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View Full Version : Hard Water Spot Prevention



RickSE
06-15-2005, 04:06 PM
I boat in a lake that seems to have some pretty hard water with a lot of mineral content. Every time I come back from a trip I have to treat all the polished stainless and chrome with CLR to get the shine back. Does anyone know of anything that might help prevent these deposits from sticking? I've tried wax but this does not seem to help. My exh. tips are the worst since they stain quickly and look like crap once I'm on the water.

How come you guys in the salt don't seem to have this problem? I'd think the salt water would be harder on the bling factor but every boat I see in a picture from FL has nice shinny stainless with no water spots.

Also, could my deposits be a sign of a faulty corrosion protection system, i.e. bad zincs or current leakage? My prop can go from shinny stainless to a dull white after only a few days in the water.

Jraysray
06-15-2005, 04:29 PM
My salt time yeilds the same results. I am eager to hear the tips from the pro's. I use the household CLR premixed in the bottle. I am also worried about the continual use of this on my chrome tips.

gcarter
06-15-2005, 06:03 PM
This just occurred to me, but something that might work is the sprays you use in the shower to prevent water spots and scum build up.
Mind you, I've not tried this, but I imagine a lot of you would have some of these products. Might be worth a try.

Richard Rees
06-15-2005, 06:12 PM
The lakes in this part of texas are all limestone,so there is a lime buildup on exhaust tips, outdrives etc. I just use "lime-away" after every outing, just part of keeping the boat squeaky clean.

cneidhart
06-15-2005, 06:14 PM
Reading the thread title, I knew it had to be someone in Arizona!

We use "Ducky" or we mix white vineger and water in a spray bottle. Spray and wipe. Both work great. Our Lake is Mohave, are you at Powell?

MOP
06-15-2005, 10:50 PM
I to would like to find something that would help, it is odd I also noticed the stuff that baked onto my tips at the 1K run was harder to remove then the salt where I boat. The S/S can be polished and re-polished but who needs that and now that I have added the "Matty Mufflers" I have 3 times as much to try to keep up with.

Phil

RickSE
06-16-2005, 10:35 AM
cneidhart,
Yep, Powell. Last trip the boat was in the water for 5-days and had a significant amount of depositing. What are you running around in? We'll probably be down in Phoenix soon with the boat to visit family and run around at a lower elevation, probably Pleasant.

I cleaned the boat up last night and noticed the parts that are staining the worst are all stainless. The hard plate chrome parts are staying relatively shinny. I want to talk to one of our metallurgists here at work and see if he thinks it will help to passivate the stainless parts. I'm thinking I either need to passivate, clear coat or chrome the stainless parts if I want to solve this problem. :smash: Or come up with a good clear silicone or teflon coating that nothing will stick to.

Also, aren't we supposed to use a different type of sacrificial piece, other than zinc, for fresh water? I'd assume that all the Merc stuff comes from the factory with zinc.

Jamesbon
06-16-2005, 11:47 AM
Rick,
I'd take a closer look at current leakage. Have you tested your hardware with a volt/ohm meter? My neighbor has the same problem with his o/b Excalibur. If he's found the culprit, I'll let you know.

David Ochs
06-16-2005, 02:13 PM
I know everyone has their favorite products for these water spots, well, here's mine. "The Works", available at Wal Mart in 1qt. spray bottle. Only costs about $2-, in the bathroom cleaning supply section.

Chili 18
06-17-2005, 08:01 AM
Reading the thread title, I knew it had to be someone in Arizona!

We use "Ducky" or we mix white vineger and water in a spray bottle. Spray and wipe. Both work great. Our Lake is Mohave, are you at Powell?


I tried a product from the marina called Zing. Its pretty agressive. An Acid. Works great thou! Makes me think your white vineger idea [milder acid] is a great idea. Ill give it a try!! BTW this is on Lk Michigan. Happens here too.. Mostly on the tips.