looking for advice, which I am then going to test, document and report back on here which was most effective to remove bird poop from my TS.
So I left my TS in the water for 2 months while I fixed the trailer. To come back and find it had become the new Shag Island. I collected that much guano I am pretty sure it is worth more to a farmer than a sailor, the entire bot was about 1-2inches thick, and in some spots deeper.
I decided to take it home and high pressure water clean it on the grass to fertilise my lawn at the same time, and thoroughly upset all neighbours down wind of me.
This took off the chunks burs it did little to remove the residue and my yacht looks likes a bowl of melted Napoleon icecream.
Whats everyone's recommendations for what works best to remove these beastly stains? Im willing to use my boat as the tester, scientifically trial different chemicals in different spots, test how easy it is use, effectiveness and if it causes any other discolouration. Then report back to everyone which trick worked best.
Im going to start with some truck wash, some white vinegar, some common enviro friendly floor cleaner and whatever boat wash I can find at super cheap. Any other ideas?
Select to expand quoteJake888 said..
OOOHHH, I thought I had it bad today & even used mean words against the feathered fiends ... hung lots of cds back up & thinking I'll finally get some net for the whole thing.
Swallows, gulls & the odd shag I think.
I'd start with water & detergent & some towels that wont be going home again to keep it damp.
Most of mine came off with a broom & car sponge but that was after three days of rain. Some industrial abrasive hand cleaner might help in the patterned areas.
Good luck.
Jeff.
Read somewhere that a deck light from early dusk to well after dark keeps them off overnight. 
A better power washer will do it
One with a separate petrol motor,
And a good stiff broom
Been there, done that
Metal Gleam will have that looking like new in 10 minutes. Scrub the whole boat down with a mixture of the acid 5:1 with warm water. Use a soft broom and a stiff brush for the tough bits. Widely used in the fishing industry to clean fibreglass, paint and stainless steel. That is not that dirty so should be an easy job. Metal gleam is mostly phosphoric acid and is safe on the hands[relatively anyway]. If you can't buy it there then use oxallic acid. Bunnings sell a patio cleaner with oxallic acid. Mix as directed and once again use warm water on a warm day. Look on the top shelves in Bunnings.
shop.nowchem.com.au/shop/heavy-duty/metal-gleam/
Select to expand quoteJake888 said..
Im going to start with some truck wash, some white vinegar, some common enviro friendly floor cleaner and whatever boat wash I can find at super cheap. Any other ideas?
Truck wash is an alkali, vinegar is an acid!
My mate owns a 28ft sailing cat that's the birds love to sh#t on being a wide stable platform compared to the keelers around it.
It's good to hear the recommendations as scrubbing with water removes the poop but not the stain.
There are nets which reduce but not eliminate bird poop.
What are other effective measures to stop it?
Aldi's last catalogue had 20V cordless high pressure washers for $99, and $30 for a battery and charger if you dont have their range already.
I grabbed one, but am yet to try it.
Since it's cordless and can suck up from a bucket, I thought it might be useful on the mooring, hopefully it would have more pressure than a deck wash, and sometimes its nice to rise the saltwater off everything.
Anything to help cleaning.
The only other tip I'd suggest, if your going to the trouble to clean it off, you might want to consider trying to wax the deck afterwards (non skid areas obviously). If your fibreglass has gone chalky it can be ever harder to clean the staining out.
