Cleaning your toons

[keepnitwet]

What is the best product/products out there you can by across the counter to clean toon's? I've spoken to a couple places that clean toon's at the end of the season and they claim you have to have a chemical license. My boat set in the water most of last summer and honestly looked pretty nasty. I cleaned off all that I could and now it mostly looks stained. I'm planning on polishing the toon's as soon as the weather breaks and I don't want a cleaner that is going to create more problems for me when I go to polish them.

 

[qapd]

What is the best product/products out there you can by across the counter to clean toon's? I've spoken to a couple places that clean toon's at the end of the season and they claim you have to have a chemical license. My boat set in the water most of last summer and honestly looked pretty nasty. I cleaned off all that I could and now it mostly looks stained. I'm planning on polishing the toon's as soon as the weather breaks and I don't want a cleaner that is going to create more problems for me when I go to polish them.

You can do a search for "Polishing Aluminum Pontoon". Some guys have reported using an air conditioner coil acid to start the cleaning process. Also, I have heard of guys sanding with varying fine grit sandpapers to get them clean.

I have used Colonite 845 and 850 products with some good results. I have recently purchased a bottle of GORDS Aluminum Polish. Haven't tried this yet but I have heard good reports. My toons are in new shape and I am still experimenting. I am still looking for that mirror finish without having to spend hours doing it.

 

[ericscher]

This is what I use...

 

[ericscher]

I should probably add that unless you're willing to git in there with a buffer and some rubbing compound after doing a thorough power wash and chemical clean, you really aren't going to get yourself back to the shiny new 'toon look. You won't get there anyway in fact, because if you do all that you'll go right past the satin finish they come with into genuinely shiny.

If you really want to do that, there's a guy on the board who went that path, and there's no doubt that it's a pretty impressive look.

Having said that, please allow me to give you some friendly advice...

Short of an ongoing maintenance and polishing regimen that you will have to go through not just in the off season but also at least once during the summer, there is no way on God's green earth that you're going to keep your logs pretty. Worse, I have a question in my mind about what that will do to the long term life of the logs, which come right down to it are thin gauge aluminum tubes. 1/10th of an inch ain't leaving a whole lot of thickness to spare, in my opinion.

I completely respect those who do this kind of work, just as I respect those who detail their cars every weekend; but there's a good reason why most pontoons have aged looking logs even when the rest of the 'toon looks great.

An option you might consider would be to paint the logs. It's not real common, but there's no reason you can't do it. Just do the same prep you would do for polishing, including a bit of rubbing compound word to give the paint something to bite (Or very fine wet/dry sandpaper) and paint it in whatever color makes you happiest.

If you choose to go the polished log route, you might want to give very strong consideration to polishing them once and then coating them with Sharkhide.

Just some things for you to consider....

Eric