fiberglass and skin irritation

I bought a 1977 Ericson, and while it's in great condition mechanically, it's leaving a little to be desired on the topside. In particular, it's not been detailed in years.... years. We've been noticing that fiberglass itch after using her. Not crazy, but it's an irritation and the kids are complaining.

Any insight as to how to remedy this? I've been looking into a detail, but it's pricey... shocker, right? Anyhow, just wanted to get some general feedback from other's who've run into the fiberglass issue. I'm not opposed to the cost to have her detailed, but if it's not gonna help with the itchy skin, then I'd like to put that money into some more safety issues aboard first.

Thanks in advance!

Fiberglass itch

I've never had fiberglass itch unless I was sanding fiberglass. Maybe a good hose down should take care of it. Or cushions. Could be something completely different like sun irritation or everyone's allergic to the sunscreen, etc.

Good Luck, hopefully more experienced minds will chime in.

-Dean

Agreed - I would look for other sources of irritant. That said, if she's truly dirty, a little soft scrub will go a long way to doing some deep cleaning.

My guess it is just old gelcoat. Old gelcoat oxidizes and will leave a white powdery residue. I would imagine that some people could experience a mild skin irritation if it gets on their skin. Never experienced that myself but I don't see why that isn't possible.

To get actual fiberglass itch, you'd need to expose the fibers by sanding through the gelcoat and that can be seriously itchy, like playing with insulation itchy.

To remedy oxidized gelcoat, try something like soft scrub with bleach and a stiff brush and go to town on the deck and cockpit. If there is still residue after that, you may need to wet sand to get through it all. Once you can no longer run your fingers across the dry gelcoat and get any white on them, then wax the smooth areas. This will help delay further oxidation. You'll probably need to do this exercise at least once a season. More often if the gelcoat is in really bad shape. If really bad, then consider painting the smooth areas, and redoing the non-skid with something like kiwi grip.

If it isn't the gelcoat, then another thought is something inside the boat like old cushions that are breaking down or are salt encrusted and the foam powder or salt crystals are getting on skin and causing irritation. Also, salt water that dries on your skin can be itchy, so rinse off with fresh water after swimming or getting a lot of spray over the deck.

Good luck.

White Residue

I get a white gel coat residue on my pants and sometimes hands/arms from our '70 Ericson, The soft scrub is a good idea. My rubrail is also chalky white and leaves a residue too, but it needs to be completely replaced anyway. It never itches though.

Dean

Macgyro said:

I get a white gel coat residue on my pants and sometimes hands/arms from our '70 Ericson, The soft scrub is a good idea. My rubrail is also chalky white and leaves a residue too, but it needs to be completely replaced anyway. It never itches though.

Dean

Click to expand...

I would recommend going easy with any kind of abrasive cleaner as the old gelcoat is already likely to be pretty thin. Do the minimum you can to get the oxidation off and then wax.

thanks for the responses thus far, and I'd agree the gel coat is bad (old) and comes up with the brush of a hand. However, the irritation is maybe more severe than what I eluded to in my original post, it's definitely a fiberglass exposure. Leaves red pimply irritation on the arms, and persists for the next day. No amount of cleaning the affected area of skin will remedy. I've isolated it to the forearm or even the outside layer of my palms when exposed. This has got me thinking it might be an area in the cockpit: maybe while an arm is at rest?

There are no visual indicators to direct me to the source, nothing other than the white residue from the gel coat.

If I'm having this problem, would it be worth the investment of a new gel coat, waxing, etc? Or should I simply invest in a new paint job? I'm being quoted in the $20-25 range for a new gel coat, waxing, etc.

Any insight welcome...

First, clean thoroughly. Then wax. The wax should seal both protect the gelcoat and seal in any additional contaminants. Other than the time and effort, this should be a simple fix. Concentrate on the cockpit first and hardest.

Unless you are doing it yourself, painting can be very expensive. Most people will only paint after waxing will no longer give them the aesthetic results they are looking for.

If you do paint it yourself, look around this site for paint recommendations for the smooth areas. There are many good products and several that are formulated for more forgiveness for the DIY'er. Take a look at kiwi grip for the non-skid. It is very easy to put down and the results are really neat. Don't bother with new gelcoat unless you are going to try spot repairs. It's too painful to work with and get good shiny results over a large area.

If DIY'ing a deck paint project, the "right way" is to take everything off of the deck and cabin top. Hardware, windows, everything. It sucks and takes a lot of time, but that is the "right way" and prevents any spots where you have a hard edge to the new paint where it can lift. It's a lot of prep work but the results can be worth it if you do it right. I know several people who have done it without removing all of the hardware and have still gotten really good results as well. They recognize the limitations, but after weighing the cost/time/benefit ratios, that was good enough.

I've not heard of anybody getting a reaction to fiberglass like that. You're in Florida, I wonder if it's possible the previous owner had a bug problem and sprayed the boat and possibly down below with an insect spray.

As for dealing with the gelcoat, I'd buff it out with a gentle rubbing compound and then wax it. I like Collinite paste wax or the West Marine polish/wax with PTEF.

Sorry about this irritation thing, it sounds quite severe.

The good news is that we other owners have never encountered this as a result of aging fiberglass gelcoat. Most of us are well aware of issues with raw glass fiber, which can be as prickly as an encounter with cactus, and well known problems with resin sensitivity. Cured gel coat dust or residue doesn't typically do that, but it sure seems that the surfaces are causing the problem.

Therefore, the suggestion to compound, polish and wax your boat seems the right place to start. You can do it yourself, but since you're already sensitized I wouldn't. Besides, the job requires muscles, patience, an expensive buffer, experience and time. Around here it costs $300-500, not a big expense in boat dollars.

Wax will become the new surface for about six months and should provide a barrier against any irritant.

Done right by a pro, it will also give you a boat that to the eye looks almost new.

Oh yeah, something else. I once had a 1970s boat with upholstery that seemed to have something like fiberglass in its weave, and was constantly deteriorating. Probably you have already eliminated upholstery as culprit, but it can also make problems with mold and spores.

After reading responses and asking around the marina, I'm comforted to know that this is turning into a situation on the rare side. Going ahead with a wash, compound and wax, seems money well spent for some restored confidence in my young shipmates.

Some other interesting insight is that this may be from some upholstery on board... still a possibility so I'll have to dig a little deeper inside the cabin. Very strange and tough to diagnose since there's nothing visually abnormal and there's no irritation upon contact. The reaction occurs once we're off the boat and maybe settling into the car ride home. Very weird.

I'll try to isolate it and with some steps, attempt to report back with my solved mystery soon enough.

Interior

There may very well be fiberglass dust around from repairs/projects. I just replaced my cockpit drains and got fiberglass dust everywhere including in the cabin. I tried vacuuming with a shop vac, but there's still plenty hiding in the nooks and crannies. I've also found hundreds of years old fiberglass dust from previous projects and repairs as well.

That dust may be getting kicked around and landing on surfaces you come into contact with.

You may try a thorough vacuuming inside, and wipe down walls/ceiling/hard surfaces, etc. That dust has a way of diffusing in the air and getting into everything.

Good Luck!

Macgyro said:

There may very well be fiberglass dust around from repairs/projects. I just replaced my cockpit drains and got fiberglass dust everywhere including in the cabin. I tried vacuuming with a shop vac, but there's still plenty hiding in the nooks and crannies. I've also found hundreds of years old fiberglass dust from previous projects and repairs as well.

That dust may be getting kicked around and landing on surfaces you come into contact with.

You may try a thorough vacuuming inside, and wipe down walls/ceiling/hard surfaces, etc. That dust has a way of diffusing in the air and getting into everything.
Good Luck!

Click to expand...

For any kind of interior sanding we use a quarter-sheet sander with a vac. hose connection -- going to the flex hose to our Fein dustless vac.
This type of vacuum uses a (large) paper filter bag. It is so good that in the past we have been able to do inside varnishing an hour after final sanding and a wipe down with a tack cloth.

Also, for larger areas where you need an angle grinder/sander armed with with 30 or 60 grit.... I have used a "shop vac" with the 3" inlet hose held inches from the rotating disk. This catches 90% ++ of the material as it is flung off the fiberglass surface.

Loren

Our boat is docked in a nice, serene and protected bayou. Nestled in the oak trees and old southern charm. It just happens to be right across from a huge scrapyard where they grind up cars and load them on barges. We get a lot of corrosive dust that settles on the boat.

Before regular washes, it has that gritty feel.

Not it sure if you have a situation like that in Palmetto but if so, that could cause that fiberglass itchy feel.