Aluminum Canoe

A

abbeysdad

New member
I posted this under 'machine polishing' then realized it might be a better fit here...



We inherited a 17' Grumman's aluminum canoe from my wife's grandfather's estate many, many years ago. It's gotta be about 50 years old (we've had it for 35, wife paddled around in it when she was a kid). It's anodized and and overall dingy from age. On top of that, it sat in a boathouse in the water for many years before we got it. I cleaned up the algae (scrubbung) from the bottom/water line when we first took it out of the water all those years ago, but the bottom remained stained.

I'm thinking of polishing it but am looking for a good procedure. I googled and got a few hits.

One I read began with using oven cleaner, steel wool, then polish (rotary/wool).

Another suggested a Draino/water mix, steel wool, sanding (600+ grit) then polishing.



Can anybody point me to a good procedure for restoring this aluminum canoe?

Can this be done using a PC, or is this really rotary territory?
 
I'm confused about your comment in the other thread regarding the anodize of the canoe. I happen to have a Grumman canoe brochure from about 30 years ago, and it mentions nothing about an anodized finish. What makes you suspect yours is anodized and how do you expect that will play into your restoration?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I'm confused about your comment in the other thread regarding the anodize of the canoe. I happen to have a Grumman canoe brochure from about 30 years ago, and it mentions nothing about an anodized finish. What makes you suspect yours is anodized and how do you expect that will play into your restoration?
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To be honest I am uncertain - just that the exterior surface is not like smooth aluminum as you would see with aiplanes, pontoon boats, etc. Perhaps it is just so old/ozidized that it just seems like anodized.
 
Modern aluminum airplanes have clear paint on them. If the canoe is anodized, some of those aggressive methods are likely to compromise the anodic coating. Bear in mind that according to my brochure, the skin is only .050 thick, or .032 for a lightweight canoe. I think the metal polish/wool combo is going to work fine, just going to go thru a bunch of pads.
 
Yea, my bad - I looked closely and I don't think it's anodized, just really oxidized from about midway down to across the bottom - and the bottom is badly stained from all those years in the water.
 
I used to have this Hydroflouric brightener they used on tanker trucks. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but it sure as heck did a nice job prepping a surface for polishing. I used to brush it on with a long-handled brush and rinse off with a hose from as far as possible away :).



I got it at a truck stop, if you don't mind taking some *serious* precautions it might be worth a shot.
 
themightytimmah said:
I used to have this Hydroflouric brightener they used on tanker trucks. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but it sure as heck did a nice job prepping a surface for polishing. I used to brush it on with a long-handled brush and rinse off with a hose from as far as possible away :).



I got it at a truck stop, if you don't mind taking some *serious* precautions it might be worth a shot.
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Well that seems a bit too scary to do in the yard with the dog and such. I wonder if there's any merit in the one process I read that began using easyoff oven cleaner? Or maybe I'd be better off taking it to a truck wash where they might have a process similar to what you describe.
 
abbeysdad said:
Well that seems a bit too scary to do in the yard with the dog and such. I wonder if there's any merit in the one process I read that began using easyoff oven cleaner? Or maybe I'd be better off taking it to a truck wash where they might have a process similar to what you describe.
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Yeah if you can pay someone else to work with the chemicals, the results are really worth it.
 
Here was the response I got back from the boat factory:

You may be able to find some aluminum cleaner like Aluminum Jelly. If not, then you will most likely have to get a rotary power buffer and polishing compound and start the dirty job of manually cleaning (polishing) the aluminum.



Marathon Boat Group

PO Box 549

One Grumman Way

Marathon, NY 13803

888-694-1285
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Maybe I'll see if I can track down some Duro Aluminum Jelly. I tested a small spot with some stainless steel cleaner and fine steel wool and although there's a fair amount of blackish crud, it cleaned pretty well. I'm thinking the first step is serious cleaning/scrubbing perhaps even with soft scrub and a scrubbing pad, then polishing and some protectant.

(I'm thinking those green scrubbing pads just might work with the hook 'n loop on the PC.)



Is Collinite wax the best choice for a canoe or is there something else I should get?
 
abbeysdad said:
Assuming I can get this clean/polished, can anyone suggest a protective coating for unpainted aluminum?
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I just got a response from marathon Boat:

Anything that will help seal the aluminum from the air. That could be aluminum polish, non cleaning car wax or acrylic floor wax.



Marathon Boat Group

PO Box 549

One Grumman Way

Marathon, NY 13803

888-694-1285
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But does car wax or acrylic floor wax hold up in the water?
 
Why don't you bring it to a paint shop and get it sprayed with clear? Just bear in mind that whatever you do to it is not going to hold up indefinitely against groundings, etc.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Why don't you bring it to a paint shop and get it sprayed with clear? Just bear in mind that whatever you do to it is not going to hold up indefinitely against groundings, etc.
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That's an idea - thanks for the feedback, but I'll have to see how well it cleans up / polishes first. Like I said, in addition to just being old/oxidized, it sat in the water (years ago) in a boathouse for years so the bottom had some serious algae stain that remembering back, wouldn't scrub off. If it won't clean up really well, I wouldn't want it coated with clear. Painting could be an option I guess, but I'd rather not go that route (hearing the scraping sound the first time it's put in the water from the shore line!).



Did you ever hear of putting acrylic floor wax on a boat?
 
BlueZero said:
How about something like this... Metal Guard M9214 Product Information ?
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Interesting (thanks) although rated for marine use, I'm not certain about below water line use. Also, it would take a bunch of spray cans to cover the hull of a 17' canoe (prolly at least 4).

I was also steered to this Sharkhide stuff:

sharkhide.com

Which looks really good, but costs $60 a quart. I'm thinking I'd need a gallon for two coats...



First is to clean her up. I'm gonna try the following (and would appreciate any thoughts on process)...



1) Spray with APC (SG), dwell and power wash.

2) Scrub (manual or mechanical) with Scotchbrite pad and paste (edit2: CAMEO Aluminum and Stainless Steel cleaner)

3) Power wash. Repeat step 2 as needed.

4) Polish with Noxon metal polish (pc/wool pad).



5) Seal w/? (edit: Collinite 845 or Future acrylic floor wax).
 
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