# Tips on removing hull stains and waxing



## tailchaser16 (Sep 23, 2008)

My choices:
rust stains = Sno bowl, toilet bowl cleaner
yellow stains on hull = Bar Keeper's Friend or Sno Bowl and a brush
Wash with Turtle Wash and Wax for cars/trucks. 
Wax = Woody Wax or Rejex depends on how much time I have


----------



## FSUDrew99 (Feb 3, 2015)

DeepSouthFly said:


> What do you guys use? What wax works the best? How do you get those stains off the hull and remove some rust stains?


Best thing I have found for rust stains is the Star Brite Rust Remover in a bottle. Spray it on, let sit and literally just wipe away. Works awesome.


----------



## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

Dilutions of oxalic or phosphoric acids will remove stains from gelcoat. Apply to the stains, let it work, rinse with water , repeat. West Marine sells the oxalic acid. Some of the toilet bowl cleaners contain phosphoric acid.


----------



## zthomas (Jan 14, 2014)

I hear it may be hard on gelcoat, but a 1:1 solution of household bleach and water almost instantly removes brown leaf stains and blood-and-guts stains. I wet my deck down first, mist the bleach solution on lightly with a spray bottle, and then rinse thoroughly with a hose after maybe 30 seconds. If it does in fact have negative effects, I haven't seen them yet.

@sjrobin, Sno Bol and The Works toilet bowl cleaners actually contain good old hydrochloric acid, not phosphoric. I know because I've been trying get some rust stains off my dad's bay boat for him, and I just read a bunch of labels in the grocery store a week or so ago. I bought Sno Bol, and it didn't do much, if anything. Going to try oxalic next.

I've had good results with FSR (blue goop in a jar) on brown waterline stains. Not sure what's in it.


----------



## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

Phosphoric toilet bowl cleaner may be hard to find now, but oxalic is a better oxidizer and an organic acid. I just used some phosphoric toilet bowl cleaner to remove mostly Everglades tannin stains at the waterline. Wax when complete.


----------



## ABoykin (Feb 22, 2015)

Best thing I've ever used for rust removing is Magica. Google "Magica rust remover". It's pretty cheap and also is an awesome hull cleaner (doesn't leave the hull chalky). There is only one boat dealer down here who carries it and they are in Gulf Shores (Paradise Marine). While restoring a boat with stubborn stains I made the trip all the way over there when I ran out! I was a dealer for it for Magica for a short time I like the product so much.

Also, the FSR (blue jelly) rust remover actually works pretty well too. I dip it out with a spoon, let it sit on the stain for 30 min to an hour then come back and wipe it off. The blue jelly will turn from blue to green when it has worked. We used to use FSR at the Contender dealer all the time to remove rust stains on older Contenders in the fishboxes/ livewells.

Best wax I like.. is Formula 1 carnuba wax sold in the yellow tin can for $5 at all the autoparts stores.. an old timer boat detailer/ fiberglass guy told me about it and I've been using it ever since.


----------



## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

Rust raze available at culligan immediately removes rust stains and tanin stained hull. Do not breathe in powder while mixing.
Spray on or pour on once mixed. Poof stain is gone. Rinse.


----------



## No Bait / Lures Only (Apr 10, 2011)

toilet bowl cleaner, bleach.... use sparingly


----------



## j102 (Jun 26, 2017)

Another vote for Starbrite Rust Remover. Great product.


FSUDrew99 said:


> Best thing I have found for rust stains is the Star Brite Rust Remover in a bottle. Spray it on, let sit and literally just wipe away. Works awesome.


----------



## redfish504 (Feb 5, 2017)

j102 said:


> Another vote for Starbrite Rust Remover. Great product.


+1 for the starbrite


----------



## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

There's some really good products that work great and they don't cost a fortune unless they are labeled for marine use. Anything with the word marine or medical use automatically gets over priced.


----------



## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

Great folks at Paradise Marine!

I use the FRP and it does the trick. Rinse and re-wax afterwards. Have been using 3M Scotchbrite Liquid Wax for years. Goes on easy and protects well. Not cheap though.


----------



## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

I use woody wax for the non skid and star brite polish for the slick stuff. Star brite nonskid cleaner takes most any stain off the deck for me but if I have a stain resist it, I break out the big guns. Wet the stain, get some Bar Keeper's Friend and shake it on the stain. Scrub it in with an old toothbrush and wait about 2 minutes. Then scrub again and rinse-stain is gone. I would recommend then washing the deck with normal soap and water afterward though. Bar Keeper's Friend feels pretty caustic on my skin so I can't imagine it being good for gelcoat if you leave the residue on.


----------

