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Cleaning rudder

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michaelj
Navigator

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132 Posts

Initially Posted - 02/01/2009 : 09:38:37

I'm replacing the pintles and tiller on my rudder so I have taken it off the boat. I would like to clean it also. I had the hull painted last Spring with an ablative paint and it looks like they painted the part of the rudder below the waterline with the same paint. How can I clean the rudder without removing a lot of the paint? Thanks.

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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 02/01/2009 : 10:29:50

Slowly.

Turn the rudder so that the run-off from whatever cleaning agent you're using doesn't run down into the bottom paint.

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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5429 Posts

Response Posted - 02/01/2009 : 10:39:41

Michael -
Do you want to retain the ablative paint on the rudder, but just clean off the discoloration on the paint, and also on the portion above the paint? Or do you want to remove the current paint? If the former . . .

One approach is to clean the fibreglass portion with soap & clorox on a scrunge pad, then wax up the fibreglass portion after it dries.

Depending on the type of dirt material on the ablative paint portion, you can brush off the dusty & grainy stuff, then use a wet rag or sponge to remove dried slime. Once you wet the paint, a little bit will rub off, so go easy. I would not use a wet scrunge or sandpaper on the paint, as you'll just wear it through.

After the painted portion dries out from the washing, you can apply another coat of paint.

Two notes of caution - the dust is poisonous to people as well as marine growth, so keep dust to a minimum during the dry brushing phase, and wear a respirator to prevent breathing the dust. During the wet phase, if you get any pigment on your clothes or skin, make sure to rinse it out.

After you wash or wipe the painted portion, dispose of the rags or paper towels in a sealed bag. I learned about this one time when I had thrown several paper towels away, which dried out, then next time I opened the trash can, I got a bunch of dust in my face.

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dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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4593 Posts

Response Posted - 02/01/2009 : 13:59:56

I use a long handled brush on the rudder frequently as well as just before pulling it from the water. If you pull the rudder frequently, you might consider removing the ablative paint and painting the rudder with a hard finish bottom paint such as Ultrakote or VC17. To keep from getting bottom paint on my hands/clothes or on the boat, for our C-22 I had a drawstring bag made out of sail bag material to slide on over the rudder. It also doubles as a handle to help get the thing into the boat.

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.