Pontoon Cleaner

[tecthis]

Hello All,

My first post on here, sorry if i did it incorrectly or posted in the wrong section (moderator please move).

I recently picked up a Bennington 2050sf which i absolutely love. I did some research on best pontoon cleaner and found one called jjv's best. Well, it did work really good, however, while washing it off some landed on my ladder which is anodized. The ladder now has white specs on where the cleaner made contact.

I called them up and his response was "well the product is so new, we are not sure how to get it off", so i turned to here.

Anyone have any idea how to get the ladder back to normal?

I attached a before and after and the ladder, any help would be appreciated!!

thanks again!

Alex...

Before

After

Ladder specks (i tried to wash it off with soap, didnt do anything)

 

[qapd]

Welcome tecthis,

Yes you posted in the correct location, I am not sure what you can use to remove those streaks, maybe polish or rubbing compound. I am sure someonw here will post up a reply soon.

Again, welcome to one of the best sites on the net.

 

[SEMPERFI8387]

Looks like it took the anodizing off the ladder. I think you might be stuck with the discolored ladder. These chemicals can be very caustic, at least you did not get it on your colored panels !!!

 

[kaydano]

What I know about anodizing is it increases the thickness of the naturally occurring oxidation layer that occurs on certain metals (like aluminum) and allows for dying and coloring the metal. It is an electrical process, somewhat like electroplating, but electroplating adds a different metal on top of another metal, so it is not the same. I'm just pointing out it's not something you can likely do yourself.

I think you have removed the anodized oxidation layer from your ladder. If I'm correct, there's no going back to how it used to look, but if it bothers you so much that you would buy another ladder, if it was me, I might try removing it all. In other words, hit the ladder with the cleaner that spotted it. I have no clue how that will turn out, but keep in mind I said if you are to the point of buying a new ladder, then you have nothing to lose.

Good luck. Hope I am wrong.

 

[tecthis]

thanks everyone for the comments. Yeah, i think i will just deal with it, hopefully it will tarnish overtime and match.

Well, if anything its a warning for all, while the cleaner i used was very effective on the toons, be very careful on getting it elsewhere.

I found this cleaner since they mentioned it was safe for the environment, no harmful chemicals, etc.

I left them a voicemail, lets see how this plays out.

I see all the posts about using mag wheel cleaners, etc. Looking for a safe cleaner for the pontoons that wont mess up anything else.

The search continues. Will keep you guys posted on what i hear back from this company.

thanks,

Alex...

 

[SEMPERFI8387]

I would be very careful of using any "toon" cleaner no matter what brand near any of the anodized portions of the boat. Whether it be Toon Brite, Mag Wheel Cleaner, Oven Cleaner, etc...... Raw aluminum is one thing, "anodized" is another, so you risk "eating" away the anodizing.

I still say biweekly scrubbing like I do will cut the cleaning time necessary to a minimum. I scrub mine with a grill Brillo pad (medium) every couple weeks while anchored just off shore where I can go under deck to get insides of toons.