Question on polishing an aluminum hull...

[jtrom]

I am polishing the sides of my aluminum hull by wet sanding with 220, 400, 600, 800, 1200, 1500 grit, polishing then sharkshide. Going through all those grits will take awhile. Am I ok with a 3 week process from 220 grit to final buffing without the hull corroding in that time frame?

 

[boatnut74]

Re: Question on polishing an aluminum hull...

There actually isn't a need to sand the entire hull unless there are some big scratches to blend out. Sharkhide polish will take off any of the oxidation, it will just take a couple hours. The hull won't corrode, it will just oxidize. The oxidization is the protection the aluminum gives itself. Hope that helps

 

[jtrom]

Re: Question on polishing an aluminum hull...

There actually isn't a need to sand the entire hull unless there are some big scratches to blend out. Sharkhide polish will take off any of the oxidation, it will just take a couple hours. The hull won't corrode, it will just oxidize. The oxidization is the protection the aluminum gives itself. Hope that helps

Oops, I meant "oxidize", not corrode. Thanks. I am just using the Sharkshide protectant, not the polish. (I am using a regular aluminum polish). My question should have said "will aluminum oxidize in 3 weeks?"

 

[boatnut74]

Re: Question on polishing an aluminum hull...

I did a little "test" polishing on one of mine once and it showed signs of oxidation in a couple weeks. It was nothing a quick polish couldnt take care of though.