Cleaning off oak tree lichen off 10ft dish

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dvbmojo

dvbmojo

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Feb 3, 2009
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Gum Swamp, Florida
You may have to google it... but i'm trying to resurrect my 10ft bud and it has major oak tree type lichen growing all over it. Trying to remove this stuff... tried bleach but so far that hasn't helped much. Anybody else had this stuff growing on their bud?

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

Edit: Enclosed a picture of that stuff. Click on it for a bigger view.

lichen.jpg
 
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I would think that something like 30 Seconds Outdoor Cleaner or some manner of siding wash would help.

I can't promise that it would be any more effective than a properly mixed bleach, vinegar or ammonia solution. Ammonia is often recommended for algae and lichen on marble headstones.

If the stuff is "rooted" in the paint, sanding (or sand blasting) and repainting may be the only solution.

Perhaps the more important question is whether it matters (other than aesthetically).
 
I had to get it off a smaller dish and used warm, soapy water and a soft bristled brush. Patience is important - - - even working on a small dish it took about 30 minutes to get the stuff off. As much as possible you want to avoid damaging the surface of the dish.

I assume the dish is fiberglass??
 
Yep it's rooted pretty good. I'll take a pic of the dish. Haven't heard of that outdoor cleaner... I may give that a try.

It's a mesh dish chapel... I forgot to mention that in my first post.

...DOUG
KD4MOJ
 
I have not tried it, but since it is metal mesh,you might try kerosene on a small area to see if it will take it off with ease. Just as a solvent, don't light it...
 
waylew said:
Pressure washer.
Click to expand...

What he said. I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed my dishes with every solvent known to man, and they were never as clean as this spring when I got the pressure washer. Bleach and liquid tide in a garden sprayer, wet them down with that, then hit them with 3000psi of pressurized water...squeaky clean! :D
 
Unfortunately I don't have a pressure washer... might be able to borrow one. Hopefully today after work I'm going to take another stab at it.

...DOUG
KD4MOJ
 
Big box HW stores often rent them.

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I got that problem too, just last weekend I decided to try mixing up some liquid detergent (the kind you wash your clothes in) and warm water in a 5 gallon bucket to see how it'd work. It goes ok, loosens the stuff up once you wet it and let it soak a min or two, but the brushing does take awhile. Got the bottom half done ok, but without a sprayer or pressure washer it is tedious, and can't reach to the top half of the dish. I may try again with the brush duct-taped to a 1x4 or something with a long handle, to try and complete the job. That stuff looks bad but I can't tell its hurt the reception or the paint any.
edit to add: I found a small putty knife will lift most of it right off in slabs, lol. But use one of those little plastic ones about 2"wide, I was afraid to use the metal ones I have for fear of damaging the mesh.
 
Does the growth really impact the signal?

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Nah it don't hurt it that I can tell, haha. I just was looking for something to do that day after it warmed back up to the 70's, after a few days of low 60s and clouds.
 
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