Mold and how to fix-if possible at all


Selling this kayak. Lots of black stuff which I’m assuming is mold. Tried detergent and other cleanser. Have not tried bleach or brillo. Also don’t know what the white is.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Brillo, Scotchbrite or other abrasives will damage the plastic. Do a quick online search for mold removal and you’ll find a variety of methods. As for the white areas, it looks like the boat was molded as two-tone, which is not uncommon.

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Try cleaner for vinyl siding. Spray on and let sit, then scrub off.

If the black is a mold stain, then bleach or vinyl siding cleaner (most are bleach + various additives) should do the trick as suggested. If not, try a strong solution of sodium percarbonate - it’s the active ingredient in “oxy” cleaners. Costs about $15/lb at Bezos’ Bazaar.

I don’t know if you have one but I would take my pressure washer to it. if you don’t have one you could try a car wash.

:canoe:

That black mold might be hard to clean, but I used this to clean my PVC railings an vinyl clad windows that were stained from atmosphere and algea. Nylon bristle brush and garden hose clears the surface. If it comes in contact with vegitation, flood it with water before and after to prevent damage.

The white is the plastic itself. They fill the molds with hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic pellets, often in two or 3 different colors and then the mold is closed and baked as the mold rotates in an oven. The colors melt and flow together to create the marbelized effect. One of my first kayaks was a Dagger Magellan I named “Jimi” after Hendrix because it looked like purple, bright blue and white tie-dye per this process.

Flood brand wooden deck cleaner is also excellent for dissolving dark mold. I soaked the stained and blackened deck at a house I used to own with the stuff and it stripped the discoloration off the wood with some light scrubbing and high pressure water from the garden hose.

Since it looks like you used the boat around marinas, that black staining may be residual fuel oils from the water. All kinds of nasties in the water around docks and marinas. So using heavy duty laundry prewash spray may zap some of it.

Thanks again to all suggestions.