Pitted Aluminum (From Saltwater Use)

[John Glaser]

I am looking for a product that will BEST clean pitted aluminum from my Tracker Pro 175XT that I purchased from someone who used it to Bay fish.

He said he acid washed it because it looked whitish and I just powerwashed and started on an area.

I used 3m Aluminum Polish and Restore and the test area brightened but had all dark pit marks in it....PLEASE HELP

I am aware of TEE's results with Sharkhide but I wanted to test the boat before I sprung for the Hide.

Any product, that anyone knows off, that will help take out the black/pit marks that would need to be dealt with PRIOR to a Sharkhide application???



Best Regards,

Woody

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

If it's already pitted I don't know of anything that will fill the pits in. I've seen a lot of stuff that will clean and brighten. I forget the name of it but I got it by the gallon at K-Mart and it's purple and has Castrol on the label. I didn't cut what I bought but just put it straight into a sprayer and started spraying it down. The bottle said to wait at least 15 minutes so I waited 20 and then got my garden hose and rinsed it all off. BUT, I didn't rinse it long enough and I have some shiny streaks running from top to bottom so when you think you've rinsed enough, do it again..

BTW, when I went looking for an aluminum boat a few years back I ran across more than one that was pitted and the owners swore they were never even near salt water..I believed them because they didn't even live near salt water.



Uncle Billy

 

[byron cooley]

How about some of the Mothers spray cleaner for aluminum wheels??

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Woody,,,I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, there's nothing you can do other than getting a buffer and do some seriuos polishing.

Bear in mind, when you do that...your are making it thinner.

Try some polishing compound in a rougher grit in an inconspicuous area.

If you don't get all of it...I don't think it will show that bad.



Where's the pits? everywhere?

 

[John Glaser]

Tee,

Please tell me I didn't didn't do any damage...I bought some 3m All in one aluminum cleaner/polish and a 3M pad for my drill and went at it. I used some force in some spots but actually used some elbow as well...

The boat looks great after a zillion rags that turned black...Did I do damage and how does one do damage?

The pit /rust spotty looking things look a hell of a lot better...I would like to add that is truely amazing how fast the shine goes away after a day or so...can you say SHARK HIDE? I am going to use the same polish in the fall...Does polishing it after a Toon Brite treatment thin the aluminum? The Toon Brite came with the boat and I was desperate to clean it...

If I get the Sharkbrite Aluminum Hull cleaner next spring and hit it one or two times am I thinning the aluminum with the acid agents and making it worse by polishing?

I haved one more round of 3M left...



Thanks Tee,

Woody

 

[John Glaser]

Tee,

Please tell me I didn't didn't do any damage...I bought some 3m All in one aluminum cleaner/polish and a 3M pad for my drill and went at it. I used some force in some spots but actually used some elbow as well...

The boat looks great after a zillion rags that turned black...Did I do damage and how does one do damage?

The pit /rust spotty looking things look a hell of a lot better...I would like to add that is truely amazing how fast the shine goes away after a day or so...can you say SHARK HIDE? I am going to use the same polish in the fall...Does polishing it after a Toon Brite treatment thin the aluminum? The Toon Brite came with the boat and I was desperate to clean it...

If I get the Sharkbrite Aluminum Hull cleaner next spring and hit it one or two times am I thinning the aluminum with the acid agents and making it worse by polishing?

I haved one more round of 3M left...



Thanks Tee,

Woody

 

[Mike Eddy]

Try Shark Hide polish and Protectant.



See my profile for pics of out boat. Came out pretty well - lots of work but worth it.



Good luck



Mike

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

This is an old post. I wish Woody would jump in and tell us if he still needed help or not..



Uncle Billy