What is The Cause of Alumetron & VS721 Application Breakdown?

Skipper May 2, 2023 Ask The Skipper

Clay Dirks asked:

Please see attached picture. What is the cause of the break down of the application? The boat is always out of the water on a lift. This is the side of the boat exposed to the sun. The other side of the boat is fine. I’m suspecting UV damage. Allumetron & VS721 where applied July 2021.

I am going to try to repair this pontoon. Do you have instructions on how to fix the problem.

Other than this area of the pontoon, I have been very happy with the product.

Answer:
For your convenience, I’ve highlighted the hyperlinks in case you want more information about the products.

Hi Clay,

Thanks for the picture. It helps. That’s not UV damage. It appears to be either abrasion damage, possibly from rubbing up against a dock or even grinding against fenders, especially if they have dirt on them, or it could be from poor adhesion. Poor adhesion of the Alumetron can be caused by pollutants on the surface or not allowing one coat to dry thoroughly before applying the next.

Because the damage is localized, it can be repaired and touched up, without having to remove and re-do the entire pontoon. We sell a kit called “Pontoon Clear Coat Repair and Maintenance Kit”, which contains everything you will need, or if you have product left over from when you first applied the coating, you can use that. The products have a shelf life of 3 years.

First buff the area out with Alumabuff. You can do this with a Marine Power Mitt or for larger areas use the Power Point Linear Buffer, with the Alumabuff. Be sure to buff the area back about 2 to 3 inches beyond the damaged area to remove any VS721 surrounding the damage and make sure that the aluminum is buffed back to the original finish and mimics the surrounding area. Next, apply 4 coats of Alumetron to the damaged area, overlapping the existing Alumetron by about ½ inch with each coat, to feather it out. Allow it to cure a minimum of 72 hours and then re-apply the VS721.

VS721 is an annual application. It provides UV protection and also increases durability to reduce abrasion damage. Of course, is the abrasion is severe enough, even the VS721 will fail.

Thanks for your question.

Captain Aurora
Richard Kittar