Cleaning aluminum boat
Can anyone suggest the best way to clean an aluminum boat before painting?
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"HiTech Redneck" wrote in message ... Can anyone suggest the best way to clean an aluminum boat before painting? My intuition says to use the finest steel wool you can get - the kind you'd use on polyurethane between coats if you wanted it REALLY glossy. But, push harder on aluminum. If it's so dirty that you feel some sort of chemical is needed, I'd start with something made for cleaning aluminum alloy wheels, follow with soap & water (to remove anything that might mess with the paint's ability to stick), and then finish with steel wool. |
"HiTech Redneck" wrote in message ...
Can anyone suggest the best way to clean an aluminum boat before painting? There is something called sharkhide . This is supposed to work well |
I would not bring steel wool near any boat, ever. Wne used, it sheds many tiny
shreds of steel. If you cleaning of them isn't perfect, and it won't be, the remaining shreds will form rusty specks in and on your paint. Instead, use wet/dry abrasives or scotchbrite. Doug Kanter wrote: "HiTech Redneck" wrote in message ... Can anyone suggest the best way to clean an aluminum boat before painting? My intuition says to use the finest steel wool you can get - the kind you'd use on polyurethane between coats if you wanted it REALLY glossy. But, push harder on aluminum. If it's so dirty that you feel some sort of chemical is needed, I'd start with something made for cleaning aluminum alloy wheels, follow with soap & water (to remove anything that might mess with the paint's ability to stick), and then finish with steel wool. |
Agreed. How about bronze wool? There are also various cleaners/primers for
aluminum, but I can't think of the names right now. Really stay away from steel wool. -- Keith __ If you turn the wheel towards shore, the houses get bigger. If you turn the wheel away from shore, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep turning the wheel, then they get bigger again. "Jim Conlin" wrote in message neronze ... I would not bring steel wool near any boat, ever. Wne used, it sheds many tiny shreds of steel. If you cleaning of them isn't perfect, and it won't be, the remaining shreds will form rusty specks in and on your paint. Instead, use wet/dry abrasives or scotchbrite. Doug Kanter wrote: "HiTech Redneck" wrote in message ... Can anyone suggest the best way to clean an aluminum boat before painting? My intuition says to use the finest steel wool you can get - the kind you'd use on polyurethane between coats if you wanted it REALLY glossy. But, push harder on aluminum. If it's so dirty that you feel some sort of chemical is needed, I'd start with something made for cleaning aluminum alloy wheels, follow with soap & water (to remove anything that might mess with the paint's ability to stick), and then finish with steel wool. |
Keith wrote:
Agreed. How about bronze wool? There are also various cleaners/primers for aluminum, but I can't think of the names right now. Really stay away from steel wool. Never put *any* copper alloy in contact with Aluminium in a marine environment, if you wish to avoid accelerated galvanic corrosion. A copper penny dropped in the bilges is as good as making a hole as a broken mercury thermometer and only a little slower. Knowing that, do you *really* want to leave small particles of bronze embedded over the whole of the outside of your hull? :-) If you are a cheapskate like me, you'll head down the supermarket and pick up a couple of packs of those fancy panscourers Vileda make. They are a cut above the green ones as the nylon is loaded with an abrasive. They are silver-grey in appearance and non rusting. I am also a fan of their 'gleaner' which is a pot scourer made from stainless steel turnings. It is a very effective way of removing calcified deposits off any metal or paint or varnish off sound hardwood. Watch out, its extremely aggressive and if you dont want to risk scoring the wood underneath you either need to be much more cautious as you get near to the bottom coat or need to soften the paint/varnish with a chemical stripper first so you dont have to press so hard. Dont try it on gelcoat unless you need to clean up a surface you are patching over :-) -- Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED) ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk [at]=@, [dash]=- & [dot]=. *Warning* SPAM TRAP set in header, Use email address in sig. if you must. 'Stingo' Albacore #1554 - 15' Uffa Fox designed, All varnished hot moulded wooden racing dinghy circa. 1961 |
Finally, some one that talks Canadian...LOL
"Abe Coates" wrote in message ... On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 13:58:05 GMT, "HiTech Redneck" wrote: Can anyone suggest the best way to clean an aluminum boat before painting? I once used naval jellie. My father in law told me about it. They used it to clean helicopter props. I think I got it at Canadian tire. |
Maybe something gentler, like Bon Ami or Barkeeper's friend?
"Jim Conlin" wrote in message ... I would not bring steel wool near any boat, ever. Wne used, it sheds many tiny shreds of steel. If you cleaning of them isn't perfect, and it won't be, the remaining shreds will form rusty specks in and on your paint. Instead, use wet/dry abrasives or scotchbrite. Doug Kanter wrote: "HiTech Redneck" wrote in message ... Can anyone suggest the best way to clean an aluminum boat before painting? My intuition says to use the finest steel wool you can get - the kind you'd use on polyurethane between coats if you wanted it REALLY glossy. But, push harder on aluminum. If it's so dirty that you feel some sort of chemical is needed, I'd start with something made for cleaning aluminum alloy wheels, follow with soap & water (to remove anything that might mess with the paint's ability to stick), and then finish with steel wool. |
Preparing an aluminum boat for painting is the same as in the aircraft
industry. Go to your automotive supplier and buy some Aluma-Prep 33 and Alodine1201. This is an acid etch which will deep clean the surface. Use a scotch brite pad and thick gloves. Scrub the surface and you will see black residue coming off the surface. A light amount is what you are looking for...too much black is called smutting and means the solution is too strong. Rinse with water and look for the water to sheet off with no breaks in the surface. Where the water breaks, there is contamination and the paint will not stick. After the surface dries, sponge on the 1201 Alodine until the surface turns a light gold. Now you are ready to prime and paint. I suggest you use products by Axon Aerospace www.axonaerospace.com. Here is a link describing the procedure used on aircraft. http://axonaerospace.com/EP2Y1standard1.html If you don't follow these standards, you are susceptable to filliform corrosion and paint adheasion failure. |
On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 13:58:05 GMT, "HiTech Redneck"
wrote: Can anyone suggest the best way to clean an aluminum boat before painting? Please bear in mind that I don't know anything about aluminum (or aluminium) boats. However I do know that aluminum is maleable, and whatever you use to abrade it, i.e. metal wools, glasspaper, sandpaper, even Scotchbrite, will leave tiny shards embedded in the surface. Some time ago I owned an auto detail shop and we always cleaned aluminum wheels with a proprietary wash obtained from car dealers. The best one came from Jeep. |
On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 13:58:05 +0000, HiTech Redneck wrote:
Can anyone suggest the best way to clean an aluminum boat before painting? What kind of paint are you using? Does the manufacturer have a recommended procedure? If so, you might as well just do as they say. Personally, I've never painted an aluminum hull, but I painted part of a mast once, and I think I just sanded it, rubbed it with acetone, then put on the corrosion inhibitor (zinc chromate, I think?) and then white polyurethane paint. It seemed to work. I believe I used zspar products. I don't know if that helps you any. ;-) --Mac |
Don't use steel wool on aluminum. It will cause a corrosion problem. Use
Scotch Brite pads. Bill "Doug Kanter" wrote in message ... "HiTech Redneck" wrote in message ... Can anyone suggest the best way to clean an aluminum boat before painting? My intuition says to use the finest steel wool you can get - the kind you'd use on polyurethane between coats if you wanted it REALLY glossy. But, push harder on aluminum. If it's so dirty that you feel some sort of chemical is needed, I'd start with something made for cleaning aluminum alloy wheels, follow with soap & water (to remove anything that might mess with the paint's ability to stick), and then finish with steel wool. |
It depends on type of boat and construction. But if you want paint to
adhere to AL then you MUST either Sandblast, Acid Wash (like Aluma-Prep 33 and Alodine1201) or otherwise sand to provide a oxidation free surface for paint. I also paint with either zinc chromate or zinc primer to avoid galvanic corrosion. I do work on AL boat and I know a mistake means AL turns to swiss cheese. Also your choice of bottom paint are different since you must absolutely NOT use anything with Copper in it. There are barrier methods with epoxy coats but none really work more than a year. If your boat is more than 12 feet long - you need to do some serious research into subject. |
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