How Do I Remove Oxidation from My Aluminum Pontoons

Skipper April 24, 2006 Ask The Skipper

Jason Adams asked:

I have a older pontoon boat that has been out of the water for a while. I tried to clean the oxdiation off with muriatic acid but it did not touch it.
What do you recommend?

Answer:
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Muriatic acid is highly corrosive to aluminum and should not be used on this metal as it can eat away the soft aluminum. It will also etch the aluminum, causing the metal to turn white, which and streak, which is the opposite of what you are trying to achieve.

In your case, the damage has already been done. To repair the aluminum and restore it to its original mill finish, you need to buff away the white aluminum oxide with Alumabuff. The good news is that with this new technology, you can buff your pontoons in about 1 hour per pontoon.

Unlike the old sandpaper and rubbing compound technology, which cuts away a layer of aluminum from the surface, Alumabuff only removes the damaged oxide surface and cleans the grain so there is minimal damage to your pontoons. Also, it’s much faster, cleaner and environment friendly. The old-fashioned way can take 10 to 15 man hours per pontoon, leaves a greasy residue on the pontoons that needs to be cleaned away before applying protective Alumetron, and coats your skin with difficult to wash off black residue.

The Alumabuff process employs a special Power Point Linear Buffer which has a 16” long pad and moves back and forth, with the grain so there are no swirl marks, up to 3,000 times per minute. You also use a special buffing pad with micro fibers that get into the grain and clean the deep residue as well. That’s why it works so quickly and efficiently.

After you restore your pontoons, apply Alumetron clear coat and then over protect that with low surface energy VS721 which also acts as a foul release coating. When you do that you get a 5 year warranty on the finish and your pontoons can remain clean and shiny for up to 10 years.

Thanks for your question,
Captain Aurora