Yesterday I took advantage of a (relatively) warm Vermont day and Citristrip-ed the inside of a canoe in the shop then took it outside for the hot-water-from-the-garden-hose treatment. I then realized that the inside was going to need bleach, and I didn't have anything on hand. Over the years I've tried a variety of Home Depot-type wood brighteners, as well as a two-part teak cleaner. This morning I went back to this forum and searched past threads for ideas about what works best, and decided to order up some Snappy Teak-Nu from Jamestown (thank you Michael). I had tried Te Ka teak cleaner in the past and liked it, but it seemed pretty pricey, as is the Snappy product. Then I noticed that the order confirmation listed the stuff as "sodium hydroxide". So apparently what this $20 kit contains is probably less than $1.00 worth of lye solution (dry sodium hydroxide flakes or pellets can be purchased over the net for $5/pound, which probably translates to about 10 cents a quart of solution).
Part B is undoubtedly a relatively weak acid to neutralize the basic sodium hydroxide after it has done its work. Why doesn't one of our scientist forum members do a little analysis and experimentation, and make the result available to all of us, or at least tell me why I'm wrong? Do you think there is really a secret ingredient in these products, or should a kid with a chemistry set be able to reproduce them for next to nothing? I'm for the "open source" approach.
Don in Vermont
Part B is undoubtedly a relatively weak acid to neutralize the basic sodium hydroxide after it has done its work. Why doesn't one of our scientist forum members do a little analysis and experimentation, and make the result available to all of us, or at least tell me why I'm wrong? Do you think there is really a secret ingredient in these products, or should a kid with a chemistry set be able to reproduce them for next to nothing? I'm for the "open source" approach.
Don in Vermont