Aluminum oxidation removal?

[jimfish]

Try some greased lighting mix in a bucket and use a car wash brush with the long handle. Let it stay on about 20 min,rinse. Go fishing next day and get it all scummy again. Repeat cleaning at least every 3 months go fishing every day that you can, fish dont care what the bottom of your boat looks like.

[BIRD NEST]

Get you a couple scotch brite pads and you'll have her shined up in a jiffy. I think that works better than the acid, the bottle says temperature needs to be above 55 degrees. It seems like the cooler it is the longer you have to wait, bringing it to a stand still. Acid seems like alot of trouble to me, directions says cover trailer with plastic to protect paint. Also, acid will take off any of that black tarnish from aluminum but it won' take off any of the white chalky oxidation. Hope that helps, Bird.

[tbirder]

I was wondering if anyone has a good way of taking the oxidation off of any aluminum boat. I have a bass tracker and last year I used a ton of Mothers aluminum polish and a lot of elbow grease to shine it up. But after 3 trips it was back to the same. I was wondering if anyone has a better product and technique along with a way to seal the metal so I can shine it up and not have to do it every month?

Hey there sparky,
My name is Clint, and a buddy of mine was on this forum yesterday and told me about your question.
I own the company that produces Sharkhide Metal Protectant, Cleaner, and Polish. I'm not here to sell you any thing, just to make you aware of what's possible with these items. Although the marine dealers around here in the Midwest are very slow to catch on, we have hundreds of dealers, and thousands of customers out in the Pacific North west from central California, all the way up the coast through Canada and Alaska.
Here's the process we use when we get a boat in like yours. The first thing is to take the aluminum cleaner and give it a good acid wash. This gets rid of all the streaks, stains, and water lines and leaves the aluminum it's natural "off white" look. Now some times my customers like that finish and we stop at that point and put the metal protectant on. Although there are other finishes you could go for, you mentioned polishing. For this finish, I take my metal polish, a variable speed buffer, and polish the hull. We're able to get a mirror reflective finish like this. Once the boat's been polished, we put a couple coats of Sharkhide Metal Protectant on, and as long as you wipe a new coat of Sharkhide on every few years, you'll never have to polish again.
I'll try to include a shot of a customers boat that did the polish job himself in his drive way. Believe it or not, the job is a couple years old, and this boat see's SALT WATER fishing several times a month. I'll also show a shot of a pontoon I cleaned this summer. This shot shows the differace before and after my cleaner. by the way, this cleaner won't harm paint, decals, or your trailer bunks. You can actually wash your hands in the concentrate before you even add water.
If you or any one else has any questions at all about protecting your hulls finish, no matter if it's the new "Mill finish", acid washed, or polished, I'll keep an eye on this thread and do my best to answer them.
Good luck on your project,
Clint

[Darryl Morris]

Go to your local truck accessory store and get some Alumabrite. Make sure you wear some rubber gloves. Just spray it on and rinse it off. That easy and showroom new.