I have heard of people using a little bit of a commercial product called Salt-Away in rinse water to thoroughly remove ocean mineral residue and prevent that whitish buildup on camera housings. The effective ingredient is sulfamic acid, which is sold as a cleaner at places like Home Depot. When sufficiently diluted it is safe, non-toxic, harmless. The Salt-Away label says it is effective even at 1:500 proportions.

I'm taking a trip soon with a Kraken rinse bag so I'll have a chance to try it on just my own gear when rinse and soak options are limited. To save weight and space I might take the crystal version instead of liquid Salt-Away. An old film canister full would probably last me the whole two weeks. Four ounces of the 99% reagent version is about $12.

Has anyone here used it? Here's the wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfamic_acid

I would not use that unless you had a seriously encrusted item, like something recovered from the ocean and allowed to dry out. Damage to orings and the finish would be my concern.

Simple fresh water soak and lightly working the buttons is enough to keep a housing and other great in good shape.

Use an Lp inflation air blower on a tank to help dry stuff off.

The problem is not removing salt deposits, the problem is that the water you are soaking in has dissolved salts in it and you are adding to the salt by adding another type of salt. It will help dissolve scale, but the whitish buildup on housings etc is not a buildup of mineral scale. It is formed by allowing rinse water to dry out on the surface. As the water evaporates the salts become progressively more concentrated until they begin to etch the anodizing of the housing.

Anodizing is just developing a thick adherent Aluminium oxide coating on the housing and the colour is from dyes incorporated into the coating. The coating resists corrosion , however strongly acidic or basic solutions can begin to dissolve it and may also react with the dyes.

The solution - as Dave says - don't let water evaporate to dryness on the housing. Blow off droplets and wipe dry when most of the droplets are blown off. This can also remove excess water from inside the buttons and help prevent corrosion of the button/lever shafts and springs. No additives needed.

I’ve noticed many times that Nauticam housings seem to show discolouration much more than Subal. All the Subal housings I’ve had still look good as new even after hundreds of dives.

I can’t imagine Subal owners by default are more careful with post-dive care. Quality of the anodising?

1 hour ago, TimG said:

I can’t imagine Subal owners by default are more careful with post-dive care. Quality of the anodising?

Normal Subal housing are silver gray. I guess the black anodising is more susceptible to discoloration.

P.S.

I'm that guy with a completely whitish Nauticam housing 😁

4 hours ago, TimG said:

I’ve noticed many times that Nauticam housings seem to show discolouration much more than Subal. All the Subal housings I’ve had still look good as new even after hundreds of dives.

I can’t imagine Subal owners by default are more careful with post-dive care. Quality of the anodising?

That is probably from hard water deposits. I don't have hard water where i do most of my diving and my housings don't seem to accumulate those deposits or discoloration.

Good question, and I suppose the answer would have to consider the effect (short and long term) of Sulfamic acid on O-rings.. Perhaps someone from the housing makers will have done those tests?
Personally, apart from the final rinse that I give at the resort, I dump my housing (and all other housing/torch/...) in hot water in a clean tank when I return home from a dive trip. Usually two rounds.
Also, that little bit of whitish patina -- I don't think it's harmful, and is a visual cue about the experience for the housing.

Kind regards,

Ajay

Sulfamic acid is a quite strong acid: Ka = 0.101 in water at 25C. In addition to the o-ring concerns, I would suggest being careful using it on metals that do not have a coating that is resistant to acid solutions. The use guide for the solid sulfamic acid product sold at Home Depot (Aqua Mix Sulfamic Acid Crystals) contains the following:

On 10/13/2025 at 3:04 AM, TimG said:

I’ve noticed many times that Nauticam housings seem to show discolouration much more than Subal. All the Subal housings I’ve had still look good as new even after hundreds of dives.

I can’t imagine Subal owners by default are more careful with post-dive care. Quality of the anodising?

Subal housings are powder coated I believe, so I expect the paint is not subject to etching like anodizing is.

On 10/13/2025 at 7:23 AM, Dave_Hicks said:

That is probably from hard water deposits. I don't have hard water where i do most of my diving and my housings don't seem to accumulate those deposits or discoloration.

I believe Rome has hard water, however I don't believe the white look is a deposit, if it was it could be removed. Salt and hard water are both alkaline and become more so as the water evaporates and this etches the coating. But deposit or etching the prevention is the same, don't let water evaporate to dryness on the housing, even after rinsing. Aluminium is somewhat soluble in alkaline solutions and also acidic solutions. A coating of aluminium oxide forms on the surface however this can be porous and subject to attack eventually. Anodizing improves resistance but is not perfect and with strong enough alkali it is soluble as well.

I think the whitish discoloration is inevitable on a Nauticam and just a sign of use. I have religiously rinsed, dried, blow dried, used distilled water, rain water, kept my rig in a container or bag full of fresh water, wiped dry with soft micro fiber cloths and still the places that tend to hold water will eventually turn white and in time the entire surface of the housing will take on the white discoloration.

I now use Balistol on a micro fiber cloth and cotton swabs. I do not spray the housing but just the rag or swabs. I do not get the Balistol on the ports or windows or down in the controls or O-rings, just a surface wipe. After application I allow to dry and then gently wipe any excess away. This leaves a resistant coating that will last several dives.

For as much as a Nauticam housing costs they need a better corrosion proof finish, maybe epoxy paint over the anodize or a more durable anodize :(.

Edited October 18Oct 18 by Nemrod

My old EM-1 MkII Nauticam housing was 6 years old and did around 290 dives, it's treatment was a long soak after each diving session, drained and blown dry in crvices etc and wiped down to dry with microfibre towel. It's got wear marks from shore dive entries but it's still black, just some slight discolouration - like a gloss differential more so than a colour change. Probably helps that Sydney Tap water is quite soft?

My new OM-1 housing has a different sort of Satin finish compared to the older OM-1, be interesting to see how it lasts.. One thing I see though is the white paint used for labelling the controls disappears quite quickly.

Not sure I'd want to be playing with mineral oils around plastics though.

Can someone put a picture of a Nauticam housing that has turned white or partly white? Is it really white or more like grey which is the typical color of aluminum with a protective aluminum oxide layer. Is it possible that the white color is just due to the dye leaching out of the oxidized layer?

On 10/19/2025 at 8:31 AM, rwe said:

Can someone put a picture of a Nauticam housing that has turned white or partly white? Is it really white or more like grey which is the typical color of aluminum with a protective aluminum oxide layer. Is it possible that the white color is just due to the dye leaching out of the oxidized layer?

I hope I am not breaking a rule, fuss at me if I am, here is a link to a gentleman and his business that repairs UW camera housings and equipment. Scroll down to the video of a recent repair of a Nauticam.

http://oceaninventions.com

Here is my NA-6400. Purchased around January of 2020 and has about 500-600 dives on it. I had it serviced in 2023 prior to a Red Sea trip just to make sure I had no issues on the trip, peace of mind. You can see the white-ish discoloration compared to the less used 4.33 dome.

This housing has not been abused. I am OCD. But what RIB has a tank of freshwater? What beach on Bonaire has a freshwater soak tank and water hose to fill it of which would not be stolen out of your rented vehicle? The complaint here is that these housings cost $$$$$$$ and Nauticam could provide an improved coating that does not turn white in normal, real world use. The good is that there appears to be no degradation of functionality, just aesthetics, at least for mine. It is nonetheless quite annoying. When I go all OCD and clean it up it does not look so bad. And, again, I do a Balistol wipe down and it looks pretty from 10 feet. So I just do not get closer than 10 feet so as not to trip into a nervous breakdown 🤣.

Notice that my (2009) FIX/Canon S90 housing is clean and shows little white discoloration and has tons of dives on it. It clearly has a better anodize process.

I wonder if Cerakote could be applied as an additional protection at considerable expense?

Edited Tuesday at 03:32 PM3 days by Nemrod

12 hours ago, Nemrod said:

I hope I am not breaking a rule, fuss at me if I am, here is a link to a gentleman and his business that repairs UW camera housings and equipment. Scroll down to the video of a recent repair of a Nauticam.

http://oceaninventions.com

Here is my NA-6400. Purchased around January of 2020 and has about 500-600 dives on it. I had it serviced in 2023 prior to a Red Sea trip just to make sure I had no issues on the trip, peace of mind. You can see the white-ish discoloration compared to the less used 4.33 dome.

This housing has not been abused. I am OCD. But what RIB has a tank of freshwater? What beach on Bonaire has a freshwater soak tank and water hose to fill it of which would not be stolen out of your rented vehicle? The complaint here is that these housings cost $$$$$$$ and Nauticam could provide an improved coating that does not turn white in normal, real world use. The good is that there appears to be no degradation of functionality, just aesthetics, at least for mine. It is nonetheless quite annoying. When I go all OCD and clean it up it does not look so bad. And, again, I do a Balistol wipe down and it looks pretty from 10 feet. So I just do not get closer than 10 feet so as not to trip into a nervous breakdown 🤣.

Notice that my (2009) FIX/Canon S90 housing is clean and shows little white discoloration and has tons of dives on it. It clearly has a better anodize process.

I wonder if Cerakote could be applied as an additional protection at considerable expense?

I've seen pics of worse Nauticam housings than that. With my housings, it's less dives than yours, but I generally have a damp towel available to cover the housings on dive boats. Presumably the RIB is taking you out from the mother ship, so you shouldn't be in it long?? I don't know. I shore dive a lot at home and have my own car, so the housing only walks from the exit to the car and gets covered with a damp towel.

It appears the link you had that the guy has a process to clean up the housing? Perhaps he polishes it? Apparently if you send your housing to Nauticam it comes back like new.

As for ceramcote, i'm sure it could work but you would need to strip all the buttons etc I think, remove the rear window, strobe trigger window etc and work out how to mask off all of the o-ring sealing surfaces, in the button holes , the housing back etc. i'm not sure I'd want to have an O-ring trying seal against the coating?? It would need proper research to prepare the surface properly, mask as required etc. and a good applicator to apply it. There would probably be procedures around the protective anodes as well to follow.

42 minutes ago, Chris Ross said:

I've seen pics of worse Nauticam housings than that. With my housings, it's less dives than yours, but I generally have a damp towel available to cover the housings on dive boats. Presumably the RIB is taking you out from the mother ship, so you shouldn't be in it long?? I don't know. I shore dive a lot at home and have my own car, so the housing only walks from the exit to the car and gets covered with a damp towel.

It appears the link you had that the guy has a process to clean up the housing? Perhaps he polishes it? Apparently if you send your housing to Nauticam it comes back like new.

As for ceramcote, i'm sure it could work but you would need to strip all the buttons etc I think, remove the rear window, strobe trigger window etc and work out how to mask off all of the o-ring sealing surfaces, in the button holes , the housing back etc. i'm not sure I'd want to have an O-ring trying seal against the coating?? It would need proper research to prepare the surface properly, mask as required etc. and a good applicator to apply it. There would probably be procedures around the protective anodes as well to follow.

That housing was sent for service at three years as I stated. It looked much better but was not anything like new. That photo was prior to service.

Have you sent a housing to Nauticam, not to a repair facility authorized by Nauticam but actually to Nauticam?

I do use a wet towel when nothing is available, wet with fresh water. I also will carry a bottle of water to rinse the housing best I can before placing in the wet towel. I also often use a cooler bag and will pour freshwater in it or the wet towel if no water is available. All of that is easier said than done in a tossing boat or a rented Jeep at a place known for theft (of even wet towels) or a beach entry that needs a half mile walk or a pickup truck ride through desert heat to and from. My FIX housing has had the same use for many years and has little discoloration, Nauticam seem particularly good at turning white.

If you want to defend Nauticam or place the blame on operator error I understand that POV but it is my opinion based upon ownership of several aluminum housings that Nauticam could improve their coatings for the cost of their housings.

Edited Wednesday at 05:11 AM3 days by Nemrod

1 hour ago, Nemrod said:

That housing was sent for service at three years as I stated. It looked much better but was not anything like new. That photo was prior to service.

Have you sent a housing to Nauticam, not to a repair facility authorized by Nauticam but actually to Nauticam?

I do use a wet towel when nothing is available, wet with fresh water. I also will carry a bottle of water to rinse the housing best I can before placing in the wet towel. I also often use a cooler bag and will pour freshwater in it or the wet towel if no water is available. All of that is easier said than done in a tossing boat or a rented Jeep at a place known for theft (of even wet towels) or a beach entry that needs a half mile walk or a pickup truck ride through desert heat to and from. My FIX housing has had the same use for many years and has little discoloration, Nauticam seem particularly good at turning white.

If you want to defend Nauticam or place the blame on operator error I understand that POV but it is my opinion based upon ownership of several aluminum housings that Nauticam could improve their coatings for the cost of their housings.

I don't doubt that Nauticam seems prone to this, just sharing my experience. I notice now that my latest housing has a different finish to my previous housings, more of a satin or lustre finish rather than a smooth glossy finish, I would describe it, don't know if it will be an improvement or not, time will tell. There are varying grades of anodising and it is quite possible there are better coatings.

If you have a cooler bag, sitting the housing in salt water till you can get it to fresh rinse tank is better than letting it dry out, it's just like more dive time. Don't know what you could do in the shore dive situation sounds like you have to live with it.

Yeah, I've always found that post-dive rinse thing a bit of an issue in places like Bonaire. If you leave anything in the truck there's a high chance it'll get knicked.

Arriving in Bonaire I used to buy a cheap laundry basket to take my gear to and from the truck/accommodation/beach. A couple of times I sank the basket in shallow water at the entry point weighed down by a couple of boulders and with a towel in it! I could then drape the sea water-soaked towel over the camera to help prevent it drying out before the next dive. Hardly ideal but maybe it helped a bit.

If I am using a towel I try to get a freshwater soaked towel. My usual resort in Cozumel has no water or rinse tanks on the pangas. But the DMs will usually wet me a towel down which I place in my cooler bag. I will also bring along a large bottle of water for a rinse. They place the camera back into the bag usually for me or sometime hold it as I climb aboard and I do so. They have always been good about being gentle. Of course a nice soak in freshwater once back.

My new NA-R50 does seem to have a different finish but again, there are areas of discoloration already. This despite significant effort to prevent this from happening. But it does seem better.

I think the anodizing is preventing damaging corrosion as long as the housing is rinsed well and properly. It is more of an aesthetic issue.

Here is the NA-6400 after return from service summer before last and just prior to a month nearly of submersion in the Red Sea. Just doing some test set ups before the trip. So, yes, it was pretty again but not like new. And a photo of the NA-6400 in action just a few weeks ago in Roatan (D.Haas).

Edited Wednesday at 03:18 PM2 days by Nemrod