Barnacles on fenders

[Sailormantx]

Does anybody know how to get barnacles off inflatable fenders without damaging or dissolving the plastic? Scraping them off is no problem, but the footprint remains and is quite abrasive to the upside paint.

[ReMetau]

Maybe some muriatic acid.

[Blue Stocking]

Did you try some extra pound of inflation to see if it would crack them off?

[boden36]

Go to your hardware store and buy a bottle of the acid that bricklayers use for cleaning up. Over here (Aust) it comes in 4 litre containers and is pretty cheap.
I'm pretty sure it is dilute hydrochloric. Just keep painting it on the fenders until the footprints dissolve. Works for props too.
Use eye protection and gloves!
Regards,
Richard.

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by Sailormantx

Does anybody know how to get barnacles off inflatable fenders without damaging or dissolving the plastic? Scraping them off is no problem, but the footprint remains and is quite abrasive to the upside paint.

Wrap the fenders in some old towels soaked in a solution of Barnacle Buster.



Works every time...

[JPA Cate]

Swimming pool bleach also known as muriatic acid will work; so will plain vinegar, takes longer but will eventually dissolve them. Actually, so does acid rain!
Vinegar's probably cheaper than "Barnacle Buster".
A. Cate, Insatiable II

[nagrom snoyl]

cant actually believe there is a product out there called barnacle buster, how long are people hanging around the docks that they get time to grow

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by nagrom snoyl

cant actually believe there is a product out there called barnacle buster, how long are people hanging around the docks that they get time to grow

We've had barnacles grow on the constantly spinning line of a Walker Patent Log during a trip to Acapulco. They grow on an unprotected surface whether a yacht is moving or standing still (look up "boundary layer". Because of the boundary layer in a flowing fluid, at the surface of a foil/hull/what-have-you the fluid isn't moving and barnacles will happily grow and flourish). FWIW...