dull plastic scraper and then wash off with water?

After that I was thinking acetone-clean the whole collar and then put on a UV/Saltwater protector?

Thanks

[HUMBER P4VWL]

You'll never get them looking like new again. Get them as clean as possible then consider a tapered second skin of new hypalon to make it look smart.

If it's to sit in the water again, consider anti foul for both hull and underside of rear tubes.

[Chris]

The most agressive cleaner I have used is the thinners used for Hypalon glue, treat it with care though!

[Piratedog]

Hi you can get a hypalon cleaner made by pro marine. Called rib shine ! Awesome cleaner lethal on bare skin so use caution and gloves. Polymarine do a similar product and equally as good. I would advise caution in starting to use thinners ... At best you'll smear porous hypalon colour around and worst start to loosen aged glue joins and accessories .

[Kirkey]

Thanks for the suggestions

Once January Exams are over I'm going to give it a shot with the B&Q Mould Spray first, then Cilit Bang Black Mould Remover and finally go over it with RibShop Cleaning Kit and see how it turns out.
I might be back if it all goes horribly wrong, mind

I'll post before and after pics to give context/results

[Sam G]

Did you have any luck here? Have a similar problem and wouldn't mind knowing how you got on/what products you used?

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Piratedog

Hi you can get a hypalon cleaner made by pro marine. Called rib shine ! Awesome cleaner lethal on bare skin so use caution and gloves. Polymarine do a similar product and equally as good. I would advise caution in starting to use thinners ... At best you'll smear porous hypalon colour around and worst start to loosen aged glue joins and accessories .

Blimey!...that sounds like the Nuclear..(or New tube!!) Option!

[Mollers]

The max attack system I used was thinners and wire wool on the underside of the cones on our SR4. Obviously, don't scrub the surface off of the Hypalon/PVC.

It wont smear or do damage as long as you don't allow the thinners to soften the surface.

[Kirkey]

Sorry for the late reply; exams and all that now

Getting the growth and barnacles off is fairly easy; getting the sponsons looking decent is (I've now conceded) impossible.

I've found the best way of getting them off was to spray them down with the HG Mould Spray and agitate, wait a few minutes then wash off thoroughly with water... waiting a week or so and then knocking them off is easy with something blunt and plastic.

Cilit Bang was decent for getting the black marks out from between the barnacle feet marks but didn't make much of a difference to the feets' rings themselves.

PolyMarine Inflatable Cleaner is awesome for getting rid of the oxidation and grime but, again, doesn't make any difference on the barnacle rings.

I've got a before and midway photo attached; when I'm next down at the boat (next week after the the transom gets cut out and replaced; rotten wood ) I'll get an 'after' photo too...