Best Way to clean up an old aluminum canoe

[Woodonglass]

If you want to do it on the cheap, and don't mind some manual labor, then 4-5 jars of this...



should get the job done. Only problem is...In a few months...You'll have to do it again. Anything you use to polish aluminum will eventually fail. Nature of the beast.

 

[esox07]

The link to the "photo" in the post above is broken. But, yah, if I do wind up polishing it, it will probably be the last time I ever do it. I just thought that for a 43 year old canoe, it would be nice to make it pretty one more time. I at least want to get it good and cleaned up.

 

[MTdeepC]

"aluminum polish wadding"????

Yes, it is a cloth in a can that is impregnated with polish. It is almost like cotton. It works really well.

 

[esox07]

OK, do you buy it made for that purpose or do you have to adapt it to the drill buffing wheel?

 

[Woodonglass]

My picture didn't post correctly. The Product I was Trying to show is Mothers Aluminum Polish. Walmart has it.

 

[jkust]

My picture didn't post correctly. The Product I was Trying to show is Mothers Aluminum Polish. Walmart has it.

That stuff is much less harsh than the liquid brightners you can buy at the auto parts store. The liquid brightner I had used was as close to magic as I've ever seen. It immediately turns dingy aluminum bright and shiny until you realize you have removed the shiny coating from the aluminum and have done more harm than good.

 

[esox07]

Will a 42 year old canoe still have a shiny "Coating"?

 

[Woodonglass]

Yup, all the polish really does is remove the oxidation. That's why it will eventually become dull again.

 

[jkust]

Will a 42 year old canoe still have a shiny "Coating"?

Well...you can sort of look at it and see. Without the shiny coating, the aluminum looks more unfinished and raw. Those pics of the outside of the canoe look as though they have a shiny finish over the aluminum still which if you use the heavy duty aluminum brightner undiluted, will eat that right off. I can't really tell what the inside of the canoe has.

 

[esox07]

I will try to inspect it closer to see if I can tell if it has the coating or not. If it does, then is there any way to get it shiny again or am I better off just trying to clean it up as much as possible and calling it a day???

Thanks for all the help from every one by the way. I am on a few forums and this seems to be a good one. I have been on several where the membership leaves a lot to be desired, but everyone here seems dedicated, friendly, helpful and quite tolerant.
Thanks.

 

[esox07]

W a bad back, weight might be an issue, so that'd be another reason I wouldnt use a spray on bedliner on the canoe, it'd add weigh. That'd also reduce the amount of weight you can add to the canoe in you, gear, motor and fuel.

If there are a few leaks, fix them. Covering w bedliner hides them, but doesnt 'fix' them.

And even poorly applied bedliner is not easy to remove. One of the worst jobs ever...... and I've worked on grinding on a fiberglass hull.

I would like to revisit using some bedliner on my canoe. I am not trying to seal any leaks or cover the whole thing, just the area that was covered from the factory with a no slip coating. It is worn off and peeling in several areas. I would clean it all up and sand or peel up the loose no slip coating and then redo with the Herculiner paint on bed liner. I used it on my truck be and really like it. I have plenty left over to do the inside bottom of the canoe. The added weight wouldn't be more than couple pounds and on an 85 lb canoe, 2lbs is nothing.
Here is what I am talking about. The picture below shows the front of the canoe where the front passenger has litterally worn the no slip coating away.

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And this is near the back where it is flaking off and under the trash it is even worse from the rear passenger wearing it off.

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I would only be coating the area that is already coated with the factory stuff. Good idea or bad?

 

[jbcurt00]

Having had to remove bedliner from an aluminum hull, I wont ever advocate its use directly on an aluminum hull.

Isnt that herculiner black? And moderately course?

If its been sealed in the can it came in, for any length of time, IIRC, it has a shelf life.

Factory anti-skid was more like thin paint w super fine sand in it. Much less aggressive then the bedliner stuff.

 

[Watermann]

If you want that bed liner in the bottom of your canoe then I would suggest using something that is more along the lines of paint like the Rustoleum bed liner. The thing is nothing really likes to adhere very well to aluminum so you have to have a very clean surface and use a self etching primer before applying any sort of finish coating.

 

[esox07]

Where can a guy get some some DIY stuff that is the same or similar to the factory non-skid coating?

 

[ondarvr]

Like they said, coating aluminum is a bit difficult, as it tends to fail after a while.

​As for the outside looking good, you can polish it all you want, and it will be dull again soon unless you put something like Sharkhyde on it, but you need to re-apply it periodically for it to stay looking good.

​My aluminum jet boat was looking ugly, at one time it had some tape stripes on it that I had removed, but even after a couple of years the area that had been under the stripes looked different than the surrounding area. I tried several things and then sanded it with 400 grit on a DA, this left a very uniform dull finish, 5 years later it hasn't changed much and requires zero maintenance.

On the inside if you really want to recoat it with something, don't skimp on the prep work or materials if you want it to hold up very long.

 

[esox07]

I see lots of different products out there. Most warn about prepping for aluminum. Most also show good reviews, but I am looking for a first hand account of using it and how it turned out. If anyone has any experience with doing this, let me know. Thanks.

 

[Woodonglass]

All I can tell you is, Most of the members here on the forum that have coated their aluminum craft with truck bed liner, seem to always report back they wished they hadn't. Peeling and lack of durability are the main reasons.

 

[esox07]

Alright boss, you convinced me. No bedliner! I appreciate the warning because I was planning to do it. Now I have to find some good commercial stuff that is made for boats and aluminum.

 

[ondarvr]

I understand you want it to look good, but as far as having a non skid surface in those areas you may not need it, aluminum isn't as slippery as you may think, and much of the surface is still intact.

Old aluminum canoes aren't known to be show pieces, they're pretty much a utilitarian item that just needs to function correctly for it to have value.

 

[esox07]

Probably correct. In other words, I should just chill out and enjoy the canoe for what it is....Point taken. I won't sweat it.
But I am going to do a thorough cleaning on it once it warms up around here. When I got it, it had been stored in a hay barn for who knows how many years. It has piles of bird crap in it from pidgeons, sparrows or whatever nested above it. I just can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can get out and clean it up and get it in the water.
Thanks for the advice.