Issues after 3 years of wrapped storage

[Liv2Fish]

Another thing I noticed that is new. I had my kids in the boat helping me clean it and they're now complaining about having fiberglass "prickles" in their legs. I have a few too, like when you do grinding work without wearing a suit, you can feel them stuck in your skin when something touches them. They have them all over their legs.

The interior of the boat is just rough sprayed jell coated, almost like nonskid but it's a bit powdery. Would buffing and a good coat of wax stop this from happening?

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Liv2Fish

Another thing I noticed that is new. I had my kids in the boat helping me clean it and they're now complaining about having fiberglass "prickles" in their legs. I have a few too, like when you do grinding work without wearing a suit, you can feel them stuck in your skin when something touches them. They have them all over their legs.

The interior of the boat is just rough sprayed jell coated, almost like nonskid but it's a bit powdery. Would buffing and a good coat of wax stop this from happening?

Regardless of what else is going on, I don't think the fiberglass fibers should be detaching. Something has happened, IMO, to the integrity of the glass itself. I'm no expert but I'd have a shop check it out.

[Liv2Fish]

Originally Posted by piemma

Regardless of what else is going on, I don't think the fiberglass fibers should be detaching. Something has happened, IMO, to the integrity of the glass itself. I'm no expert but I'd have a shop check it out.

After a couple of searches for "removing oxidation from nonskid decks" on THT, I found a thread about exactly the same issue I'm having with the fibers. There's a product called Bar keepers friend that is exactly like ajax but has 10% oxalic acid instead of bleach. Wet the surface, sprinkle it on, (don't inhale the dust, trust me on that) work it in and let it sit for a few minutes before scrubbing in tight circles with a stiff bristle brush. I found that if I just lightly go over an area and move on, leaving the area to sit for a while, the next pass takes off more, etc until it's clean. Seemed to work better than scrubbing the #^&#^&#^&#^& out of the same area.

The stuff is unbelievable! It's looks like it did when it was brand new. The water coming out of the scuppers after rinsing looked like milk from all of the oxidation coming off. I'm going to seal it with a couple of coats of a liquid wax and work it in with a fine bristle scrub brush. This should seal it good. I'll post some before and after pics tomorrow.

I highly recommend this product. $1.50 a can at the grocery store. http://www.barkeepersfriend.com

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Liv2Fish

After a couple of searches for "removing oxidation from nonskid decks" on THT, I found a thread about exactly the same issue I'm having with the fibers. There's a product called Bar keepers friend that is exactly like ajax but has 10% oxalic acid instead of bleach. Wet the surface, sprinkle it on, (don't inhale the dust, trust me on that) work it in and let it sit for a few minutes before scrubbing in tight circles with a stiff bristle brush. I found that if I just lightly go over an area and move on, leaving the area to sit for a while, the next pass takes off more, etc until it's clean. Seemed to work better than scrubbing the #^&#^&#^&#^& out of the same area.

The stuff is unbelievable! It's looks like it did when it was brand new. The water coming out of the scuppers after rinsing looked like milk from all of the oxidation coming off. I'm going to seal it with a couple of coats of a liquid wax and work it in with a fine bristle scrub brush. This should seal it good. I'll post some before and after pics tomorrow.

I highly recommend this product. $1.50 a can at the grocery store. http://www.barkeepersfriend.com

Congrats, glad it worked out for you. I have been using Bar keepers friend for a couple of years. Great stuff and available at Wally World for about $1.28 for the powder. Also comes in a squeeze type liquid.