Artillery Fungus

R

rcwass

New member
This is Mysterious Black Spots revisited. My boat is covered with these tiny hard shelled black spots that contain a tarry substance that stains the fiberglass. These spots are called Artillery Fungus, visit http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactShee ... fungus.htm
These spots are caused by decaying wood chips. I have a wooded lot where the trees were cleared, logs hauled off and branches chipped into a large pile in amongst the trees. These are pine and oak chips. After moving into my new home I stored the boat next to these trees. These spots, per this article, are virtually impossible to remove. I can say that this is true. I've tried everything I can think of with no luck. I can scrape the hard shells off but the stain remains. My next resort is 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. One suggestion was to try MEK. I read the label and it sound potent. Does anyone have experience with MEK? Is it safe to use on my fiberglass? My gelcoat is old and weathered so that doesn't help. This is becoming a large problem in the Northeast, so I've read. Keep your boat away from piles of wood chips.
I'm open for suggestions.
Dick
 
Dick - I've mentioned this before, and I agree it does sound crazy, BUT --- there is a soap designed to remove paint stains from an artist's hands and brushes. It comes in a green bar, wrapped in tan paper, or small tub for the artist to rub his brushes in. "The Masters" soap is what it is called. It seems to be made out of some seaweed concoction, but it is amazing that this very mild soap can remove hardened oil paint from hands, clothes, etc. I think a bar costs about $4. It does not seem to harm the skin - acutally feels like an aloe treatment or such. You may have to suds it up with a fingernail brush and then work it into the stains. Since pine and evergreen sap is kind of like oil paint base material, I am thinking it might work well for you. I don't see much risk in trying it.

You have to go to Hobby Lobby in the oil paint, thinner, etc., aisle or Michael's arts and crafts to get it.

John
 
Hi Dick,

I had this happen to my boat also. When I'm at our camp in Maine, I park my C-Dory on a pile of wood chops (Birch and pine) that I had placed at the head of my driveway just for this purpose. This is the first year I stored the boat for longer than a few days, and after two weeks I saw the same spots. Luckily I was able to remove then with my fingernail and a scrub pad, but I think they only get worse over time. I also had a good coat of wax on the topsides. I can't tell you what else works, but I wondered what cause them and now the mystery is solved! So much for a cheap storage solution!

Good luck. Did you try Davis FSR? Maybe use it for the tarry residue.

http://www.davisnet.com/Marine/products ... ?grp=m17-2

Dun (CTYankee)
 
i use lacquer thinner (left over from a furniture project) it will take tar (pilings) just about everything i bumped with the boat comes off even paint if it hasn't been left to cure to long ... reading that site looks like you have a real problem your house, car everything is a target ... good luck lacquer can be picked up at your lumber yard paint department .. wc
 
Laquer thinner is the universal solvent to dissolve just about anything you don't want on your boat! It has acetone, MEK, toluene, xylene, methyl alcohol, cellusolve, ....the list goes on! The hot solvents dissolve oily
non-polar molecules, and the alcohol dissolves water-soluible polar molecules.

Looking for a HOT CLEANING AGENT???

My formula:

1/3 laquer thinner
1/3 Simple Green or engine degreaser detergent concentrate
1/3 regular oil-based paint thinner

Shake it up to intermix it.

Spray it on from a spray bottle (will ruin the pump very soon because of it's solvency) and let it penetrate, scrub if you want, then wash off with warm or hot water. Hot water from a pressure washer is the ultimate.

Before you use this stuff, test a small area of the object you need cleaned first, it lifts some paints, etc.

Great for degreasing engines, trailers, etc. REMOVES WAX/requires re-waxing. Not for repeated use on surfaces. USE WITH CAUTION.

Joe
 
After months of solution searching I've found the only way to remove this fungus problem. I'm using 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper followed by a buffing using 3M Super Duty Rubbing Compound, followed by buffing with a finishing compound and finally followed by a good wax job. A lot of elbow grease and when you have arthritis that hurts.
Insurance says this falls under Mold/Mildew which they don't cover. And I e-mailed C-Dory asking about the thickness of the blue gelcoat. No response. Not like C-Dory. So far the wet sanding hasn't shown any thin spots but I've much more to do an my 22ft cruiser from the roof to the keel.
Keep wood chips away from your boats, cars and houses. I hope nobody has to deal with this.
Dick
 
I would like to make a suggestion for what its worth. Go to http://www.auroramarineclub.com/ and "ask the Skipper". You might have to join the group but it is free. Describe what you have. You may find a product that they sell that may do the trick. Just my 2 cents. :roll: Can't hurt to try.

John
Swee Pea
 
MEK is REAL potent stuff...be sure to wear rubber gloves and a respirator. I've worked with it a lot on aircraft. Great stuff, but from the sounds of it, not great enough for this application. Be careful.

Rick
 
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