Back to the main site

Keeping the Toons Looking Great

I plan on acid washing my toons today with Sharkhide alum cleaner.  Based on my photos I uploaded the other day, any suggestions on if I should dilute it and if so by how much?  I sent the pics to Clint and even called him but never called me back.
 
Or what if I only put it on the lower half of the toons (the part that is under water)?  That's seems to be the only area that has any oxidation.
 
You work from the bottom up, and you'll have to do the whole tube or there will be a color difference. There is a dilution formula on the jug. Also, it seems to foam and clean more where the oxidation is, but you'll most assuredly want to clean the whole tube.
 
Too late.  I ended up doing just the bottom part however, some of the spray got on the upper part that I polished last year and I didn't get any of the white foam on that area as I did on the lower part that had all the oxidation (probably because there wasn't any oxidation on the upper part)..  Not a huge deal if there ends up being a color difference (I doubt there is based on what I just stated) because the part I acid washed today is that part that's in the water anyway.

I ended up diluting it 50/50.  I read the entire container...there was no 'formula' on the jug.  

I doubt I end up getting the bottom part even as good as I already have the upper part just because of what shape these toons were when I purchased the boat.  I'll get everything as good as I can now with the Zephyr products, then put the Sharkhide protectant on it and then I'm done doing this even again that's for sure (with the exception of putting the Sharkhide on it every few years).
 
They could have changed the label...or it is possible I read it on their website. I also talked to the owner several years ago, Clint or Cliff or something like that, and it is possible he told me how to dilute it. Getting old and CRS is kicking in.  Anyway, like I said it reacts more with oxidized metal than with the non-oxidized, so you should be OK as far as blending in goes. At some point I will need to redo my Tracker bass boat and I do not look forward to it. The Sharkhide is holding up really good so far, 2, almost 3 years now.
 
Another Sharkhide testimonial -- I've had my toon in it's slip now for 1 1/2 months and noticed it was developing quite a ring of gunk on the waterline, more visible since the toon is riding higher with 1/2 a tank of gas.  The Potomac River is also notoriously dirty.  

I cleaned the waterline with a boat brush on a pole and the gunk cleaned off immediately.  What an effortless job with the Sharkhide.  
 
Yup...I put Sharkhide on mine last year at this and when I pulled the boat out in October a very quick power wash job took all the scum off. Probably took 5-6 minutes to get it off of all 3 toons.
 
This is a great thread going on the toons, polishing, and Sharkhide.

I just ordered a new 2574 GCWB with ESP, etc, etc, etc.  I didn't put SharkHide on as the dealer said it isn't worth it.  Then I started reading, and think I may want it, but also don't know if I want to mirror polish the toons first then apply it. 

I called some local places for polishing and there is a very widespread difference in opinions on Sharkhide.  Some hate it, some don't know about it, some love it.  I think I am in the camp that it can't hurt to try it out.

Couple of questions:

 - one guy said that to get the Sharkhide off to reapply, you have to scrub like crazy for a day.  Is that true at all?

 - another guy said that if the toons are polished, even with Sharehide applied, that it probably takes annual polishing touchups.  What effort is that in all reality either for myself to do, or hiring out?  Is it going to cost the ~$1000 I was quoted for the initial cut?

 - does the Sharkhide really flake or rub off all that easy?  I am going to be trailering my boat much of the time, but would leave it in the water for 1-2 weeks at a time where it could form the scum and oxidation lines.  Thoughts on how it will react to various docks and also loading/unloading the boat all the time?

 - do you have to protect the trailer paint from the polishing steps or from the Sharkhide applications?

 - lastly, if I did my polishing myself, never doing it before, and also needing to deal with protecting the trailer, etc, how much time am I really going to need to do this project?  Maybe that $1k quote looks cheap....??

Thanks!
 
The sharkhide will protect the toons out of the water also.  
 
I would definitely have it put on at the factory. You can always polish it to a mirror shine later if you don't like it.
 
Smells too much like fish after it's applied and it's a huge job turning the boat over to get to the bottoms of the toons. I'm going to leave them the way they are and relax more instead.  :rolleyes:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm taking the entire day off this Friday to do all of the polishing and Sharkhide so I can finally put my boat in the water this weekend.  I'll post the 'after pics' when I'm done.

Re: the post above, I only do what I can get at while it's on the trailer.  I'm worried that much about doing something that no one can see when it's in the water or on a trailer.....and applying the Sharkhide is the absolute easiest part of this whole thing.
 
Oh My!!! Kaydano I just read your post I understand every single line. Funny on one hand and oh so true.

I just finished (actually gave up) last week. Mine looks much better but I could not find the magic to make it really shine.

I believe I missed the part about the Flannel pad that would have made the difference.

It looks OK but after 3 weeks of working on it when I could it was time to get ready for some boating. 

I will post pics after the holiday.
 
KC24 said:
Oh My!!! Kaydano I just read your post I understand every single line. Funny on one hand and oh so true.

I just finished (actually gave up) last week. Mine looks much better but I could not find the magic to make it really shine.

I believe I missed the part about the Flannel pad that would have made the difference.

It looks OK but after 3 weeks of working on it when I could it was time to get ready for some boating.

I will post pics after the holiday.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry you understood my post... You know what I mean.

Glad you thought it was funny though!
 
So... Have you had enough time to think about it?
 
Yeah, thought about it long enough and looked at my timing of boating trips, and decided to hold off on polishing for 1-2 seasons.  I made sure to add the Sharkhide to the factory order, which was confirmed today.  The local dealer still thinks it's a waste, but I am sure the people he sold too in the past didn't manage as well as I will.....

So, polishing may happen still soon and at work case it is a waste of ~$300 bucks, but I imagine I will wait 1-2 seasons before considering polishing.
 
Well as expected this is not going at all like I thought it would. I've barely started and it's not making it shine anymore than it already was and all I'm getting is a bunch of ugly white streaks. I spent all this money on these zephyr projects but I'm thinking about saying the heck with it and putting my boat in the lake.
 
keithkz , Its allot of work just depends on what you want it to look like.  :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top