I'm redoing my boat. It's aluminum hull, painted. The gunwales are
unpainted aluminum, and discolored by stain, oily handprints, and oxidation.
What is a good product/way to shine them up, and what's a good product to
protect them and keep them shiny without a lot of maintenance labor?

Steve

Steve B wrote:
I'm redoing my boat. It's aluminum hull, painted. The gunwales are
unpainted aluminum, and discolored by stain, oily handprints, and oxidation.
What is a good product/way to shine them up, and what's a good product to
protect them and keep them shiny without a lot of maintenance labor?

Steve



Alloy wheel cleaner?. I think it's largely phosphoric acid and some
surfactants, at least the stuff I have.

Steve B wrote:
I'm redoing my boat. It's aluminum hull, painted. The gunwales are
unpainted aluminum, and discolored by stain, oily handprints, and oxidation.
What is a good product/way to shine them up, and what's a good product to
protect them and keep them shiny without a lot of maintenance labor?

Steve



Find a truck stop where they do truck washing/detailing. Grab some of
the stuff they use to "acid wash" the tanks and chrome. It will clean
off most of the crud that normal cleaners wont touch. Next get a cheap
RA buffer and a couple tubs of Mothers Mag and aluminum polish. Wear
clothes that you don't ever plan on keeping. Take the buffer and polish
and go to town on the hull. Mothers will polish the aluminum up to a
mirror.

--
Steve W.

I've used an random orbital sander with a piece of terrycloth and Mothers to
shine large aluminum surfaces. Might be you already have the sander, so you
don't have to buy a buffer.
Nok
"Steve B" wrote in message
...
I'm redoing my boat. It's aluminum hull, painted. The gunwales are
unpainted aluminum, and discolored by stain, oily handprints, and
oxidation. What is a good product/way to shine them up, and what's a good
product to protect them and keep them shiny without a lot of maintenance
labor?

Steve

"Nok" wrote in message
...
I've used an random orbital sander with a piece of terrycloth and Mothers
to shine large aluminum surfaces. Might be you already have the sander,
so you don't have to buy a buffer.
Nok

Just doing the gunwales. That is the part around the edge of the boat that
one uses to grab onto when sitting in the boat. I guess "edge" is the best
terminology. The exterior is painted, and I am going to repaint that. The
interior does have some flat spots that I want to dress up, but only a few
small ones

What should I use afterward as a sealer so it don't look ratty in six
months?

Steve

On 8/7/2011 3:46 PM, Steve B wrote:
wrote in message
...
I've used an random orbital sander with a piece of terrycloth and Mothers
to shine large aluminum surfaces. Might be you already have the sander,
so you don't have to buy a buffer.
Nok

Just doing the gunwales. That is the part around the edge of the boat that
one uses to grab onto when sitting in the boat. I guess "edge" is the best
terminology. The exterior is painted, and I am going to repaint that. The
interior does have some flat spots that I want to dress up, but only a few
small ones

What should I use afterward as a sealer so it don't look ratty in six
months?

Steve




paint...

(sorry, but it's true )

"Steve B" wrote in message
news

"Nok" wrote in message
...
I've used an random orbital sander with a piece of terrycloth and Mothers
to shine large aluminum surfaces. Might be you already have the sander,
so you don't have to buy a buffer.
Nok

Just doing the gunwales. That is the part around the edge of the boat
that one uses to grab onto when sitting in the boat. I guess "edge" is
the best terminology. The exterior is painted, and I am going to repaint
that. The interior does have some flat spots that I want to dress up, but
only a few small ones

What should I use afterward as a sealer so it don't look ratty in six
months?

Steve

Offered to help save you some grief, not necessarily a specific solution:
What you're trying to do is one of the most difficult coating jobs the home
handyman can do. Be prepared -- nothing is guaranteed when you're
clear-coating aluminum for a tough environment, like on a boat.

Without an anodizing, polished aluminum develops a microscopically thin
layer of oxide in, literally, five or ten minutes. You will not be able to
work through that. You will be painting oxide, not aluminum. There are some
aluminum etching paints used in aircraft and automotive body painting, but
I've never heard of a clear one.

I recommend some patience searching the Web for examples that have proven to
work. You'll see recommendations for POR-15 Glisten, which costs like hell
but which has its adherents. The general recommendation by paint experts is
a polyester/polyurethane two-part clear coat. It also costs a lot. Don't
consider spraying it; it will multiply the cost and it is dangerous to spray
unless you're prepared to pay serious attention to breathing protection. But
brushing won't leave the smoothest finish. It could defeat your attempt to
make everything shiny and slick.

Here's a good general discussion of clear polyurethanes:

http://www.epoxyproducts.com/lpu.html

Here's another discussion:

http://www.finishing.com/234/81.shtml

Heed what Ted Mooney says. He's a genuine expert, and he never speculates or
overreaches, in my experience. I've quoted him when I wrote the Cleaning &
Finishing department for American Machinist.

Good luck. If it were me, I'd give it a brush finish, clean with lye
solution to get some more tooth on it and to strip any cleaning compounds,
and coat with brushed-on POR-15. But that's all semi-educated guesswork.

--
Ed Huntress

On Sun, 07 Aug 2011 16:07:35 -0500, Richard
wrote:

On 8/7/2011 3:46 PM, Steve B wrote:
wrote in message
...
I've used an random orbital sander with a piece of terrycloth and Mothers
to shine large aluminum surfaces. Might be you already have the sander,
so you don't have to buy a buffer.
Nok

Just doing the gunwales. That is the part around the edge of the boat that
one uses to grab onto when sitting in the boat. I guess "edge" is the best
terminology. The exterior is painted, and I am going to repaint that. The
interior does have some flat spots that I want to dress up, but only a few
small ones

What should I use afterward as a sealer so it don't look ratty in six
months?

Steve




paint...

(sorry, but it's true )

True indeed.

Now..it might be transparent paint..but ...

Oh..some waxes work also.

Or you can have the bare metal clear anodized..but...that takes a really
big tank. G

GUnner

--
"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry
capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency.
It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an
Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense
and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have
such a man for their? president.. Blaming the prince of the
fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of
fools that made him their prince".

"Steve W." wrote in message
...
Steve B wrote:
I'm redoing my boat. It's aluminum hull, painted. The gunwales are
unpainted aluminum, and discolored by stain, oily handprints, and
oxidation. What is a good product/way to shine them up, and what's a good
product to protect them and keep them shiny without a lot of maintenance
labor?

Steve

Find a truck stop where they do truck washing/detailing. Grab some of the
stuff they use to "acid wash" the tanks and chrome. It will clean off most
of the crud that normal cleaners wont touch. Next get a cheap RA buffer
and a couple tubs of Mothers Mag and aluminum polish. Wear clothes that
you don't ever plan on keeping. Take the buffer and polish and go to town
on the hull. Mothers will polish the aluminum up to a mirror.

--
Steve W.

I've used that to clean the aluminum parts on my box truck. Stuff works
great, I also polished the corner pillars after cleaning them with aluminum
polish. It works much faster after using the acid wash. Only caveat is that
it removes the oxide layer, Mother's gives it some protection but limited.

On 8/8/2011 1:47 AM, Steve W. wrote:
Steve B wrote:
I'm redoing my boat. It's aluminum hull, painted. The gunwales are
unpainted aluminum, and discolored by stain, oily handprints, and
oxidation. What is a good product/way to shine them up, and what's a
good product to protect them and keep them shiny without a lot of
maintenance labor?

Steve


Find a truck stop where they do truck washing/detailing. Grab some of
the stuff they use to "acid wash" the tanks and chrome. It will clean
off most of the crud that normal cleaners wont touch. Next get a cheap
RA buffer and a couple tubs of Mothers Mag and aluminum polish. Wear
clothes that you don't ever plan on keeping. Take the buffer and polish
and go to town on the hull. Mothers will polish the aluminum up to a
mirror.


I just purchased some of this clear finish ,I use it as final clear coat
on my homemade fishing lures .
Single pack moisture cureing polyurethane ,goes rock hard and impossible
to remove after a week or two .

http://www.kbs-coatings.com/diamondf...rcoat-info.htm

It's not cheap at 90.00 AUD per litre , but a litre will last me for a
very long time. I thin it 20% with the recomended thinners and spray it
through an air brush ,the finish is as clear as new glass.

--
Kevin (Bluey)
"I'm not young enough to know everything."

"Steve B" wrote in message
...
I'm redoing my boat. It's aluminum hull, painted. The gunwales are
unpainted aluminum, and discolored by stain, oily handprints, and
oxidation. What is a good product/way to shine them up, and what's a good
product to protect them and keep them shiny without a lot of maintenance
labor?

Steve

Just remember that the grey surface of aluminum oxide on the aluminum is
what protects it. Bare aluminum left to surface oxidize in most marine
grade alloys is one of the best low maintenance surfaces you can have for a
marine environment.