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What is your go-to aluminum cleaner?

cyanarella

cyanarella

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Spent the day cleaning the toons. Hard part of owning these boats. Our lake is so clean but the lake lines always get to me.


What’s your trick?
 

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I am not a clean toon nut and my toons look pretty good on my 5 year old boat. I think where you boat and how clean your lake has a lot to do with it and we are fortunate with our lake. Occasional blue scratch pad wipe down while boat is in the water. Pressure washer when it comes out in the fall.
 
cyanarella said:
Spent the day cleaning the toons. Hard part of owning these boats. Our lake is so clean but the lake lines always get to me.


What’s your trick?
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Your toons look brand new! Nice job! Do you trailer or keep your boat in the water?!?

We try to stay on it! We get in the water at least once a week to clean the waterline and the outdrive. We have a clean lake but "stuff" just accumulates on them. When we first get down to the slip we see the "ring" around the toons. But once we leave the slip and hit that throttle by the time we get where we're going most of the stuff comes off.

I have 3 coats of Sharkhide on the tubes and they relatively protect them. Keeping our boat in the water all summer I know they would look like crap if they weren't protected with Sharkhide. My only complaint is the tubes look pretty crappy BELOW the water line.........
 
Link said:
I am not a clean toon nut and my toons look pretty good on my 5 year old boat. I think where you boat and how clean your lake has a lot to do with it and we are fortunate with our lake. Occasional blue scratch pad wipe down while boat is in the water. Pressure washer when it comes out in the fall.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat with you, Link. (no pun intended) My main water way is the Pearl River and the Ross Barnett Reservoir, which is muddy. I would be spinning my wheels, as well as spending a lot of boating time, trying to keep my toons clean. I wash them, watch them stain, watch them clear up after a day of sitting in the water, then rinse and repeat. I keep the top part of my boat clean and neat, because I can, but wouldn't spend the hours cleaning and polishing them to get them the way I've seen some, just isn't going to happen. Those are very beautiful, and would love to see mine like that, but it would last one afternoon.
 
BigKahuna said:
Your toons look brand new! Nice job! Do you trailer or keep your boat in the water?!?

We try to stay on it! We get in the water at least once a week to clean the waterline and the outdrive. We have a clean lake but "stuff" just accumulates on them. When we first get down to the slip we see the "ring" around the toons. But once we leave the slip and hit that throttle by the time we get where we're going most of the stuff comes off.

I have 3 coats of Sharkhide on the tubes and they relatively protect them. Keeping our boat in the water all summer I know they would look like crap if they weren't protected with Sharkhide. My only complaint is the tubes look pretty crappy BELOW the water line.........
Click to expand...

Thanks... I keep it in the water all summer. Luckily we are in a very clean lake. They still get stained but I love seeing them clean!
 
Here in the Dallas Texas area I just took my boat out of the water on November 14th. Only because the lake levels are dropping.
My Toons are beyond filthy and gross. The boat has been in the dirty water for six months. I power washed what I could as soon as I got the boat out. (the boat is a tritoon that is 30 feet long bow to stern. Hard to reach many places, especially on the trailer) I thought I did a good job until I looked at it in the daylight. What do you recommend? I am only looking to get the gunk off the toons so the boat will perform better next season. Chances are they will never look new or shiny. I fear the best way may be a light grade sandpaper. Thoughts???
 
You can try a gas grill scrubber. That's what we use every 3-4 weeks during the summer. We use the softer nylon fiber type, not the real course ones.
 
My old Marina in Virginia used to lift my boat off the trailer where they had full unobstructed access and power washed then acid washed the toons. If you are unable to do this there are several products than you can use to acid wash your toons. One of them is called Aluma Brite. Check it out......
 
Don't think you are supposed to use acid wash on toons BK
 
If you want the white toon look, acid wash will clean them.
 
Acid washing seems to illicit different responses. Some for some against. My concern is the bunk carpet. I'm not opposed to a soft-ish brush that will get the job done. However, there is no way I will be able to get between the tubes and trailer and still be able to walk the next week. Not to mention the concussions from bumping my head a dozen times. Looks like I will call around and see how much it will cost to lift it off the trailer and clean them. If it cost too much (which I think it will) I will add a few more lumps t my head :) Thanks for everyone's help!
 
Personally, having had a dealer cause about $10K worth of damage to my boat, I would avoid an acid wash at all costs unless you are the one doing it. I keep mine clean by using two wash mitts and going over all three toons every couple of weeks at the local sandbar. If you're not able to do that, perhaps you could hire a kid to do it as it takes me less than 15 minutes to do all six sides front to back and top to bottom. It doesn't make them shiny, just keeps them clean.
 
Link said:
Don't think you are supposed to use acid wash on toons BK
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Michiman said:
Personally, having had a dealer cause about $10K worth of damage to my boat, I would avoid an acid wash at all costs unless you are the one doing it. I keep mine clean by using two wash mitts and going over all three toons every couple of weeks at the local sandbar. If you're not able to do that, perhaps you could hire a kid to do it as it takes me less than 15 minutes to do all six sides front to back and top to bottom. It doesn't make them shiny, just keeps them clean.
Click to expand...


Hey Mark/Michiman.....

I have had my toons acid washed 3 times in the almost 10 yrs. we have had it. I have had it done twice in Virginia and just had it done 2 weeks ago. Like Michiman we stay on them and keep them clean by wiping them down whenever we can. At the end of the season we weren't able to get in because of the chilly water and they were pretty dirty when we took it out. The key to acid washing is to have it done by somebody who knows what they are doing. Anodized aluminum will be ruined if acid comes in contact with it. (Unfortunately Michiman knows) Every time we have had it done we made sure that the rest of the boat was protected by taping the areas above the toons. You will get good results if the proper precautions are taken.......
 
Ntwkbound said:
Acid washing seems to illicit different responses. Some for some against. My concern is the bunk carpet. I'm not opposed to a soft-ish brush that will get the job done. However, there is no way I will be able to get between the tubes and trailer and still be able to walk the next week. Not to mention the concussions from bumping my head a dozen times. Looks like I will call around and see how much it will cost to lift it off the trailer and clean them. If it cost too much (which I think it will) I will add a few more lumps t my head :) Thanks for everyone's help!
Click to expand...

My Marina in VA had a lift fee of $15. in addition to the acid washing. They used to pull the trailer under the lift and it picked the boat up by the deck. Wasn't expensive at all.....
 
BigKahuna said:
My Marina in VA had a lift fee of $15. in addition to the acid washing. They used to pull the trailer under the lift and it picked the boat up by the deck. Wasn't expensive at all.....
Click to expand...

That would be beyond awesome! Now I know what to ask for when I start calling around. Thank You!
 
Okay Guys....(and BigKahuna) Hold on to your hats, dentures or whatever.
I called Phil Dill Boats in Dallas about cleaning the Tubes.
Phil Dill and their parent company are Bennington Dealers.
They lift the boat on a hoist and use an acid wash in a pressure washer.

What a BARGAIN!! It only costs.....
wait for it....
Keep Scrolling....
Holy Crap!
$600.00

Sign me up (Insert Sarcasm)
 
$20 a foot here but I'd still pay $600 over doing it myself. heck my bass boat costs me $400 a year for detailing
 
lakeliving said:
For me that is why a lift pays for itself over time and keeps the boat dry and clean.
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I agree. We never had any trouble keeping our toons clean before moving here and keeping it in the water from April to October. We always kept it on the trailer in the marina storage yard. Take it out towel dry and you're ready for the next time.

We have an opportunity to buy the waterfront lot where our boat is slipped. The floating dock will have to be upgraded/updated/fixed before we even think about installing a lift.............IF WE DECIDE TO BUY THE LOT.
 
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