Polishing Aluminium Boats
 

hi guys,

i have started polishing my boat and have created a monster of a job by hand. Does anyone know of a place in brisbane south area that do polish boats? or that or mobile.

thanks

after you polish it will probably need to be sealed...

Thanks for the reply, what would you use its my first boat its aluminium as soon as i apply the polish the rag turns black.

It will take an extremely long time to polish your whole boat, thats why there are not alot of people who do it, the best product i would think would be, autosol metal polish, you can get it at super cheap in a tin, try using a buffer, you need to hit it with the autosol and then with a clean rag, you have to alternate otherwise the black thats on you rag just keeps getting rubbed in, do it a section at a time, polish then clean polish and then clean til you get to a level your happy with once its done youll probably need to shoot it with a layer of clear sealer, IMO its more trouble than its worth, it will take you a LONG time

Why??
Remembering my high school science, aluminium is a very reactive metal, much more than iron(steel). On contact with air it reacts to Aluminium Oxide but luckily unlike iron the oxide produced actually seals the metal under it from further contact with the air.
The black stuff you are rubbing off is the oxide, I think, thus exposing the bare metal to the air again so it immediately reacts to form more black stuff.

Feel free to correct me but one of the advantages of aluminum boats is you don't know to polish them.

u can use
 

Alicleaner u can get it from boat stores its acid based its just like washing ur car but wash it of quickly and don't do it on the lawn oooop:eek: it kills it:(

simple dont do it it will remove the protective layer on the alloy

Protective layer hey...what will they think of next.:confused:Must get my ali in for it's annual protective layer.

i have just recently stripped the paint off my tinne and sanded the back by hand with sand paper and a bit of water and it came up looking pretty good, i have also been told that i will need seal it but havent looked in to it to much, planning on getting the electric sander on to it

you're a gem Steve;)

Chris,
I am a sheet metal worker by trade and worked at a place that specialised in metal polishing, quite simply, dont bother. Polished ally wheels on a car are hard enough to keep water stains off and you want to do a boat? Metal polishing costs alot as it is a slow and very dirty job, not many people do it. You dont use a car buffer it is a specialised machine. Better off getting it painted or just leave it to go dull.
Paul.W