An advanced blend of abrasives and cleaning agents polish away pesky scum lines, oxidation, and built-up grime and gunk. PontoonSpot.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. I have found that if you press to hard with them, you can leave marks on the aluminum logs. I know what you have in mind right now but polishing your pontoon boat requires a 2-step cleaning process. Orbital sanders without RPM selectors will not work as well because its impossible to find the perfect RPM setting and keep it consistent for many hours. This one from Porter Cable is a solid choice if youre in the market. This part of the job will likely take about 2 hours on a standard size pontoon boat. All you will need to do is buy some reasonably cheap polishing products (and I will show you what the best ones are in this guide), then spend a little time, and exert some effort, and you will have the shiniest and best-looking pontoon logs out on the water for your next trip. If you just wanted to clean them, you can skip over and move to the next step with the Shark Hide sealer but given that you are here because you want to know how to polish a pontoon boat, stick with it. The key here is to leave it on for a few minutes, but not to let it dry. Shark Hide is used by almost every pontooner that undertakes this work. It's funny how pontooners get about shininess of their pontoons. In case you cannot remove these sections, make sure to put enough masking tape to cover them all the way. Pontoon Spot was started because I wanted to share what I'm learning with other people who are interested in boating. For optimal safety, I recommend getting a brush with an extending handle. Go in circular motions all the time; that will give you the best results with little S-shaped movements to blend in any lines. Protective coat was applied with the baby diaper and went on very quickly. Id highly recommend it if you havent cleaned your pontoons for years. As you may already know, the aluminum oxidation and buildup will need a specialized cleaning solution. Today, we will also show you how to polish a pontoon boat to get a stunning result. Then you move to the next area away from the initial spot and take care of it. Make sure you have a seat low enough so you can sit down and run the wheel in a somewhat comfortable position. I've been a boater my whole life and learned to love boats and the water. On the first day, the boat was pulled out of the marinas winter storage building and placed on 1-foot tall blocks. However, your luxury furniture and railings will look their best over shiny pontoons. To be safe, check the suggested setting time on the cleaner package. . This will likely leave some ugly swirl patterns. At the risk of sounding redundant, you'll need to re-do step 2 with another round of boat cleaner. Without getting into technical details, this substance binds to the aluminum surface on a molecular level. For a smaller boat, you can do it with a microfiber wax applicator set. Working on the center pontoon and inner surfaces of the outside pontoons involved some crawling, so wear clothes you can part with. Some individuals use acid baths or other pontoon boat-specific solutions, but the majority of folks Ive seen use standard toilet bowl cleaning combined in a bucket with 2 parts water and 1 part cleaner. Whilst those aluminum logs dont look like much, they have a surprisingly large surface area, especially if you are a stickler for detail like me and even like to polish the parts that nobody would ever conceivably see. Its also advised to retract your lower eyelid with your finger. Unlike the previous steps, the metal protectant needs to be applied in a. It makes your pontoon sparkle all the way from under the water. It is important to note that this cleaner works on dry aluminum only. If you leave any of the pontoon polish on the toons it can seal on and not look good. I personally mix 1 part Shark Hide to 3 parts water. The original owner turned out to be an old friend of mine. Be careful when working on the inside surfaces and the center pontoon. After you finish, wipe the pontoons with a. Some boaters prefer to stay on the affordable extreme by using a toilet bowl cleaner. And just like other Sharkhide products, it lies a bit on the expensive side. If you dont have access to a pressure washer, try wiping off the surface with a moist towel while you spray. That way, the marks don't show. I consider myself a handy person so I figured all I needed was a quick rundown from Bland. Boaters who dock their pontoons for days at a marina will probably need to invest more time and effort in this step. Dont go up and down, as this can leave polish lines that a very keen eye might pick up on. If you simply want to clean your pontoon boat, you can skip this part. Copyright 2022 - Pontoon Spot. A freshly scrubbed and algae-free surface tends to hold boat polish and wax longer than one with bits of barnacles all over it. If you take your pontoon boat to your dealer and ask how much it would cost to give it a mirror-like sheen and apply Shark Hide, the cost is generally approximately $400 (US), so youre saving a lot of money by doing it yourself. You just go in circular movements in small areas. The sale of pontoon boats continues to gain steam with 3-4% annual growth with around 64,000 pontoons sold in 2022. Step 2 must be redone, at the risk of seeming repetitive. We hope this simple guide has been useful in your DIY pontoon boat cleaning journey. Depending on the size of your boat, the job should take around 3 hours from start to finish. The reason is that there could be some polishing compound left on the surface, which will look terrible when sealed. Work in pieces so you dont have to leave it on for too long. Start swiping each pontoon in one pass lengthwise. The first step is to clean any algae or buildup from the pontoons. It will take you much longer though and will be very hard work. If you take your pontoon boat to your dealer, you would probably spend $400 for a mirror-like finish. Its a metal protectant and sealant that boat owners swear by for protecting aluminum logs and tubes. Several seasons back, I was proudly waxing my new skis on my porch with the sun slowly setting behind me. As I was getting anxious to see some results, my first attempt was focused on the end caps of the pontoons. Googles My Maps Road Trip Routes and Tips, Long sleeves and pants: to shield your skin from acid burns. Benefits of Marine 31 Pontoon & Aluminum Cleaner. First of all, youll need to get a polisher. Theres a reason why, its just really, really, good at what it does. By using a sprayer, you will save a lot of hassle, giving you more time to focus on the later steps where we polish the aluminum pontoon logs. Youll need to apply the cleaner, scrub it with a brush and let it sit for a while before rinsing it off. Go over the entire boat working in sections. Boat Soap quickly rinses away dirt, grime and other marine detritus from your boat's pontoons. If you want to make sure its completely gone, use a moist towel and massage while you spray. Good chemical resistant gloves, safety glasses and a long sleeve shirt are a must during this process. Address: 17000 Alico Commerce CT, Unit 101, Fort Myers FL 33967, Phone: (800) 203-5315E-mail: info@starkeyachtcare.com, Hours: Monday: 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Tuesday: 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Wednesday: 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Thursday: 9:30 - 5:00 p.m. Friday: 9:30 - 5:00 p.m. Saturday: 9:30 - 4:00 p.m.Service Areas: Fort Myers | Miami | Tampa | Fort Lauderdale | Naples | Cape Coral | West Palm | Sarasota | Florida Keys (and everywhere in between!). At the very end of the 2012 boating season, I became a proud owner of a gently used Premier Sunsation triple toon with the PTX package. The very first thing you should do is clean your boat. Whatever cleaner you choose, the process is similar. Yes. Any shortcuts or deviation from his recommended preparation and application tips will result in less than desirable results. Because of the salt deposits, this is especially true for saltwater pontoons. Areas that dont get 100 percent cleaned will develop black streaks when the final protective coat is applied. Good question, and my best answer would be my own experience from polishing a 22-foot pontoon boat; just over 2 hours. Also, less paste will result in less polishing wheels used. Luckily, dirty pontoons arent less durable than clean ones. Knowing how to clean pontoons on a pontoon boat might not have a role in the durability of the pontoons, however, its a must if you want to amaze everyone who glimpses your boat. Remember how shiny your pontoon tubes and logs looked when you first bought your boat? This should keep acid splashes at bay. If you dont do this before applying pontoon polish, all of your hard work is going to probably come straight back off after one trip on the water. A good choice if you're in the market is this one from Porter Cable. To merge your movements, make a lovely swirly s pattern. You may want to get a wet rag or scrub brush and rub as you spray to be sure it's all sparkling clean. But nonetheless, whether a yacht or a pontoon boat, special care must be taken to keep your watercraft investment in tip-top shape and looking good. This should remove any algae or soft buildup, which would increase the efficacy of the cleaner. If you have regularly cleaned your pontoons after each trip, then hopefully you wont have any of this grim build-up to remove. By spraying the tubes with cleaner in smaller sections perhaps 3 foot a time you will get the best results. Or better yet, browse through our wide selection of boat cleaning products for all your different boat detailing needs. What You Need To Know. In little less than two hours my boat looked like the day it came from the factory! Just spray the polish on the cloth and wipe it on your pontoon. As one person was running the wheel, the rest of the crew was focused on cleaning freshly polished areas with the paint thinner. Polishing the aluminum pontoon tubes is simple enough. Polish away years of oxidation and built-up grime on your pontoon boat, Marine 31 Pontoon & Aluminum Cleaner is a thick, easy-to-apply metal polish that removes years of oxidation and built-up grime on stainless steel, uncoated aluminum and diamond plate surfaces. Every inch of the polished surface had to be thoroughly cleaned with many paint thinner-soaked paper towels until there was no more black aluminum residue on the paper. For those of us who trailer our pontoon boats, this won't apply. Instead, move the polisher in wide S patterns. Marine 31 Pontoon & Aluminum Cleaner will make your 10 year old boat look like a 10 day old boat! A simple pressure wash with water will suffice if there is no obvious accumulation on the pontoons. Its important to never let it dry. This reduces the reactivity by blocking the air and minerals from reaching the aluminum particles. . Step 2 may have completed your finish, and you are now ready to apply the Shark Hide. At this point, I had all my supplies and tools and the only remaining item was a dry weekend to complete the project. However, if you want the pontoons to have a mirror-like shine, this is the step to take. Honestly. . However, it has to be done within 48 to 72 hours after the first coat is fully cured. Then again, this is better than opting for a cheap protectant that turns yellow after a couple of months. Marine 31 Pontoon & Aluminum Cleaner is an environmentally-friendly, ammonia-free pontoon boat metal polish that restores a brilliant mirror finish to your aluminum pontoon boat. The polishing process will probably take about 2 to 4 hours to finish. Boat cleaner won't actually polish the pontoons, but it does make the polish last longer. You can't leave any polishing compound on the pontoons at all or else it'll get sealed on there and look terrible. It's 100% biodegradable, so there's no need to worry about harm to the water or other environmental factors. Instead, rinse the old cleaner and repeat the steps. . These 4-inch high aluminum strips were held with 20 self-tapping screws on each side. Then, grab the polisher with a polishing pad installed and start working the solution around. Although the cleaner wont truly polish the pontoons, if you neglect this step, the polished finish wont last more than one trip on the lake. By now, your pontoons should be free of discoloration, buildup, and algae. Because this is the final step before applying the Shark Hide sealer, be very thorough in cleaning and rinsing the whole surface. As I waxed, my mind started to wander, and one of the thoughts that popped into my head was Can You Be Muscular And Run Long Distances? We used close to three gallons and I went through eight rolls of paper towels. This soft, open-cell foam provides an exceptional finish that will make your pontoon strikingly shiny. If you dont want to spend that money, then use a wet rag. For those of you fortunate enough to have a quiver of boats for different boating experiences, a pontoon is definitely easier to maintain and clean over a yacht given the size difference. It is an all-around sealant that offers excellent slickness and works phenomenally in protecting your pontoon boat from UV rays, saltwater damage, algae, and more. Once the boat was lowered on the blocks, I completely remove the aluminum "skirts" or strips, from the outside pontoons. The one that I use is by a company called Porter-Cable, and you can buy this polisher on Amazon. Go to town with a wool or other comparable pad and start polishing those toons! Other brands of marine metal protectant include: Better Boat Marine Metal Polish Seal-Brite, Marine 31 and Star Brite. If you just want your pontoons clean, you can skip this part. To my surprise, he told me he would walk me through one step of the project at a time. If it dries, it will leave deposits, which will further aggravate the situation. It is an all-around sealant that offers excellent slickness and works phenomenally in protecting your pontoon boat from UV rays, saltwater damage, algae, and more. Its simple too. Its hard work, but you can get great results(image shared on Facebook, credit unknown). We also love the little things that nobody else notices. If you don't have a pressure washer, then just do your best to wipe down the surface with a wet rag as you spray. Using wool or other similar pad, go to town and start polishing them 'toons! Spray off the boat cleaner using a hose or pressure wash. Then you can scrub and rub as you spray. If youll work with a rag, divide each pontoon into small sections. Some elements like fibers and other buildup materials are almost invisible but they can stubbornly stick on the surface and affect the finish. This process will take some time, and that's where your friends will play a key role. In this guide, I'll show you the best practices for polishing your pontoons so they look their best out on the water (even if you can only see half of them). First, you'll need a polisher. Use a nice swirly "s" pattern to blend in your movements. (these items are from Amazon). I propose that you clean the toilet bowl using toilet bowl cleaner. If that sounds like a very distant memory, then perhaps its time you got them looking nice and new with an effective and efficient pontoon polish. Be it fresh, brackish, or saltwater, Sharkhide works like a charm! If necessary, dock your boat or let it stay at the marina for a while as you clean it. All you do is get a bucket and mix up 1 part toilet bowl cleaner with 2 parts water, then use a cheap one gallon sprayer to apply the cleaning mix to your tubes. To avoid being redundant, you can just refer back to step 4. But if you want a high-gloss finish, then apply a boat polish and buffing agent with buffing and polishing equipment. You are never going to get a great polished finish on your logs unless you prep them first. Blame it on the fun of a water battle on a hot summer day and all those cool garden hose nozzlespray patterns. Admittedly its quite a labor-intensive task to do the best pontoon polish job possible, but I do promise you that the results will 100% be worth your time. DecideOutside.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Its also not particularly difficultjust time consuming. Simply put,pontoons area trend not going away. For extra grimy pontoons, applying a single acid coat probably wont cut it. On a regular pontoon boat, this stage of the process should take around 2 hours. The way pontooners talk about their pontoons is amusing. I was glad I followed his advice because it performed flawlessly. Choose whatever brand you like, but make sure theres a speed dial that can fine-tune the speed according to your preferences. How To Polish Your Pontoon Boat For A Mirror Finish, clean any algae or buildup from the pontoons. But you can always browse through. Were advocates of the saying work smart, not hard so we prefer to apply Marine 31 Pontoon & Aluminum Cleaner with a wool pad on a rotary polisher. In my case, I spent close to three days working on my 23-foot Premier with substantial help from two buddies. The whole buying experience was a breeze, as my friend was very particular about his boat use and its regular maintenance schedule. It will also help your pontoon polish in staying shiny and mirror-like for far longer. This soft, open-cell foam provides an exceptional finish that will make your pontoon strikingly shiny. Sharkhide finish is easy to keep clean and Im sure it will add to the resale value. If the job is done properly will take around 3 hours, and just a little bit of expenditure on the cleaning and polishing materials, plus a few tools as highlighted in this how-to guide.
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