The Skipper's Blog

Kevin asked:

On new pontoon logs they were delivered with road salt present and the aluminum has etching or corrosion on the surface, what is the best way to correct this?

Answer:

This is a common problem. Most pontoon boats are built and delivered over the winter months so they are ready for sale and delivery in the spring. Unfortunately, the road salt splashed up onto the pontoons during delivery can leave surface corrosion, streaking and in severe cases, pitting on the surface of the aluminum. Since yours is a new boat, the damage will be superficial and can easily and quickly be buffed away with Alumabuff and restored to the new factory finish, without damaging the mill finish.

If the boat has been sitting around for extended periods of time and the salt has started to pit the aluminum, you will need to first clean it with Alumabrite CBX in order to penetrate and passivate the pits to prevent further corrosion and penetration of the pits, in those areas.

The buffing process with Alumabuff and a Linear Buffer is straight forward. You should be able to buff each pontoon back to its original finish in about 1 hour.

After buffing your pontoons back to the factory finish, I recommend protecting them with Alumetron clear coat and VS721 low surface energy coating. The protective coating can last up to 10 years and comes with a 3 year factory warranty. It will protect your pontoons against future staining and corrosion, will reduce marine fouling and make clean up much easier.

Thanks for your question,

Captain Aurora

Richard Kittar

---

The Skipper Recommends:

---