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Keeping the Toons Looking Great

Sharkhide protectant does absolutely nothing for the shine. It only protects the metal from oxidation.
 
Here is one that is going to ruffle feathers .

 

I have seen the Black Out editions offered ,so .

 

Has anyone thought about painting the tubes to match the panels  or contrast  ?

Can it even be done ?

Ford is now using aluminum front end clips .

That could be one good looking boat .
 
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That sure would be a lot of Black!
 
What about a contrast ,Red & Black ?

Black & Blue ?

Possibilities are endless .

Just throwing it out there .
 
There are some threads a while back about wrapping tubes.  Like buses are wrapped with adverts.  The designs can be very cool, as it can be anything you want.  Pretty pricey as I recall.
 
keithkz said:
Yeah see this is where I am def. getting different results than everyone else on here who has been using that Sharkhide protectant.  I used it last year after using Gord's on my boat.  People on here are acting like that Sharkhide protectant is significantly adding to the shine of their toons....not mine.  I mean, it might BARELY increase the shine but not much...not for me anyway.  But again, I have older toons.  So I have some serious doubts that just using the wheel and rouge will do the trick on mine.  I just don't see it.
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I'm certain the wheel and rouge would work for you.  I plan to try this for sure.  It's like using super fine sandpaper, sanding down the aluminum until it's so smooth, you are left with a mirror smooth surface. 

You could compare Sharkhide to a spray can of clear coat.  That's not what it is, but that's the effect it has, if that makes sense.

I have a question though.  I've seen the tripoli and green and white rouges in various stores.  Are they all the same?  For example, are all the brown tripolies basically the same thing?  I can get other brands locally, but not the Zephyr brand.
 
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I agree sharkide is not a polish ,I would think more like a cooking spray for easy removal of scum .
 
I was referring to the sharkhide protectant.  Not the polish.  The protectant is meant to seal up the aluminum to prevent air from oxidizing it.  That's my understanding anyway.  Never used it.  Plan to though.
 
BigBlock said:
Keith,

I tend to disagree with your statement that you can't get it to look that good. Any aluminum, unless severely pitted can look great. No need for you to take it to a truck wash. With Sharkhide Aluminum Cleaner and a garden hose, you can get the tubes prepped for polishing. The polish with wheel and rouge. Save yourself the mess and labor by skipping on the Gords.

Kaydono,

Due to the oxidation, start with Sharkhide Aluminum Cleaner to remove the oxidation. The buff with Airway Mill Treated White pad (#AWW 58-8HF) and Green Chrome rouge. Follow up with un-treated white wheel and White Chrome rouge and you'll have a great shine ready to be coated with Sharkhide protectant.
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Thanks for the tips.  I can see this working very well.  Looking forward to trying it.
 
Kaydano,


I have seen the other brands of rouge at local heavy truck dealerships but don't really know if there is a difference. I started a few years back with Zephyr and feel that there quality is consistent, so I don't really want to stray away from that. They have kind of been a one stop shop for me and are always available via email and phone with helpful information. As I write this, it kind of sounds like I'm a paid spokesperson for Zephyr or Sharkhide... Not the case, I have just found that that combination has yielded me the most favorable results.
 
I can't argue with that.  With all your experimentation and the photos to back up the results, I'll use the Zephyr.  Thanks again for all the tips!
 
One last question BigBlock - All your photos with the grey travel cover appear to have the skirting just above the pontoons removed.  I see dark rectangles here and there in the photos. However, the photos with the black mooring cover don't have them (the dark rectangles).  Did you remove the skirting before polishing your pontoons?  If so, do you mind my asking why?  Why not just polish the skirting too?
 
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Kay...........The skirting is ribbed and I think it's anodized. Going to be hard to get that buffer in there and polish it.
 
On my boat the rub rail may be anodized, I'd have to look, but I know the skirting underneath (just above the tubes) is not as I have polished mine before. But that may not be the case on other models/years. My rail is ribbed, but the skirting is smooth.
 
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Well the Zephyr stuff isn't very expensive so I'll give your suggestion a try this Spring.  I hope it works.  It sure sounds WAY less messy than what I did last year.

Regarding the Sharkhide Cleaner.....last year I made the mistake of using Snowbowl toilet cleaner to clean the tunes (as people had suggested and that's what I've used for years on my fiberglass boats with great results).  It ended up dripping on to my trailer and I'm sure you know what that looks like now.  Will this Sharkhide cleaner do the same thing if it gets on my trailer?
 
Just talked to my body-man and painting the aluminum is not that big a deal. Like Jack said lots of aluminum panels on vehicles now. He said there is a toon up in Wisconsin with black toons.  The big issue is getting a pontoon in the paint booth and masking off and getting access to all of the toon to be painted.  Just like a bigger motor, nothing money won't fix.  :eek:
 
Perhaps an option from the factory for 2015 .Derrick what do you think ?   :D
 
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Some local shop could pickup the unmounted toons to paint in their spray booth.  
 
Kaydano,


On the current boat, the pontoon skirts have been removed for the buffing process. Those skirts are black anodized aluminum and I didn't want to take the chance of any damage to them from the buffer.


When I have used the Sharkhide Cleaner, I have always used a garden sprayer to apply it directly to the affected areas. The trailers I have owned have all been painted black and the cleaner has never stained them. If they were bare galvanized, I would think that staining might occur.
 
Anyone else dying to see photos?
 
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