POLISHING AND SHARKHIDING PONTOONS

[blackberg]

I think I am going with the sanding route instead as well, had been think of using compound only but I trust the sanding more,

Mine are really rough, years of neglected crud, so sanding should do quick work of them.
its only 600 and 1000, doesnt take that much material away.

it was nice to see that the 1000 to the the sharkhide polish was enough to make them shine.

-bb

[pond tuuunes]

the laquer thinner is nessasary before and after, getting all the black crud off after polishing is a big job in itself. JT Bryn is correctm it is a BIG job.

[woolznaz]

Thanks for the extra info, guys. Brian, I know my questions made you repeat something things from your instructional, step-by-step post. I guess I just needed some reassurance regarding the cleaner and lacquer thinner. Thanks a lot.

[BiXLL]

I am confused as to what I can use to polish with. I have a craftsman grinder, 6" I think but have no idea what its rpms are. It is my understanding that to polish aluminum you need to use a much slower rpm then what a grinder provides.

Can I use my grinder with buffing pad on it, or do I need to buy a actual buffer/polisher?

What is the optimal rpm for polishing aluminum, and what is the rpm of a grinder?

[Bamaman]

A grinder will eat up aluminum, and it's best to use a dedicated electric polisher. There are a couple of different types.

Random orbit polisher/waxers are from 6" to 10" in diameter, and are less aggressive and easier to use. You can find these at WalMart and tool places like Harbor Freight and Northern. They use a terry cloth bonnet. I've had one of these for 20 years, and it's done me well.

A professional car detailer most often uses a circular style polisher/sander with variable speeds. When they use these polishing car paint, they'll actually heat up the paint until it slightly melts. They have the experience and technique to use it, but these polishers can get a novice in trouble.

Like it was said, polishing a pontoon is a lot of work. I was looking at mine yesterday, and these boats are big.

[BiXLL]

to be honest I am starting to get scared off, I just do not have 30 hours to put into it.

[Bryden24shp]

Forget the Orbital, it spins to slow and won't touch the aluminum, I tried mine, threw it back into my cabinet after about 10 minutes. I used my 7" sander/polisher 3000/8000 rpms, with 5 8"wool polishing pads on a rubber backing pad. Screw mounted , don't use the bonnets, they are crap, as are the velcro backed pads. You need the RPM's. Yes, the working surface gets hot, but it has to for the compound to work. But Bamaman is right, you can work it too hard and burn the pads. When the polishing pads start to get full of compound, they will stop working. Don't over use them. Pull them off and soak them in hot soapy water to soften the compound. Then use a steel scraper to remove the excess compound. I'll get some pictures when I'm done working nights of the polisher and pads. Just to give you an idea of what to use. Ya, its a lot of work. I got the 3 nosecones done Monday, before I went into work. Another 5 hours. But after the compliments I got from everyone on the river Thursday? It was worth it.
I'll get moe pics posted when done working nights...
Bryan

[t_birder]

Hey Bryan,
Looking GOOOOD!
Clint

[dockholiday]

to be honest I am starting to get scared off, I just do not have 30 hours to put into it.

Think everyone time and labor are different. Don't get me wrong cause it does take the, I will finish it attitude before starting. Far as the buffer, I picked up a Makita clone from Northern tool around 75 bucks. It has variable speed (think 5 or 6), I mainly used three and four. To me the thing that will cut hrs off the job is knowing when to use the wet/dry and when to use the polish. Even the polish I used were diff. For example the Sharkhide is non abrasive and the mothers and meguiar are abrasive. Depending on the condition of your toons when you start getting a feel for which product or grit you need for that phase and knowing when to go to the next will save time. You can do this by just doing a two ft section then do another small section varying your procedure till you get a feel for which worked the best for you. The lacquer thinner is a must cause can't believe the time I spent removing the residue when the thinner removed it in almost one swipe. Oh if anyone isn't sure they are willing to hang in there to the finish, just do a small area on the inside of the toon to see what it involves.
doc

[bradm]

Bryden24shp,

Looks like you polished your pontoons in 2012. How have they held up? How often have you had to repolish them? Planning on tackling polishing mine over the winter but wanting to get an idea of how the mirror shine lasts and how much effort goes into keeping it up.

I apologize if you have posted somewhere else and discussed maintenance of the polished toons.

Thanks!
Brad M

[Bamaman]

Like Bryan said, the wool bonnet's are the thing to use when polishing. I tried Mothers' aluminum polish and wasn't satisfied. I switched to White Diamond metal polish @ Advance Auto Parts (in the professional section back room), and it was far superior. I'm sure there are other brands that work the same.

I use a Porter Cable Dual Action polisher/sander--a very popular powertool. I put two dime size dollups on the bonnet and place it on the toon. Then hit the switch--going up and down, right and left on a 2' by 2' section. In about 90 seconds, the black paste on the toons will dry up, polish the toon and mostly blow away in a dry powder. Then I wipe the toon down with a dry towel. I can polish the outside of one toon in less than 15 minutes.

My problem was getting the black oxide off the toons with lacquer cleaner. It's where the real elbow grease comes in. Because if the toons are not completely clean, you'll get a black smudge in the Sharkhide.

I'm not willing to work hard enough to get the toons clean enough for Sharkhide. Now it's been 8 months since polishing, I need to do a quick polish next time I get my Bennie on the trailer.

[HandymanHerb]

Once you get them clean a quick polish every few months will keep them clean if you wash and wipe them down after use or so I've heard



We done most of the shining work with Tripoli, I posted a video to show how it done, do not use a 6000 RPM grinder, leave that to the pros, you notice he is wearing a long sleeved shirt, if you hit something and that buffing wheel touches skin, it will remove it, I found out the hard way when I grabbed my grinder by mistake instead of the buffer 8 years ago the first time I buffed my toons

[Bryden24shp]

Bryden24shp,

Looks like you polished your pontoons in 2012. How have they held up? How often have you had to repolish them? Planning on tackling polishing mine over the winter but wanting to get an idea of how the mirror shine lasts and how much effort goes into keeping it up.

I apologize if you have posted somewhere else and discussed maintenance of the polished toons.

Thanks!
Brad M

Brad, they still look real good. It has spots where the Sharkhide has worn away from beaching, and I had one spot below the fuel cap that gas spilled on and dissolved the Sharkhide. A few small spots that needed touched up, but all in all. Its holding up real well. Its real easy to fix, just alittle laquer thinner, to remove the Sharkhide, hit the area with the buffer to bring back the shine and then wipe on some more Sharkhide.
Like Herb said, alittle maintenence now and then.

[blackberg]

that came out nice Herb,

I still have not done mine, they actually look worse now since I used the toon cleaner and now it has white spots and stains all over, but they are clean

-bb

[bradm]

Thanks for the quick feedback, guys. I'll tackle mine when take boat back home for winter (stays on trailer at lake during season). I have a building to put boat in, so at least will be on concrete and out of weather.

Sounds like some do and some don't put on Shark Hide after polishing. I have not decided on that one yet.

Thanks all!