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West Wight Potter Mailing List maintainer
dfarrell@ridgecrest.ca.us
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The 1988 HMS "manual" (typewritten, photocopied, crude line drawings) that I received with my 1990 P19 explicitly says to use acetone on the rubrails. I have the smaller (ca. 1" wide) rubrails that fit into a stainless channel. The manual also says acetone can be used on all the other parts of the boat EXCEPT the windows. Still, all of Judy's cautions seem (as usual) excellent and probably critical.
At 10:28 AM 04/01/2000 -0800, you wrote:
>About a year ago, I suggested using acetone on the rubrail and gelcoat to
>remove stains, and it raised some questions about damaging the rubber,
>gelcoat and other plastics.
>
>On the older boats, the rubrail is a channel-shaped piece of rubber that
>fits over a butted seam. Acetone does dissolve the top layer of UV damaged
>rubrail on the older models. So does lacquer thinner (which is even more
>volitile than acetone); however lacquer thinner will also frequently disolve
>cured lacquer (duh, no surprise there), paint, etc. If your rubrail looks
>like it has "goosebumbs", you know what I mean. It also removes all kinds
>of stains from the rubrail.
>
>I don't how acetone affects the plastic/rubber rubrail on the newer Potters,
>the boats with the rubrail inserted into a metal frame.
>
>I would take care to keep the acetone off sealants and adhesives. I don't
>know how acetone affects various sealants once they're UV aged. It may
>affect sealant around hardward thru the deck. It may affect the the
>adhesive used on the older Potters to hold the rubrail on. (My rubrail
>stays on without adhesive; it stays attached by friction alone.) I would
>test the acetone on adhesive or sealant in a small, inconsequential place
>before using it indiscriminately. The acetone will not affect the 3M 5200
>sealand used on the hull to deck joint of our boats. It might however,
>affect other unknown sealants that owners used to seal leaks that developed
>as the boat aged.
>
>Despite all my precautionary advise, if you use the acetone prudently and
>carefully, you should have no problems. Use just enough on a cloth to
>accomplish the cleaning -- don't saturate the cloth to the point of
>dripping. Patience is a virtue -- work carefully; avoiding mistakes and
>mishaps is always quicker than fixing mistakes. Don't put the can on the
>deck where you can knock it over and spill it so it runs all over the boat;
>leave it on the ground, a foot or two under the hull, where you won't kick
>it.
>
>Acetone will not damage properly dured fiberglass, either epoxy or
>polyester. It will not harm properly cured gelcoat, which is basically a
>polyester resin. If the resin was improperly catalyzed (or contaminated)
>and therefore never cured, but merely dried out, the acetone will remove it.
>If the resin cured properly, forming the crosslinked polymer chians that
>give it strength, the acetone won't hurt it.
>
>(If you did some fiberglass or gelcoat work and it took weeks to harden,
>you've probably got improperly cured resin. It's got no strength anyhow, so
>you may as well remove it and redo it, IMHO).
>
>Acetone will take a great variety of stains out of gelcoat. However, it
>also removes wax very effieciently, so you'll need to reapply wax
>afterwards.
>
>There ARE some forms of plastic that acetone will melt. For example, I once
>tried to wipe off my electic drill after getting resin on it -- and the top
>layer of the case came off. Unfortunately, the rag I used was dripping wet,
>and the acetone got in between the battery and the battery slot. The
>plastic melted between the two parts and then re-hardened, and I have to cut
>and chisel the battery out.
>
>TILEX/CHLOROX FOR MOLD AND MILDEW
>
>If the problem is mold spots, a solution of equal parts of water and Clorox
>applied for a few minutes will both remove the spot and kill the mold. It
>will not harm any plastics or fiberglass or gel coat. It's the chemical
>equivalent of Tilex, but alot cheaper. It will dissolve deteriorated old
>sealants occasionally, based on my experience with old caulking in showers,
>despite the claims made on the Tilex bottle that it won't harm silicon
>sealants. SAFETY USING TILEX: If you use great quantities of this stuff,
>make sure you have adequate ventilation; the fumes will irritate your eyes,
>lungs and throat. Wear ordinary household gloves to protect your skin and
>rinse off any that gets on your skin. This stuff is moderately strong acid.
>
>ACETONE SAFETY RULES
>
>Wear "chemical resistant acid gloves" or nitrile gloves when working with
>acetone. Acetone will absorb to some extent thru the skin, carrying
>whatever is dissolved in it into your blood stream. It's possible to absorb
>enough thru your skin to make you feel sick or develop a permenant
>hypersensitivity to some chemical.
>
>Nitrile gloves are the blue or green "latex-like" ones sold in automotive
>shops. Latex gloves will dissolve when using acetone. Acid gloves are the
>thick black ones sold at hardward stores for about $9 a pair. They last
>forever and resist most chemicals.
>
>Make sure you have adequate ventilation!!!! Don't work in a closed area like
>a small shed, unless you have lots of ventilation. Don't smoke near any
>thinners or solvents.
>
>General disclaimer to cover my butt in our litigious society: Check on line
>for a Hazardous Material Sheet for Acetone for more info. They're published
>by the government and corporations under OSHA rules. The info I've given is
>an amateur's opinion.
>
>
>Work safe,
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Eric Johnson [mailto:etj@nwlink.com]
>Sent: Friday, March 31, 2000 8:04 PM
>To: wwpotter@tscnet.com
>Subject: RE: prevent black mold - rub rail
>
>
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> West Wight Potter Mailing List maintainer
> dfarrell@ridgecrest.ca.us
> List hosted by www.tscnet.com
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> > >> > Suggestions are Very Welcome at this point. Also how can I
> > prevent the
> > black
> > >> > mold from growing on my rub rail? Its really hard to remove
> > and quite
> > ugly.
>
>If you have a vinyl rubrail, acetone works so well you won't believe you
>ever scrubbed. I forget who first mentioned that on this list but it is
>certainly a part of my cleaning regimen now and I am very grateful for
>having learned that trick. On some potters like my 1988 P19 there's a gap
>between the rubrail and toerail that collects water, then gunk and algae
>grow in there. I've been experimenting with sealing this gap with silicone,
>but it hasn't been on long enough for me to draw any conclusions. Early
>experiments are very positive, however.
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