Thread: Polishing

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  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    galena
    Posts
    22

    Polishing

    What is the easiest way to polish the aluminum out? Acid wash it first? Polish along is taking forever...

    Thanks

  2. Member gatorglenn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Fort Wayne, IN
    Posts
    4,354
    #2
    I just spray and rinse Alumabrighter from Napa. Then use LucasSlickMist. Spray it on and wipe down.

    Or I did until I painted the boat. The little I left on the bottom. Still looks great a year later.

    Have an adventure everyday !
    2006 PT 175 TX 60 HP.

  3. Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Muscle Shoals, Alabama-Wilson Lake
    Posts
    10,043
    #3
    If a boat has been sitting in the water and has green algae on it, go for an acid cleaner like the NAPA metal brightener. The acid cleaners work well but leave a very dull, but clean, finish. Then you'll need to polish the boat.

    I have a Porter Cable dual action polisher with a wool bonnet. I polish my boat with White Diamond Metal Polish--a superior product. Two dime size dollups go on the bonnet, and I go back and forth up and down in a 2' x 2' area. At 90 seconds, the polish suddenly dries out, the metal gets shiny and most of the black aluminum oxide blows away into the air. Then wipe it down with an old dry towel.

    It takes me about 90 minutes to polish my 24 foot tritoon boat's outside toons and 3 nosecones. And I do this job the first of June usually. The shine stays through the boating season.

    If I wanted a mirror finish, I'd use my high speed buffer with a cotton applicator and rouge. It's much, much more work and easy to get swirls into the finish for an amateur polisher. The dual action polisher is less work and doesn't get you into trouble.