BigBendFishing.Net

My Key Largo hull is looking scummy at the waterline. Even though I never store in water it still has this ring around the tub. What do I use to remove and make it shine?

You can have one of our members do it for you the right way.

Or you go buy some compound, wax, cloth’s and spend half your Saturday making circular motions.

Sno-bowl, On-off, Muriatic Acid... - then wax.

Seriously, I spent the whole day on my boat last year right after I bought it. $50-$75 in supplies, a polisher I already owned and a bunch of bending over and laying down

13 yr old boat. It had the yellowish stains.


Made it look new again.

That looks great.
If you have some spare time mine could use a good shining up.

Redfin wrote:Sno-bowl, On-off, Muriatic Acid... - then wax.

This, any acidic cleaner will remove the scum, then use some sort of wax because acid will remove wax. I usually clean it then use a quick spray on wax that wipes off easily. I will then wax it correctly once a year.

I thought that those stains worked like
Camouflage from the fish. Seems as though they should
Make boats that color up here

If you have an aluminum trailer it won't like any of the hull cleaners because they contain acids. I spray my trailer with water first & then use Bar Keeper's friend in the spray bottle because it foams & sticks to the hull better. It contains oxilic acid & when left on for a few minutes cleans off the tannin stains & scum. Rinse good with water including the trailer. I think you can buy just generic oxilic acid & mix it up in your own spray bottle as well.

Scum latches onto rough surfaces so you'll want to wet sand before you polish and buff it out.

Barkeepers friend powder mixed in warm water, sprayed on, leave for 10 minutes and then rinse/wash boat. It'll get rid on them until the next trip out.

If you work a bit of overtime at your dayjob or put in some more hours to cover the expense of paying a detailer it's worth it.. Tedious work and not much fun.

I use Star Brite Hull Cleaner (oxalic acid) and then wax the boat. Re do the wax about a month later. I had a galvanized trailer, but now it sits on aluminum, so I will be more careful with drips. Don't over soak the rag, spray off any drips quickly on your pre wetted trailer and you should be okay.

Or pay someone to do it, which is easier and they will likely do a better job anyway. I just kinda like doing it.