Anyone try Aluminex aluminum hull cleaner??

[elwood]

At Academy one day I seen this stuff so I figured I'd give it a try to remove my water line stain. I applied it straight with a sponge and immediately it started foaming and turning white. I thought, "wow, this stuff works GREAT!". Then I rinsed it off within 1 minute as the label says (2mins max) and to my surprise it really didn't wash off and I ended up with this:

It's brighter and whiter in person. I tried rinsing and scrubbing the heck out of it and no change. Also tried more Aluminex and scrubbing and same thing.

Anyone use this stuff before or have any idea how I can get back the natural look of the aluminum? I emailed the company but I'm sure it'll be a while before they get back with me if at all.

[Turtlebait]

Alum. Is bright and shinny and has a white look but if your talking about polished alum. You have just taking it off.the only way to get it back is to polish with a metal polish.Different grades of polish can make mirrow like.More then likey the stuff you used had some type acid in it,....

[jaxsprat]

I would CALL that company and ask for technical help. Would also take your picture to Academy and ask to see a manager, ask him to contact somebody in his company. My boat is just the dirty aluminum color as all I ever do is wash it with brush soap and water or use the soap? with brush in dollar u-do-it car wash. Never found anything to really polish the bare aluminum so gave up. Seen boats people tried to polish with brillo pads on a rotary disk sander and some tat used a light ?acid wash like used on brick walls and that didn't look much better either--acid wash on boat is a no-no in my boat.

[crappie1133]

I have had good luck using AWSOME from Dollar Tree and pads used in dish washing ( sponge on one side and scourer on the other), cost $ 1.00 for pads and $ 1.00 for AWSOME. It requires a little elbow grease and you must rub in same direction. AWSOME is good for other clean up on boats or other odd jobs.Scrubbing Bubbles didn't do it for me. Hope this helps!!!!!!

[skeetbum]

Having dealt with "brightener" on aluminum fuel tanks on the big trucks I drive, I might be able to help you understand what happened. Most of the cleaners for aluminum that say they spray and rinse off have an acid in them that actually remove a layer of the metal, thereby exposing the fresh metal underneath. This process actually leaves the meatl rough and uneven, hence the lack of shine. Polishing with compound or rouge is the only option to return the metal to it's original appearance. some of the bigger truckstops have folks that work independantly in and around the stop that polish tanks and wheels for a living and might be able to help you. If you have stubborn stains that detergent cleaners wont remove, scotch brite make scrub pads in different colors/grits that will remove the ugly with less damage. Start with the softest and some elbow grease and the polishing required to return it to it's former look will be much less than with any acid I've ever seen or used. Good luck with it, and keep us posted so that someone else doesn't travel the same road you're on now.

[elwood]

Thanks for the info. Now I'm faced with the decision on what to do with the rest of the boat. Hopefully I can polish that part out so it blends with the rest of the boat. I really don't want to strip the rest of the boat and apply some protective costing.

[wilbur]

The only thing you can do to make it match is acid the whole boat and leave it or acid and polish it .which will make it look like chrome. The white acid look will wear off in time. Next time cut the acid 50/50, spray it on and wash off within 30 seconds. and spray from the bottom up.