Rust spots on decking

[cheech1959]

Upon removal of my shrink-wrap yesterday I found thousand of tiny rustmarks on my deck as well as in my cockpit which was covered up until shrink-wrap was performed. This suggests that the shrink-wrapers were responsible. I'm hoping someone has any thoughts as to how this could of happened

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, cheech.

[bletso]

Oxalic acid.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by cheech1959

Upon removal of my shrink-wrap yesterday I found thousand of tiny rustmarks on my deck as well as in my cockpit which was covered up until shrink-wrap was performed. This suggests that the shrink-wrapers were responsible. I'm hoping someone has any thoughts as to how this could of happened

Probably not the shrink wrappers. Either someone was grinding/filing steel on your boat or the boat next to you. Did you do any maintenance on your boat before it was wrapped that entailed sharpening scrapers, tools, etc?

What you're seeing is steel metal filings that blew over your deck. The shrink wrap kept them from blowing off and the humidity level caused them to rust.

Easiest fix is a gallon of Mary Kate ON/OFF or similar product (i.e. acid). West Marine sells Oxalic acid crystals by the pint, and if you have teak on the boat it's also good to have for cleaning that. Various acids will work and will be cheaper, but keep them off aluminum, paint, and other incompatible materials. If your topsides are paint and you have an aluminum toe rail, just keep the hose running and rinse liberally as you work.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Suijin

Probably not the shrink wrappers. Either someone was grinding/filing steel on your boat or the boat next to you. Did you do any maintenance on your boat before it was wrapped that entailed sharpening scrapers, tools, etc?

What you're seeing is steel metal filings that blew over your deck. The shrink wrap kept them from blowing off and the humidity level caused them to rust.

Easiest fix is a gallon of Mary Kate ON/OFF or similar product (i.e. acid). West Marine sells Oxalic acid crystals by the pint, and if you have teak on the boat it's also good to have for cleaning that. Various acids will work and will be cheaper, but keep them off aluminum, paint, and other incompatible materials. If your topsides are paint and you have an aluminum toe rail, just keep the hose running and rinse liberally as you work.

I'm with some idiot using something with steel to grind or scrub near you and wind blown prior to the shrink wrap.

[wingless]

The FSR works good for rust stain on gel coat.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Ceech,

Welcome aboard CF.

Yes, as stated above, it is mild steel from grinding that blew in. Yes, it is easy to remove, do not use abrasives, use oxalic acid. We buy the crystals, and then make the strength of the solution to fit the job. The FSR works, too, it is a gel, and it will take a lot to do a whole boat. If you notice rust on your s/s, usually that'll come off with a scotch brite pad. Have fun. Don't be angry: it happens some time to most boat owners, it's just one of the hazards of having a a boat, nobody abused yours intentionally.

Ann

[Alisamaster]

Need to avoid types of acid on deck, First apply for deck stain that can be safe your deck.

[Bean Counter]

We were on a Marina near a railway bridge, the wind blew the rust particles off the train tracks onto our boat - tedious job to clean up. Sometimes one go with oxalic acid wash will just remove the stain, but there may be some iron particles left that will rust again, so these need to be removed prior to acid wash, a good scrub, maybe a pressure wash, i found myself picking them out with a tiny screwdriver as they were lodged in the non slip surface took days to get it all off. Another thing to watch if you sharpen anything steel/iron even stainless, the filings will rust - fish hooks, scissors, knives, chisels etc.