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Bad Acid Wash on my Pontoons

So sorry to hear all that's happened.  My concern is you using clorox on the seats, I would really rinse it well with a lot of water so it does not damage the threads. I have always heard that clorox will eat the thread away and the stitching will come loose
 
I would generally tell you to take the boat to a heavy truck detailer that's familiar with polishing aluminum truck saddle tanks. They can use rouge and a high speed buffer and probably get the toons looking good. But the problem is that they got acid on the engine mounts, and the rub railings around the boat which are anodized--essentially plated. They are going to have to be replaced.

The dealer is going to pay dearly for this screwup. And if he doesn't step up financially, it's time for litigation.

This is a lesson to be learned by all pontooners. Never use acid base metal cleaners unless the hull is algae covered and/or has been left in the water. The stuff is a last resort substance that ruins anodized railings and trim. Acid cleaners will always dull the toons to where they need to be polished completely--a tough job on dull toons.
 
Wow Id be freaking really upset! Unfortunately this indicates that you can only trust yourself to do work to your standards. I would go after the dealer to make the boat like new and then spread the word.
 
The toons can be fixed. The acid that is on all the anodized parts cannot. If you decide to have them polished you should have them coated with ceramic. Mine has been in the water for 7 weeks and still looks great.
 
Sorry for resurrecting an old post.. but if anyone else finds this using the search function I would like to add my two cents. While in college I worked at a Marina for a number of years and as low man on the totem pole I was responsible for acid washes and other terrible jobs like cleaning the bathroom when people unexpectedly went on the floor (and not the puddle kind..) Unfortunately acid washing pontoons is quite tricky and requires more care than fiberglass hulls. Our policy was to tape off any metal near the toons that we didn't want to get damaged, and then wet down the anodized fencing and other areas far away but susceptible to overspray. We would do the toons in small sections to minimize the amount of time acid sits to prevent etching but still trying to maintain a uniform finished appearance (pretty tricky). Despite my best efforts a couple boats a year would get unexpected damage. One pontoon, I can't remember the brand, ended up with severely etched toons. We didn't really do anything different than normal so was odd but the acid reacted poorly or the material was slightly different. I had to sand and polish to mirror finish to correct. There were a couple times where overspray got on the anodized fences or one time even the fumes discolored a stainless rub rail. Like others have said, no way to fix those and get perfect matched coloration, stains were permanent. Need to re-anodize or replace. For mild cleaning, there are other products that are still harsh but not as bad as muratic acid. For a carpet of algae, I only found muratic acid to work.

Also acid washing sucks. Terribly. Full protective suit, goggles, and respirator while carefully spraying muratic acid but trying to work quickly, often when its still hot out or sometimes even worse when its near freezing cold for minimum wage is awful. My suggestion: get a boat lift! No need for acid then. A used pontoon lift can be found for a few grand. We used to charge at least $500 for an acid wash and that was years ago.
 
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