I thought of vinegar, and I have plenty. A friend said they thought it wouldn't work. But it is worth a try I think. I have two half gal of the stuff over at my friend's house that is left over. (from working on the boat) When I thought it was mold, they didn't think it would work. Now when I think of what it probably is, with the aphid situation, it just may. I am not sure if it will hurt the paint though. I will try a test area first! Thanks for that suggestion.

seriously :

Kelkay, if you have an inconspicuous painted area where you can apply a little Goo Gone and let it sit for 5 minutes or so I would sure try it. That stuff will clean about anything. I have to wear exam gloves or dishwashing gloves to use it if I don't want cracked and bleeding fingers, but it's worth the trouble.
Those sticky paper labels that come on all manner of plastic ware from WalMart which are impervious to just about any cleaner in captivity, will dissolve right off with just a little goo gone. That stuff's pretty miraculous for a non-petroleum solvent. btw, don't get the one that says it contains petroleum distillates or whatever - you want the one that is 100% citrus based. I actually think the one that comes in the plastic bottle with the screw on lid works much better than the one that comes in the spray bottle but that might just be my perception. I would not leave the Goo Gone sitting on there unattended for a long time as it could possibly damage your paint job.

I would also suggest to try mineral spirits in a different spot - same thing, wet it down and let it set for a few minutes, then scrub with a bristle brush and wipe it off. It's not as strong as the Goo Gone, much less expensive but might work quite well. It's a lot less likely to hurt the paint, but may not be aggressive enough for this purpose.

You're probably going to need to use a scrub brush and some elbow grease due to the roughened surface regardless. That's probably why the baking soda worked - it's a very mild abrasive. Not likely to scratch the paint, but an abrasive none the less.
Actually though, for practical use, that slightly rough surface from spray painting in the wind on the interior is going to be an unintended benefit when you get to using it. It will be a lot less slippery when it gets wet or some catfish slime gets smeared around in there after you get to fishing out of it.

I've enjoyed following your reports on your boat project and I'd be interested in hearing what the final solution is to cleaning off the black stuff. The car wash might work and would sure be the fastest, but I'd still take a scrub brush along just in case.

Thanks Jon, I will let ya know what works. I am very wary of Goo Gone, and Mineral Spirits...but I will see. I know when I used mineral spirits on it before...I did not let it sit there. Sometimes when I sprayed one color next to another, a few drops of spray would get on the other color. (after pulling tape up, I found it) So I put mineral spirits on a blue shop rag...then lightly when over that spot...not scrubbing...just lightly...because it did try to take the paint up. It is a paint thinner after all. :-) I read about using Citrus Solvent, but it is probably more expensive than mineral spirits.
Oh, and I had to scrub the boat vigorously even WITH the baking soda...it wasn't just wiped on. Even then I had to keep at it. It took a while. Yes, that is the main reason I did not have the inside too slick, because of the slip factor. But now I see a drawback to letting it be a little rough in areas.

I'm afraid the paint has been stained through to the core, which reminds me of this:

There were two young men who were painting contractors. They made a contract to paint the local church. From the start they realized that they did not have enough paint to do the whole job. So they thinned the paint quite a bit. At first it looked fine, but when the first rain came the paint streaked and the church looked worse than ever before. The minister called the young men to come look at their paint job. As they stood and looked at the streaked paint, suddenly a big cloud covered the sun and a huge lightening bolt struck nearby. Out of the cloud the painters heard a booming voice, the voice of God saying, �Repaint and thin no more.�

If cleaning it the way you have already doesn't remove the stains how much more effort is it to just repaint the stained parts..

Well I do not plan to repaint. I put on a lot of paint. I am going back out there in a little bit, and try to finish it, then go to get it power washed over that. If it is to the core, it will have to stay there a while. If it truly needs repainting, I will do it in the spring. I think the outside will be fine, even with a faint residue. The inside is the bugger. I am going to try to attach the pvc today, and label those wires. Once I do, it will be ready for the water.

Bon voyage and best wishes. Noah took a lot of flak for his boat-building project too. He was too much of a dreamer and perfectionist for his buds, and we all know how those guys ended up....

Thank you Doublehaul, that put a smile on my face. I went out to the boat today. I got the wires labeled with color coded electrical tape. I was going to just put a screw in that pvc pipe, to secure it. My friend's husband was there, and I asked him if he thought it would work alright. He thought a pvc conduit bracket would hold it better considering everything. So tomorrow I plan to go buy a Lowe's or HD, and pick it up, and a couple of fasteners. Then it will be ready for the water. I brought the vests thinking we could take the boat for a test drive today, but it was not to be. While I am playing chauffeur tomorrow I will get that picked up at least. I did get about 3 more hours of cleaning done on it the boat. It looks a lot better. I still need to clean more, but it will have to wait a bit longer. My son of course thinks it looks fine like it is. I want to get that dreaded stuff off as MUCH as I can. I do have a problem with doing things being just right, yes...perfectionism, and I am a dreamer. You tagged me on that one....lol. I liked your analogy. It made me feel a little better, thank you.

Here is something to try, 0000 steel wool. it may or may not do the job on that stuff. I use it to take rust off of knives and guns, works pretty good.

never heard of that grade of steel wool....I sprayed some lubricant spray on some metal pieces yesterday. The trolling motor has rust where you attach it to the transom. That was surprising. The chains are already rusting badly, the trailer jack, and some other stuff. So I sprayed liberally wherever I saw rust. :-) I must be very careful with that paint, I hate spray painting...lol

I would assume the rust is normal. I see a lot of boats sit for extended periods that get rust on exsposed metal parts.

And BTW Noah didnt waist time on nonsense stuff, His boat floated the first time the water was deep enough.

Kelly,
Can you post some updated photos of the boat? I'd like to see your progress in pictures! Happy fishing!

these are the most updated...I need to take more, but I was going to wait till I got it on the water, and take many more then..I bought the stuff I needed to secure the pvc...now all I have to do is borrow my friend's drill, and put that bracket on...then it will be ready for the water...finally

Awesome looks sharp Kelly.

That is a nice boat.