OH NOOOOO!!!!

[flyboyjack]

Well we finally got our new purchase home ported behind our house here in SW Florida. My first order of business was to remove two stainless deck plates and stanchions from our dock so we wouldn't stumble over them. Normally the gunwales are 18" or more above the dock, but the winds had been blowing long and hard and blew the water out of the harbor putting the gunwales about 6" below the deck. After cutting off the bolts and cleaning up any debris, etc., I went inside for the night. This afternoon I went out to board the boat to complete more work and discovered literally thousands of orange spots all over the gelcoat! I thought I'd just wash them off, but NOOOOO! Turns out that all my cutting left thousands of almost impossible to see steel slivers/debris on the gunwales and the salt air literally dissolved them and turned them into orange ferrous stains that are next to impossible to remove. Well, at least we marked her as ours, but I am quite the unhappy camper. Who woulda thought?

Any ideas??

flyboyjack

[jleonard]

Go to the "Dollar store" and get "The Works" tub and shower cleaner (they also make a toilet bowl cleaner, don't use that). It will remove the stains. It contains oxalic acid.
Wipe on with a cloth or sponge, let sit a few minutes, rinse off.

[seasalt]

Whink will work too. It is a liquid. I keep a bottle on the boat. When you apply it you can see the rust stain go away. Then hose it off.

[flyboyjack]

Yesssss!!!

Thanks guys for the help. I'm on my way!

flyboyjack

[Denis]

Naval jelly will get out the rust stains

[tbnolin]

Another good one is Goof Off Rust Stain Remover. I had excellent results using it. Good Luck!