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re: Brown stain on boat hull - best way to remove?

Posted on 5/1/25 at 3:30 am to
Posted by Jon A thon
Member since May 2019
2133 posts
Posted on 5/1/25 at 3:30 am to
quote:

Starbrite hull cleaner. Follow the directions on the bottle.


Works well. Just plan to wax right after as others mentioned. It strips off everything. And with no wax, you'll have stains again after the first trip. Keep a good wax job and clean your boat regularly because you won't want to do the starbrite treatment regularly.
Posted by Redlos
Baton Rouge
Member since Jul 2005
1111 posts
Posted on 5/1/25 at 6:17 am to
Booyah hull cleaner, won’t strip off the wax like Starbrite. I buy a spray bottle and gallon size to refill. Have to use after every use (gel coat stains easy) it hasn’t messed with my ceramic coating.
Posted by The Torch
DFW The Dub
Member since Aug 2014
23377 posts
Posted on 5/1/25 at 6:36 am to
Take a 5gallon bucket next time
Posted by WizardSleeve
Louisiana
Member since Sep 2011
1857 posts
Posted on 5/1/25 at 6:54 am to
The reason why it stains is porosity in the gelcoat from being old and oxidized. The quick way to make it white is to use booyah or star rite hull cleaner. These were designed just for this purpose, the brown will disappear upon contact but it will come back because of the older gelcoat.

The long term way to prevent brown stains is to either polish the gelcoat or paint the surface. Polish takes a lot of steps usually starting with wet sanding to get it right. Makes a beautiful finish that can be sealed and won’t stain… for a while. Paint is actually a really good solution. I love gelcoat but as far as finishes go a quality marine paint like awlgrip is superior and will not stain because it won’t become porous like gelcoat over time. Gelcoat is easier to repair.

Start with hull cleaner and if you have time I would at least try to compound/wax the hull
Posted by bayoudude
Member since Dec 2007
25524 posts
Posted on 5/1/25 at 7:20 am to
I had good luck with toilet bowl cleaner. The cling gel type. Smear it on let it sit for a few minutes then scrub it off and rinse. Also startbrite hull cleaner works well just be careful around a galvanized trailer with that stuff.

Eta: one weekend in a dead end slip down in cocodrie would put stains on a boat if you didn’t clean right away.
This post was edited on 5/1/25 at 7:22 am
Posted by msu202020
Member since Feb 2011
4230 posts
Posted on 5/1/25 at 8:16 am to
Aluminum Brite


Make sure you rinse the trailer good after using it and you will need to wax the bottom of the boat once complete.
Posted by BIG Texan
Texas
Member since Jun 2012
1672 posts
Posted on 5/1/25 at 8:44 am to
For me it was the WORKS, but I can’t find that product anymore. Spray it on and rinse off no scrubbing.
Posted by CP3
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2009
7509 posts
Posted on 5/1/25 at 8:48 am to
quote:

Paint is actually a really good solution. I love gelcoat but as far as finishes go a quality marine paint like awlgrip is superior and will not stain because it won’t become porous like gelcoat over time.


We had our last boat painted with awlgrip. I was skeptical at first, but honestly I liked it WAYYY better than gel coat. Nothing stuck to it, could just spray off with a hose and it stayed looking brand new.

Posted by DownshiftAndFloorIt
Here
Member since Jan 2011
69057 posts
Posted on 5/1/25 at 8:59 am to
I can't wait to paint mine.
Posted by DMC226
Hammond, Louisiana
Member since Apr 2014
91 posts
Posted on 5/2/25 at 2:37 am to
Posted by LanierSpots
Sarasota, Florida
Member since Sep 2010
66401 posts
Posted on 5/2/25 at 6:56 am to
Very nice
Posted by SOLA
There
Member since Mar 2014
3565 posts
Posted on 5/2/25 at 12:46 pm to
Booya hull cleaner works great.
Posted by saintsfan1977
Arkansas, from Cajun country
Member since Jun 2010
8856 posts
Posted on 5/2/25 at 5:57 pm to
Fiberglass? Sand it and re wax it.
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