Cleaning Aluminum pontoons
- Thread starter Bill T
- Start date
Lee Harker
Well-known member
When you find out .....post up. My 2 year old pontoon looks like crap. I heard there was some cleaner to take lake scum off but I haven't found it.
Zep, the commercial cleaning supply company makes a product called Zep-a-lume. It will cut the most stubborn crud off of aluminum. I am in the bleacher business and we use a thinned mixture of this to clean aluminum seats. I have also seen it do wonders of the wheels and fuel tanks of our road tractors. Put some straight in a spray bottle, Spray it on, work it with a scrub brush and rinse with water. Just don't get it on your skin.
Wispete
Well-known member
There is a product putout by STARBRITE for Aluminum. Spray it on, leave it for a few min and then wash off with a water hose. Be sure to wear rubber gloves, safety glasses, goggles, face shield, a complete hazematt suit,don't forget a respirator if your young and planning on having children, and your good to go. It did do what it said it would, at least on the top of the pontoon.
Now let me explain this pontoon had never been cleaned in twenty nine years by the previous owner or myself.
If you want to know how dirty it was. You can use this formula. 6 years in ordinary lake= 4years in the wis river= 1 year in the Mississippi ( you can do the math)
It left streaks on the lower half of the pontoon. By then I was out of material. Still had a noticeable brown stain on the water line.
One year later, going to use the pontoon in a parade. Pontoon all decorated up. brown stain very noticeable. I take some SOS pads, only have two. WAU LAAA does the trick. A lot of elbow grease.
Summary- If I am going to do it again. I will use a scotch brush pad on a electric drill, some cleaning powder and water for a wash.
The Starbrite did do it thing but I have had a enough chemicals around me during my life that if I have any more I will light up. I could buy six boxes of SOS pad for the cost of Starbrite. Thats a lot of elbow grease to clean that way. So life being a short as it is and to clean some thing thats going to be under water. A drill or buffer scotch pad on scouring powder is the way to go if I can do it 29 years from now.
)
Now let me explain this pontoon had never been cleaned in twenty nine years by the previous owner or myself.
If you want to know how dirty it was. You can use this formula. 6 years in ordinary lake= 4years in the wis river= 1 year in the Mississippi ( you can do the math)
It left streaks on the lower half of the pontoon. By then I was out of material. Still had a noticeable brown stain on the water line.
One year later, going to use the pontoon in a parade. Pontoon all decorated up. brown stain very noticeable. I take some SOS pads, only have two. WAU LAAA does the trick. A lot of elbow grease.
Summary- If I am going to do it again. I will use a scotch brush pad on a electric drill, some cleaning powder and water for a wash.
The Starbrite did do it thing but I have had a enough chemicals around me during my life that if I have any more I will light up. I could buy six boxes of SOS pad for the cost of Starbrite. Thats a lot of elbow grease to clean that way. So life being a short as it is and to clean some thing thats going to be under water. A drill or buffer scotch pad on scouring powder is the way to go if I can do it 29 years from now.
)