¿Which liquid to spray over the whole engine.?

[RafaelVial]

Dear sailors,

I want to know which liquid is the best to preven or avoid rust, the idea is to spray it over the engine and other metal parts, special for long period (months) that my boat is not in use.

I have a 50 feet sailboat in the carib area, and I saw people spraying the whole engine of his boat with WD-40 but apparently it doesn´t prevent oxide, only takes away water,

¿WHO CAN ADVICE ME SERIOUSLY IN THIS MATTER?

Thanks a lot, and have fair winds...

Rafael Vial
Cucao boat

[wind_magic]

This isn't advice because I don't know enough about it to give advice - but in areas where there is a lot of salt on the roads in winter people often spray the bottom of their vehicles with a special oil to keep down the corrosion, might do well to find out what that oil is. Otherwise I guess any oil would work. Of course when that engine gets hot it's going to smell like a hot engine that has oil all over it, stinky.

If it were me and I was going to do something like that (which I probably wouldn't) then I might consider gun oil.

Do people ever use engine paint on their marine engines ?

[hellosailor]

Rafael, any liquid be a problem since it will also attract dirt and form "crud". There are products like BoeShield or BreakFree CRP which are designed to be sprayed on machines to prevent corrosion during storage, but you would spray them sparingly and then wipe them down before *covering* or sealing the parts, to prevent dirt from building up.

I would instead suggest the more traditional sealed the engine spaces, with some pails of dessicant to absorb any moisture, and then mothballing them. Scatter a box or can of mothballs (napthalene or camphor) in the space and close it up, and they sublimate out to form a thin waxy protection layer on everything. Kills bugs, stops rust.

You can find higher-tech high-priced products sold as 'corrosion block' or 'corrosion inhibitor' from machinist supplies and gumsmithing supplies at higher prices, that won't have the mothball smell to them. But they won't keep out critters, the way mothballs will.

If you do use mothballs--when you return to the boat, hold your breath, open and ventilate the spaces before going below. That stuff can also make you incredibly dizzy if it has been sealed in an built up.

[Maine Sail]

DO NOT USE any penetrating type sprays such as PB Blaster or anything that says PENETRATING OIL. These sprays EAT engine seals for breakfast. Just ask me I ruined a perfectly good transmission output seal after I sprayed the bolts for the coupling and some PB Blaster dripped onto the seal. By the next morning the entire contents of my transmission were in my bilge! $1200.00 later I was back in business!

If you want to keep corrosion down try Boeshield but beyond that keep a DRY bilge and run the engine once a week to dry out the engine compartment. I no longer spray anything on my engine as I'm now a little gun shy..

[sailaway21]

I use olive oil. The tricky part is taping the mussels to the cooling jacket.

OK, seriously. halekai is on the right track. Moisture, either from water in the bilge or humidity is what is going to cause corrosion, not to mention mold. In the Caribbean you are going to have a very high absolute humidity. Ironically, the best solution is the same as used in northern climes, heat. If you are leaving the boat for an extended time you probably cannot ventilate enough to keep the boat dry. Try placing a 100 watt light bulb in the engine compartment. The additional heat of the bulb will help to keep the compartment dry and reduce condensation as well.

I wouldn't spray anything on the engine. As mentioned by hellosailor, you'll just be creating a dirt magnet. If it rusts, just dab it with a little ospho upon your return.

[hellosailor]

If you are going to rely on a bulb for heat...tungsten bulbs are not reliable. Better to use a goldenrod (low temperature heating rod) or at least, an industrial "overvolt" light bulb, i.e. a 130V bulb on a 117VAC circuit, or a 240V bulb on a 220V circuit. They're meant for extra long life in hard to access locations, and they are dimmer and more expensive than "normal" bulbs in order to get extra along life.

[poopdeckpappy]

Ditto what HaleKai,hellosailor and SA21 said, although a smartly located 40 watt bulb has been known to cut down on humidity also


Oh and by the way, one of your question marks fell over, might try some 3M5200 next time

[RichH]

"Boeshield T-9" is a corrosion preventative use in the aircraft industry. I spray it on my tools, engine, rigging terminals, etc. and also on my electrical wiring 'joints'.

BTW I usually wash/clean/scrub my engine yearly with simply a strong caustic detergent to remove all the oil (from vapor), dust, etc. ... let dry then respray with Boeshield. I find Boeshield especially good for spraying onto the vee-belt sheaves when Im not on the boat for long periods as it prevent surface rust blooms on the 'shined-up' surfaces that eventually 'roughen' the vee belt sheave surfaces ... which causes excessive belt wear and premature failure.

"Boeshield T-9" is a high-tech aerospace 'wax' and is available from most 'boat chandleries' such as Worst Marine, etc.
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|118|107602|309354&id=19841