Inflatable Cleaner pH

blackers_92 · 05 November 2015, 06:35

Hi All

I purchased "Septone Canopy / Inflatable Boat Cleaner" (Australian Product) I noticed that is is "Strongly Alkaline" and was a little reluctant to use it, I checked its MSDS and found the pH is > 12.5

Looking around online a lot of inflatable / ribbing websites suggests using alkaline cleaners with a pH of < 11.5

Alternatives I can use are:
Sugar Soap - pH of 11
Jif / Clif cleaner = pH 11

Will this stuff destroy my PVC / Seams? Kind of annoyed that I purchased one liter of specific "inflatable cleaner" only to find its not safe. I supposed I could dilute it further than the suggestion on the bottle, to make the pH less alkaline and more neutral?

Appreciate any advice!!

Poly · 05 November 2015, 18:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackers_92

Looking around online a lot of inflatable / ribbing websites suggests using alkaline cleaners with a pH of < 11.5

Where did you see that?

Concentrated TFR is commonly recommended here (with the caveat to wash it off very thoroughly) and it will have a pH > 11.5

willk · 05 November 2015, 19:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackers_92

Kind of annoyed that I purchased one liter of specific "inflatable cleaner" only to find its not safe......Appreciate any advice!!

What do you mean by "not safe"?

Not safe for you, certainly (which is why you should wear PPE) but I'm not clear why you might think it wasn't safe for the SIB?

Pikey Dave · 06 November 2015, 10:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poly

Where did you see that?

Concentrated TFR is commonly recommended here (with the caveat to wash it off very thoroughly) and it will have a pH > 11.5

Neat TFR has a pH in the 12-14 range, been using it for years. Not had a boat (Hypalon) fall apart yet, or indeed, my skin fall off for that matter

jamiegolf · 06 November 2015, 11:41

What about using neat tfr on pvc of pu? Any experience?

Sent from my iPhone using RIB Net

Pikey Dave · 06 November 2015, 11:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamiegolf

What about using neat tfr on pvc of pu? Any experience?

Sent from my iPhone using RIB Net

Used it on the PVC tender, no problems so far.

Wightdiver · 06 November 2015, 14:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamiegolf

What about using neat tfr on pvc of pu? Any experience?

Sent from my iPhone using RIB Net

My old boat had PU tubes and never had a problem with TFR.

jamiegolf · 06 November 2015, 15:10

Thanks

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darklordhill · 06 November 2015, 15:28

Bar Acid I have used every cleaner known to man over the last few years cleaning rib tubes and none have had any detrimental effect on them if used correctly.
Do you have fairy power spray and cillit bang black mould remover over there ? Asi have found these 2 to be the best for the cost.
Read through some of the threads and I'm sure you'll find one or two on this subject.
The TFR some people get is different to others, I have tried a few commercial varieties and some WILL take skin off and some just give you a case of red eye if your down wind when spraying.

blackers_92 · 07 November 2015, 10:02

Thanks for the responses!

The pH thing I found simply googling "alkaline cleaner inflatable boat" I wont go into specifics as there was quite a few with the same disclaimer. Perhaps they are trying to flog their own product? They actually all seemed to be copy / pasted (i.e. very similar chunks of text)

I also found a few old discussion on here by googling "alkaline ribnet site:www.rib.net"

I actually used the boat cleaner yesterday and it was pretty useless! so I might try and source some TFR equivalent in Australia

Thanks again

kubcat · 07 November 2015, 16:44

If any of our Australian members have anything to add, I would be most interested as we have different products here.

My tube guy keeps telling me to use Acetone VERY CAREFULLY, but I am not sure I have the right technique as it only cleans a patch and then for some reason seems to not clean anymore.

Patch · 07 November 2015, 22:10

Oz member. Using acetone safely is an oxymoron. You need to use gallons of the stuff on PVC with continuous clean rags to make a difference and yes it is very bad for the tubes. Not recommended. The reason they come so clean is because your literally wiping off the top layer of material. On coloured PVC have a look at the rag after wiping. Not sustainable.

We use a fair bit of the Following in the workshop. Orange C by Citraforce, Polymarine from UK. Dilute isopropanol is also good for spot cleans.

kubcat · 08 November 2015, 06:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patch

Oz member. Using acetone safely is an oxymoron. You need to use gallons of the stuff on PVC with continuous clean rags to make a difference and yes it is very bad for the tubes. Not recommended. The reason they come so clean is because your literally wiping off the top layer of material. On coloured PVC have a look at the rag after wiping. Not sustainable.

We use a fair bit of the Following in the workshop. Orange C by Citraforce, Polymarine from UK. Dilute isopropanol is also good for spot cleans.

Thank you Patch. That makes a lot of sense.