CLEANING: Countertop Rust Stains

Finishing up some spring cleaning in the galley. I discovered I had left my cast iron frying pan on the sliding formica countertop over the winter and had some rust embedded into the surface. I first tried my staple cleaner which is some  Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner. It had limited results. I then tried some CLR Calcium, Lime and Rust Remover soaked onto a paper towel that I left over the stain overnight:

It worked better but, there was still a good sized rust stain on the counter:

I then bought out the  FSR Fiberglass Stain Remover  :

and dabbed it over the stain using a disposable paint brush:

After letting it soak in a bit and using a piece of 3M Scouring pad the rust was completely removed from the countertop:

I wiped down the counter with a damp paper towel and finished the job.

Always good to have several cleaners on board to try and I learned a lesson not to let the cast iron skillet sit on the countertop for any length of time.

IN THE TANK: Part 2, Steaming Ahead!

After an initial wipe down of the tar and sand that accumulated on the bottom of the fuel tank some more Simple Green and some steam did a real nice job in cleaning the tank. I've mentioned that the Scunci Steamer comes in useful in many areas on board. But, to be useful in helping to clean places like the fuel tank you need to have the extension hose as shown below for the Scunzi:

The Scunci Steamer  with the extension allows you to get into most areas of the tank with the steam that helps really get the tank clean. Spraying the tank with full strength Simple Green followed by steam and a quick wipe down with a shop towel makes cleaning the tank very easy. Below is a before photo of one corner of the tank:

Here is the same area after the Simple Green, steam and a wipe. You can clearly see the difference between the area that was wiped after the steam was applied.

The tank comes out pretty clean after this procedure but, the final thing I will do is put some water in the tank along with some DAWN dish washing detergent and go sailing. Letting the DAWN and water mixture slosh around for a bit. It seems scientist have discovered that DAWN dish washing detergent seems to be most effective in removing oil from birds caught up in oil spills. If it works on the birds why not try it on the last remnants of diesel remaining in the on board fuel tank on BIANKA.

BLOG UPDATE:  The Scunci Steamer started to leak steam from the handle after about a year of use. So I purchased another brand as a replacement. Which seems to be holding up better. You can see the post about the new steamer by clicking here

TO VIEW IN THE TANK PART 1 CLICK HERE!

Going Electric: Part 2: The engines out! Now what?

What a relief to get the motor out of the boat and gaze at all the room now that the diesel engine has been removed.

The first thing I need to do is a little cleanup. After over twenty years of oil leaks and other spills a good scrubbing is in order to get things smelling less of diesel, oil and antifreeze and more like clean. For cleaning jobs around the boat I like to use a product called Simple Green. I buy it by the gallon at Home Depot and can use it in various dilutions depending on the cleaning job at hand. I might have to use it full strength to start the cleaning process here.

Next I'll start looking around for all the items I will no longer need as I convert the boat to electric propulsion. I can start with that spare yellow diesel container in the photo above. I carried this on board when cruising because I could never really trust the fuel gauge on the boat. I would show full or nearly full for a long time then drop fast suddenly as it emptied. I carried this diesel jug as insurance knowing I had at least six hours of fuel in case the fuel gauge played tricks on me.

When you have a diesel engine you've got hoses. The hose situation on my boat was also more complicated because a previous owner had installed a Frigoboat Series 500 engine driven refrigeration system. Which I'm sure cost a pretty penny when it was installed but, has not worked in a few years and when the engine died made repair of it moot. Below is just a sample of the hoses that were no longer needed:

Also in the photo above is the Groco raw water filter which was connected to the now missing engine. This item no longer needed and cleaning it is one less maintenance chore that no longer needs to be done when going electric. It will be nice to get this mess of hoses off the boat for good. Here's another item that will no longer be needed:

The Engine Shutoff! This essential item was needed to stop the diesel engine but, could also cause a lot of cursing when I forgot to to push it back down and it then prevented the engine from starting. It also has ripped and ruined a number of shirts on it's metal bracket as I climbed down into the engine area to work on the engine. I am very happy to see it leave the boat.

To be continued.....

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