Aluminum polish question (STARCRAFT SEA SCAMP 14)

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wkklein

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Hey guys first post on tinboats.net, build thread soon to come!

I have a early 70's Starcraft sea scamp. I am wanting to bring the hull to a polished shine below the water line. I tried one round with a powerball and Mother's polish and it seemed like after I washed the boat with dish soap and water that it took the shine away. I have started another round of polishing, this time applied by hand and buffed with an orbital buffer. I have tested a small spot with water and soap again and it seems the same thing will happen.

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Should I not even wash afterwards? I figured it would be a good idea to remove any of the black polish residue in the seams and scrapes. Am I wrong? Any suggestions?
 
bare aluminum will tarnish, even if you do not wash it.

anodizing can protect aluminum and maintain a semi-shiny metallic finish, but it's not as shiny as polished aluminum.

what we do to prolong the shine on polished aluminum is to spray with clearcoat immediately after we polish. part of polishing is removal of the tarnish/residue by continous wiping, replacing the rag as needed. we don't wash off the dark stuff, there is no short cut to removing the grime/residue. we wipe everything until the rag is clean. it does take a lot of effort, but the shine will be amazing. just like chrome.

it's up to you to decide whether all that effort is worth it for a boat bottom.
 
Thanks J.P. Another question on the the black residue, after it has dried is it to late to polish down? What type of clear coat will adhear to bare polished aluminum?
 
The powerball in a drill just doesn't have the rpm to knock the surface crud off the aluminum unless you spend lots of time.

Wet sand then polish. If you don't clear coat, give it a good wax afterwords.

Anything with degreaser will knock the shine right off when your washing.

The black residue is polish/oxidation stuck in the poors of the metal. The smoother the surface the easyer it will come off, but it still takes a lot of elbo grease.

Goodluck, post some pictures when its done
 
Update:

I have given up on the local auto parts guy's advice. I went to Ace Hardware to day and found a 6 inch medium buffing wheel that mounted on my 2700 rpm drill and used medium compound. Here is the progress so far.

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If only I hadn't spent 11 hours working backwards.....thanks for getting me on the right track guys
 
wkklein,
most rattle can clear coats will stick to bare aluminum as long as it is clean of any residue. i use acrylic top coat, but it will come off when you scrape the bottom of the boat. that will happen eveytime you beach the boat and possibly when you slide it on/off the trailer bunks. that's why i told you to decide whether the effort is worth it on a boat bottom. sorry if i wasn't very clear on this matter right away. you might avoid scratches if you are very careful.....

i also forgot to tell you that surfaces should be perfectly even. any imperfection like scratches or dents will be accentuated on a highly polished surface. and as mentioned above, the black residue would "hide" in any small grove or crevice, so it will be very difficult to wipe off.

i'd repeat my advice about how to remove that black residue. you can't do it just by rubbing, no matter how fast you rub. speed only matters on the polishing aspect, but if you want to wipe of the dark stuff, you will have to use a clean rag. what you want to do is replace the rag when it's blackened. further use of a balckened rag will only spread the residue around since it's already saturated. (to further illustrate, imagine cleaning a wound, you want to use clean swabs everytime, so that you don't spread the germs, same principle with polishing). i suggested rags, because if you really want to use a buffing wheel, i recon it will be very costly.

it looks like you are a determined man, so i wish you the best with your project. once done, your boat will be one of a kind.
 
I have a motorcycle trailer made from aluminum tread plate and it's always a chore to keep looking nice. Finally tried some buffing airways and adapters (see link) with some rouge from these guys.
https://www.buschshineproducts.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=5_29_45 Call them they are very knowledgeable and helpful.
it's not easy but it does work. Bought a variable speed polisher from Harbor Freight for about $49.00 or $59.00. to fit the above products and away I went. I have looked into the possibility of using a coating from these people below (Diamond Brite) and see if it will keep it looking nice. I talk with these people at the street rod convention each year and they tell me it will solve my problems. They also have a $9.95 flat rate shipping.
https://www.kbs-coatings.com/Clear-Coats.html
 
Check out https://www.caswellplating.com/ for some polishing tips and ideas for protecting the finish after you are finished.

We have a company here that does plating and polishing and they use Blue Magic as a sealer on everything they polish and they apply it with toilet paper. It does leave a protective coating on the surface that keeps the aluminum from oxidizing quickly.

https://bluemagicusa.com/index.php/blue_magic/products/210/blue_magic_metal_polish_cream_jar/

I got into polishing several years ago working on an old hot rod and learned quickly that the fastest way to polish anything was to sand it smooth, then start with a harsh rouge with the correct wheel, clean and start working with softer rouges and different types of wheels until you get your mirror finish. I used Simple Green and water to remove the black crap and always polished out the final product with talc and toilet paper. I pulled several pieces out of the junkyard and made them look new again.

Zoop seal is a good clear protectant as well as VHT. POR15 makes an awesome 2 part epoxy clear called Glisten PC if you're into the epoxy thing.
 

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