SCUBA Gear Service
Salt Corrosion: NOW A THING OF THE PAST!
SX50: MAKES MAINTANENCE EASY
SCUBA Gear Service is written by a 20 veteran of diving and has dived in some very remote and unforgiving
environments so for new or inexperienced divers this information should be taken on board.
There are many views and ideas about the best method to keep the SCUBA gear free of corrosive salts.
Some divers use warm water, overnight soaking, a cup of vinegar in the bucket of water, wetsuit wash, some
partially effective, others a waste of time.
It is scientific fact that water alone cannot remove salt effectively from most surfaces.
This product is the single most effective “Equipment Corrosion Management System” available
today. SX50 is water soluble and non-toxic and will not harm any part of your Diving Equipment,
BCD’s, Camera Housings, Computers, etc.
After 18 years professional involvement in the diving industry and 16 years as a service technician I
have found NO other product that rivals SX50. I have found it excellent on anything that goes in or near salt
water.
The other fantastic feature of SX50 is, it will keep once the concentrate is made up meaning you can
use it several times before you need to discard the solution. By the way, 1 litre of concentrate makes up 35
litres of usable solution.
The following is our SX50 maintenance procedure for the centres hire equipment and this simple process keeps
the gear in pristine condition.
We use a 60 litre plastic drum with a lid, pre-mixed with SX50 at 35:1. When equipment returns from hire,
the regulators and inflator assemblies go into the drum for between 5 and 20 minutes. The gear is then removed,
and hung up to dry. Yes, that is it. SX50 effectively removes salt from any surface and once dry, a fine
protective coating remains on the surfaces until the gear goes out on hire. No rinsing is required and this
product is environmentally safe.
For equipment that has, corrosion build-up we have found that a 20:1 solution, with an overnight soaks is
all that is required to remove the salt build-up. Inspect your gear and if clean remove or return to the
solution for a further soak.
Once the equipment is clean and free of corrosion, a regular dip after each dive trip will keep your
valuable diving gear in tiptop condition.
Yes, you do need to have your equipment serviced regularly. SX50 will ensure that each time you go diving
your equipment will perform well and there will be no damage caused by salt water.
A simple, one-step, low cost process that will give you piece of mind knowing your equipment will not suffer
from salt corrosion.
Neil Harris diving in Pavuvu Island in the West Russells Solomon Islands.