Copper Oxide (?) Stain

[Warren Kaplan]

One of my portlights on my CD27 evidently has a leak. I've never found a wet spot but the fiberglass cabin liner has green streaks running down from the base of the portlight. I'm not a chemist but I assume is copper oxide from the bronze. I'll remove and rebed the portlight next spring. Problem now is getting rid of the green stain. Before I put something on there that makes the stain worse or ruins the liner, does anyone have any recommendations for a cleaning product to remove the stain without damaging or staining the liner?
Thanks,
Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, NY



Setsail728@aol.com

[Clay Stalker]

One of my portlights on my CD27 evidently has a leak. I've never found a wet spot but the fiberglass cabin liner has green streaks running down from the base of the portlight. I'm not a chemist but I assume is copper oxide from the bronze. I'll remove and rebed the portlight next spring. Problem now is getting rid of the green stain. Before I put something on there that makes the stain worse or ruins the liner, does anyone have any recommendations for a cleaning product to remove the stain without damaging or staining the liner?
Thanks,
Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, NY

Hi Warren:

I get those streaks occasionally from two of my ports...I just spray a little Fantastic or Simple Green on it, let it sit for a minute or two, and wipe off....no problem with the liner. They don't bother me enough to rebed the ports yet...Not a simple job.

Clay Stalker



cstalker@cheshire.net

[Warren Kaplan]

One of my portlights on my CD27 evidently has a leak. I've never found a wet spot but the fiberglass cabin liner has green streaks running down from the base of the portlight. I'm not a chemist but I assume is copper oxide from the bronze. I'll remove and rebed the portlight next spring. Problem now is getting rid of the green stain. Before I put something on there that makes the stain worse or ruins the liner, does anyone have any recommendations for a cleaning product to remove the stain without damaging or staining the liner?
Thanks,
Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, NY

Hi Warren:

I get those streaks occasionally from two of my ports...I just spray a little Fantastic or Simple Green on it, let it sit for a minute or two, and wipe off....no problem with the liner. They don't bother me enough to rebed the ports yet...Not a simple job.

Clay Stalker

Thanks Clay,
Do you find any wet spots associated with those areas? I haven't and I've looked. The surrounding area isn't "mushy soft" either. Could this be anything other than a leak?

Warren



Setsail728@aol.com

[Bill Goldsmith]

Warren:

Could this merely be the rubber weatherstripping? The stripping on mine leaks unless I really tighten down on the dogs. I have found that a little WD-40 on the bolts allows them to get sufficiently tight without killing the fingers. Just a thought.

Bill

One of my portlights on my CD27 evidently has a leak. I've never found a wet spot but the fiberglass cabin liner has green streaks running down from the base of the portlight. I'm not a chemist but I assume is copper oxide from the bronze. I'll remove and rebed the portlight next spring. Problem now is getting rid of the green stain. Before I put something on there that makes the stain worse or ruins the liner, does anyone have any recommendations for a cleaning product to remove the stain without damaging or staining the liner?
Thanks,
Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, NY

Hi Warren:

I get those streaks occasionally from two of my ports...I just spray a little Fantastic or Simple Green on it, let it sit for a minute or two, and wipe off....no problem with the liner. They don't bother me enough to rebed the ports yet...Not a simple job.

Clay Stalker

Thanks Clay,
Do you find any wet spots associated with those areas? I haven't and I've looked. The surrounding area isn't "mushy soft" either. Could this be anything other than a leak?

Warren

goldy@bestweb.net

[Clay Stalker]

Warren:

Could this merely be the rubber weatherstripping? The stripping on mine leaks unless I really tighten down on the dogs. I have found that a little WD-40 on the bolts allows them to get sufficiently tight without killing the fingers. Just a thought.

Bill

Hi Warren:

I get those streaks occasionally from two of my ports...I just spray a little Fantastic or Simple Green on it, let it sit for a minute or two, and wipe off....no problem with the liner. They don't bother me enough to rebed the ports yet...Not a simple job.

Clay Stalker

Thanks Clay,
Do you find any wet spots associated with those areas? I haven't and I've looked. The surrounding area isn't "mushy soft" either. Could this be anything other than a leak?

Warren

Bill:

I think you are correct. I don't think the port itself leaks, just around the rubber....I find if I really reef it shut, it doesn't leak...spraying the dogs with something does help and keeps the green at bay....someone once suggested putting a little vaseline on the rubber to complete the seal...haven't tried that yet.

Clay Stalker



cstalker@cheshire.net

[Boyd]

Warren...

I use silicone O ring grease on both the gasket and threads of the knobs. I got it at a dive shop...$6.00 for a lifetime supply. Has a thousand uses...waterproof and doesnt ruin the rubber like petroleum greases..

Boyd
s/v Tern
CD 30 MkII
Fort Lauderdale, Fla

Warren:

Could this merely be the rubber weatherstripping? The stripping on mine leaks unless I really tighten down on the dogs. I have found that a little WD-40 on the bolts allows them to get sufficiently tight without killing the fingers. Just a thought.

Bill

Thanks Clay,
Do you find any wet spots associated with those areas? I haven't and I've looked. The surrounding area isn't "mushy soft" either. Could this be anything other than a leak?

Warren

Bill:

I think you are correct. I don't think the port itself leaks, just around the rubber....I find if I really reef it shut, it doesn't leak...spraying the dogs with something does help and keeps the green at bay....someone once suggested putting a little vaseline on the rubber to complete the seal...haven't tried that yet.

Clay Stalker

Boyd@wbta.cc

[Tom Keevil]

This isn't useful advice, but a response to your question mark. Copper oxide is black. The green stuff is probably a copper hydoxo carbonate compound.

Tom Keevil




sharphat@mind.net

[Warren Kaplan]

This isn't useful advice, but a response to your question mark. Copper oxide is black. The green stuff is probably a copper hydoxo carbonate compound.

Tom Keevil

Thanks Tom! As I said, I'm no chemist but I remember seeing old copper pennies, and copper fixtures of many types with some green oxidation compond. Patina if you will. Since bronze has copper in it, I assumed that's where the "green" came from via some chemical reaction. My main objective is to get it to "go away"! (HA!)

Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, NY




Setsail728@aol.com

[Randall T. Bates]

Warren:

Could this merely be the rubber weatherstripping? The stripping on mine leaks unless I really tighten down on the dogs. I have found that a little WD-40 on the bolts allows them to get sufficiently tight without killing the fingers. Just a thought.

Bill

Thanks Clay,
Do you find any wet spots associated with those areas? I haven't and I've looked. The surrounding area isn't "mushy soft" either. Could this be anything other than a leak?

Warren

Bill:

I think you are correct. I don't think the port itself leaks, just around the rubber....I find if I really reef it shut, it doesn't leak...spraying the dogs with something does help and keeps the green at bay....someone once suggested putting a little vaseline on the rubber to complete the seal...haven't tried that yet.

Clay Stalker

Clay:
DO NOT use vaseline on the rubber. Some types of rubber do not react well with petroleun jelly. Go to ANY dive shop and get a tube of silicon lube for o-rings. Use this on ALL your rubber seals. Makes them last forever.



randy.bates@baesystems.com

[Clay Stalker]

Warren:

Could this merely be the rubber weatherstripping? The stripping on mine leaks unless I really tighten down on the dogs. I have found that a little WD-40 on the bolts allows them to get sufficiently tight without killing the fingers. Just a thought.

Bill

Bill:

I think you are correct. I don't think the port itself leaks, just around the rubber....I find if I really reef it shut, it doesn't leak...spraying the dogs with something does help and keeps the green at bay....someone once suggested putting a little vaseline on the rubber to complete the seal...haven't tried that yet.

Clay Stalker

Clay:
DO NOT use vaseline on the rubber. Some types of rubber do not react well with petroleun jelly. Go to ANY dive shop and get a tube of silicon lube for o-rings. Use this on ALL your rubber seals. Makes them last forever.

Many thanks for the tip...I plan to go to a Dive Shop here in town and get some of this stuff today. This is, as usual, a board of very helpful folks.

Clay Stalker



cstalker@cheshire.net