[tdi434]

Just bought a 1996 bass tracker 120xr sport jet and was wondering if anyone had tips on cleaning up the oxcidized alumminum or polishing it up to bring back a nice finish..

[*EdC*]

Originally Posted by tdi434

Just bought a 1996 bass tracker 120xr sport jet and was wondering if anyone had tips on cleaning up the oxcidized alumminum or polishing it up to bring back a nice finish..

Mothers and lots of elbow grease

[elark7]

Mothers is one of the best. There are multiple aluminum cleaners on the market today. On some aluminum wheels that were really bad I used an industrial strength aluminum siding cleaner and power washer prior to buffing them. I personally use Wenol and Mothers Mag wheel cleaner on my aluminum car parts and the buffing wheel on the work table. On really bad pieces I use 1500 grit wet sand paper prior to buffing. You may want to see about borrowing a multi-speed buffer. You can make quick work of the polishing. Just remember to keep the speed low at first and never stay too long in one spot. High speed and polish compound will heat up the metal and change its colors, learned the hard/expensive way on some '53 Buick parts. Also tape over any decals so you don't remove them.

Elark

[tdi434]

Thanks guys ive tried using a few products but not the mothers will have to pick that up at the local auto parts store today. also though i tried buffing it with a buffer but the pad turns black and gets really dirty even though the boat is clean soo my question is what kind of pads would be best to use oon the buffer? Heres a pic of the boat after my attempt to clean/polish it looks better in the pic to be honest with you guys but its not to bad.

[BWR1953]

When I had my Bass Tracker I never polished the boat. Just cleaned the water line off with Simple Green. I figured that a highly polished hull reflecting sunshine could knock the eyes out of a bass at 100 feet, so I didn't do any polishing or buffing. That way I could sneak up on 'em!

Honestly, the natural matt finish was fine for me.

[ondarvr]

The black stuff on the buffing pad is aluminum.

You can polish it to almost a mirror finish if you want, but it won't stay that way long unless you coat it with one of the many products designed for that purpose. Even then it takes more time and work to strip and reapply the products as needed to keep it looking good.

[tdi434]

Yea thats a good point and also the boats going into the wisconsin river and it always leaves these nasty yellow water marks.