Using M93 on Aluminum Hull Boat

[Nick B.]

I'm going to clean and polish my aluminum boat.

Here is my plan of attack
1. Pressure wash with simple green.
2. Toon-brite aluminum cleaner
3. M93 All Metal Polysh
4. Sharkhide.

My questions are mostly about the M93.
I have a DA Polisher that I want to use for this. What pad? I was thinking Wool. Any tips on this process would be very helpful.
I don't want to get into rotary buffing.

I have seen the thread on Blinded by the Shine, but it doesn't seem to addresst these questions. TIA.

[tcope1]

Re: Using M93 on Aluminum Hull Boat

I've polished my Bass Tracker by hand before. The problem with this is that it turns the aluminum _bright_ silver. To me, this does not look good as it's super brights and reflective.

Try a very small area that is not easy to see before you do a large area in the middle of the hull. I'm thinking you won't want it that shiny (like the shining side of tin foil).

I need to clean mine up for sale this summer and have been giving it some thought. I might try something with very mild cleaners in it. Perhaps NXT.

Edit: As mention in another thread, it makes it look like bright chrome.

[Daniel Kinder]

Re: Using M93 on Aluminum Hull Boat

Have you seen this thread?

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7241

[Nick B.]

Re: Using M93 on Aluminum Hull Boat

I have seen that thread. But, it did not specifically answer the questions that I had asked.

I am looking for a system that will work for me with my G110.

But I try this out

Before


After


That is about the amount of shine I want. I don't want to polish it to a mirror finish. But the problem is going to duplicated that accross the entire boat.

I just did that by hand and I thought it went pretty well. Hit the spot twice with the compound.

I did not wash the area prior to cleaning it. I have a few different aluminum cleaners I am going to try on the water line.

I think that if I do polish it and put a protective coat overtop, then it will be easier to keep it clean in the long run.

[tcope1]

Re: Using M93 on Aluminum Hull Boat

The other issue with aluminium is that it forms aluminum oxide when exposed to air, which prevents corrosion. This greats a haze on the metal. In my experienced once it's polished it will oxidize back to how it was within a few weeks or so. A good sealer might prolong this oxidation but it will eventually happen.

I'm wondering if you don't want to give it a good cleaning without polishing it. I get the impression from your last post that this is probably what you are looking for.

I'm no expert but I'd still think a cleaner rather then a polish might work better. That is, something with extremely light abrasives.

Here is a thread with some photos of what Mag polish can do:

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...ad.php?t=33056