Please help w/acid question
jeff
problem that I have. I hope that somebody can help me. I took my boat
into the shop to have some repairs made (cover on all of the time). A
one gallon jug of hydrocloric acid was left inside the boat (used
diluted to clean the fiberglass). This jug inadvertantly leaked some,
although not much. When I pulled the cover off, I quickley noticed
that the stainless steel fittings, rails, etc., were all rusted. I
couldn't figure it out at first but it appears that the acid spilled,
then evaporated, landing on the metal and rusting it. I opened the
engine compartment and there is like a "rust dust" on some of the
painted surfaces of the motor.
Questions:
I have cleaned it off of the metal with a stainless steel
cleaner...is that good enough?
I flushed the boat with lots and lots of water, but the fumes got
to where water won't....how do I neutralize it?
Will the corrosive nature of the acid ruin all of my electronics
over time?
In general, what should I do........PLEASE HELP ME!!!
Thank you in advance for any advice (e-mail me or post)
Jeff palmer
Paddy
electronic equipment if it penetrated it, and lead to long-term
corrosion problems. If you have recourse to insurance claims now or
in the future then do your homework now and get an engineers report
and maybe a chemists report to back-up your future case.
You can neutralise the acid by saturating the boat with ammonia fumes.
Just pour strong ammonia into a bucket and leave it locked up. But
even if the HCl is neutralised, the ammonium chloride formed will be
more corrosive than salt, so you should decontaminate as you would for
salt-water immersion.
But if there is any money involved, get an expert.
Paddy
Bruce Hamilton
> A one gallon jug of hydrocloric acid was left inside the boat (used
>diluted to clean the fiberglass). This jug inadvertantly leaked some,
>although not much. When I pulled the cover off, I quickley noticed
>that the stainless steel fittings, rails, etc., were all rusted. I
>couldn't figure it out at first but it appears that the acid spilled,
>then evaporated, landing on the metal and rusting it. I opened the
>engine compartment and there is like a "rust dust" on some of the
>painted surfaces of the motor.
If the boat is valuable and insured, you may be better to lodge a claim and let
them hire professionals to clean it.
> I have cleaned it off of the metal with a stainless steel
>cleaner...is that good enough?
Probably not. Most marine stainless is passivated after fabricating and
polishing to prevent the formation of corrosion sites. You really need to
ensure you have got rid of all the chlorides from the acid reaction with the
stainless before progressing to the passivation.
You probably need to talk to a professional marine SS fabrication shop ( not
some cash-only shadetree mechanic ) about how they passivate work that's
already in place.
The most common passivation treatment ( dilute nitric acid ) has to be
thoroughly washed off, but there may be others that don't require complete
removal.
> I flushed the boat with lots and lots of water, but the fumes got
>to where water won't....how do I neutralize it?
With difficulty. I suspect you will need to flush as much as you can out with
water, and dry the water out as quickly as possible. I suppose you could try
gentle steam cleaning from a commercial cleaning company.
> Will the corrosive nature of the acid ruin all of my electronics
>over time?
If the modules aren't hermetic - Yes. Hydrochloric acid fumes will have
condensed on the surfaces, and they need to be rinsed with plenty of distilled
and deionised water to remove all the acid and salts, followed by a clean
solvent rinse ( usually pure ethanol ) to dry the components quickly to prevent
further corrosion.
If the boat isn't insured or valuable, then you can do the best you can ( I'd
seal the electromics in hermetic plastic bags and use a jug of boiling water to
try an wet steam the acid from all other areas of the boat, followed by
filtered ( to remove oil and particles ) warm compressed air blasts to quickly
dry the surfaces to prevent further corrosion. I'd just wash down all the
outside engine with warm water, as much as possible.
If possible, remove and open up the electronics in a clean dry environment. If
there is no obvious sign of corrosion or acid fumes, I'll just blast the
internal areas with filtered air and reseal, checking in a few weeks to ensure
there still is no sign of corrosion. After removing all the acid and corrosion,
you could consider spraying the outside with one of the marine engine water
displacement (eg WDxx ) sprays.
Engines and gearboxes often have accumulated a grease/dirt coating that can
trap the acid, Using a brush or lance I would quickly but thoroughly wash down
all mechancical stuff down with an engine cleaner, and wipe down all electrical
leads and accessories with a solvent-soaked rag, rather than a wet rag. If the
engine was very clean, then use a water-soaked rag to wipe all the cables and
electricial leads before wiping or spraying them with a water
displacement-protection material.
I'd quickly respray the engine and gearbox with one of the marine engine water
displacement sprays. I'd change all the engine filters and oil and run the
engine until hot, then change all the filters and oil again for storage.
I wouldn't go anywhere in the boat until the engine had been through several
cold starts over several weeks to ensure that condensation didn't carry salts
to places they should not be.
Money and/or time will solve your problems, but the sooner you get started, and
the more care you take, the better the outcome - rust never sleeps. Good luck.
Bruce Hamilton.
Richard J Kinch
> A one gallon jug of hydrocloric acid was left inside the boat
Bad news even if it didn't spill. Those jugs emit highly corrosive fumes
even if not leaking liquid. Do not store it near valuable stuff, or where
ventilation is poor, certainly not both. The liquid acid and fumes are very
destructive to stainless steel.
Forget the insurance claims others are advising. Insurance covers sudden
losses, not gradual problems that you should have recognized and dealt
with.
Joe 123
(circuitry).
I would make a solution of bicarbonate <1% and spray on everything and hose
off as usual. Once the rust starts from corrosion like this it will be hard
to stop it even if you scrub it off. Always seems to come back. I think
its because the chromium finish has been removed especially the cheapo
stuff.
"Paddy" <hog.b...@mbox.bol.bg> wrote in message
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Joe 123
"Richard J Kinch" <nob...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
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