SX50 too good to be kept a secret
AFTER 28 YEARS OF INVOLVEMENT IN THE marine industry I think I have heard every home spun remedy on methods to stop the salt in the sea water from destroying your boat, outboard, trailer, 4x4, fishing and diving equipment.

Put simply you either need to coat your marine gear with a non-corrosive coating to create a barrier to salt which in most cases is messy and unsightly or remove the corrosive salt to break the corrosion process or a combination of the two.

From my experience I have found the simplest and most economical way to maintain my charter boat and outboard, trailer, 4x4 and the rental equipment is to use the SX50 products which neutralises the corrosive salt then dries to leave a sacrificial non oily wax on the surface between uses which keeps all my plant corrosion free and reliable.

Yes, I was sceptical when I was first introduced to to this sort of technology over 15 years ago, however, I elected to use the product and gauge the results. The outcome was remarkable, not only was there no trace of salt after each application, my maintenance costs dropped and reliability rose because of no salt damage.

                   What did I do to achieve this result?

I will start with the outboards as it is always of concern due to the high repair  and replacement costs.

Using the flush plug below the cowling beside the tell tale I used the SX50 flush injector which was fitted into the garden hose then to the flush plug. I turned on the water and allowed it to run through with a healthy telltale keeping medium water pressure, I then placed the siphon pickup tube in the SX50 concentrate solution allowing it the be sucked up into the hose then through the engine cooling galleries.

Once all the SX50 was drawn into the motor I then disconnected the hose and left the SX50 in the cooling galleries to neutralise the salt. That’s it!

 

 

At the 300 hour service the leg was dropped off and the galleries were inspected for corrosion and salt build-up. No salt could be found in the galleries or on the thermostats, in fact it was difficult to tell the difference from the new replacement thermostats and the old ones. The top of the gearbox had no corrosion and the marine mechanic showed me the areas that normally corrode and he too was astounded at the absence of salt corrosion damage. In short the outboard was salt damage free.

The trailer was given a quick hose and using an eight litre garden pressure sprayer with a SX50 mix I sprayed the trailer and brakes to neutralise the salt.

The boat can be rinsed the same way and then coated with SX50 however, after having a boat load of passengers I used the Boat & 4x4 Wash and a soft hair broom to wash down the seats, clears, fibreglass, stainless steel; the whole boat got the treatment and then rinsed off as the Boat & 4x4 Wash has a detergent additive in with the SX50.

                  Easy? Yes it is. Effective? Absolutely!

Compare the purchase price and repair costs of your boat and toys to the poultry two to three dollars per boat trip to keep your boat pristine. SX50 is as cheap as chips.

The same process can applied to inboards with raw water and heat exchange systems with the same results. Depending on the configuration of your particular unit a simple modification can deliver SX50 into the salt cooling system.

Fishing equipment is easy, simply spray down your rod, reel, line and lures with SX50 allow to dry and store away. If you have corrosion build up on your reel already mix up a bath of SX50 at twice the normal ratio and soak your reel overnight.

Inspect in the morning if clean let reel dry out completely before storing or using, if you need more time for the corrosion to be removed return to the SX50 bath until clean.

SX50 will remove salt from any surface. So for those of you with sailing vessels and motor cruisers it takes no time at all to whip around the boat and spray SX50 on your metal fittings and fixtures to keep them salt free and reliable. This maintenance program will save you water while you are on extended trips away from port yet allows you to keep the boat’s fittings in top condition.

To treat your outboard with SX50 you need a bottle of SX50 Concentrate and a SX50 Injector Unit. Make up a short length of garden hose 30 to 45cm with a female snap fitting on each end, this fits one end to the siphon mixer and the other end to the flush fitting or ear muffs on your outboard. The siphon unit has the necessary fittings included to fit the garden hose couplings. Start the water flow and once the tell tale starts to squirt allow the siphon to deliver the SX50 to your cooling galleries. Just remember to rinse the siphon unit with fresh water once the job is done as this stops the build up of SX50 concentrate in the unit which can stop the siphon unit from working.

A garden pressure sprayer is ideal to deliver SX50 to your boat trailer or as a method of application on your larger vessels. All that is needed is a quick spray of SX50 to the salty surface to control the salt build up.
For large vessels the Injector unit can be used through a garden hose to allow you to treat an entire vessel with SX50 or Boat & 4x4 Wash through your hose and allow you to neutralise the salt build up in very little time at all. One large shipping company reduced the cleaning time from eight hours to two hours on one of their small cruise liners by treating the vessel with Boat & 4x4 Wash. The labour saving alone was a huge cost saving to the company. Not to mention the extended life of the boats finish and faster turn around.

I have always believed in a stitch in time saves nine and SX50 certainly fits the bill for marine equipment. If you are proud of your vessels appearance or conscious of maintenance costs SX50 should be part of your regular corrosion prevention.

The Salt Off website is full of useful info or you can phone Salt Off for advice as the staff are keen for you to enjoy the benefits from using the product.

Neil Harris is a SCUBA instructor examiner with over 25 years of diving and boating experience under his belt. Travelled the south pacific extensively exploring most of the known war and shipwreck sites. He is qualified to service all major brands of SCUBA equipment and is a qulified commercial skipper.

by Neil Harris: Coxswain, Diver, ServiceTech - February 2009

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Neil Harris recounts his experience with the Salt Off products and the benefits and savings he enjoyed using Salt Off as part of his maintenance regime on his charter boat, his rental, customers and personal SCUBA gear. 

Source: http://www.bow2stern.com.au