HELP! Cleaning the Pontoon Logs

[Lifesatripp]

I need some help. Pulled my 22ft Pontoon out of the water for the season and purchase some ToonBrite cleaner to clean the pontoons. The jug says to dilute, spray on let sit and spray off. Well, it didn't go as planned...of course! It made the toons all blotchy and spotty and now Im at a loss for what to do! Can someone help?! Ive tried scrubbing and spraying and haven't got anywhere. Any advice and recommendations would be very appreciated!!

[BobL]

Maybe some of the guys with a lot of experience with Shark Hide (or maybe email Shark Hide with your picture) will chime in but something similar happened to me on my Bentley but I did a test spot and after I saw the results I quit. 2 years later when I traded in the Bentley, the spot was still there. It will fade a bit with time and exposure to the elements. What I think happened on mine is the scum (which I had cleaned off well - at least so I thought) kept the Toon Bright from penetrating. Then, the rest of the "splotches" appeared to be due to varying levels of oxidation (or whatever others want to call it).

Sorry that I could not help but hopefully others may have some options for you but if they do not, I would seriously consider emailing this to Shark Hide and see what they come up with (and am sure it will be several hundred dollars worth of product and LOTS of elbow grease - but I heard their stuff really works).

[Mrtoler]

The trick when cleaning the toons is to do one section at a time, with the tubes dry, work from the bottom up, and keep spraying it on until you have a nice even layer of foam. When the cleaner foams up and runs it makes streaks... So just keep applying until its uniform, then wash off good with water. It might take more than one treatment.. AC coil cleaner does the same thing if you run outta toonbright!

[HandymanHerb]

Find someone near you who polishes aluminum, or do it yourself, it takes a little time and will get you dirty, if you just went over them one time, try it again, when I rebuild mine I took it to a truck stop near me, had it acid washed there then took it to the polishers just behind them to do the bigest part of it, then we finished the insides and the engine pod.

So they can be cleaned, it just how far do you want to go with it.

[Bamaman]

I am really impressed with that polish job. And the inside of the toons, too. WOW!

Another good product is NAPA's Aluminum Brightener, so I'm told. If the job's not working well, I think you'd just keep on trying, and the finish will improve. It may be a little dull unless you use a polish to take off the aluminum oxide.

I put my Bennington back in the water today, and put on my boathouse lift for the Winter. I think I'm going to wait until Spring to do my annual polishing. Mine looks good when polished, but it's not intended to be a mirror finish. I could never maintain such a shine with the amount of time I have to spend on it.

[smoker62]

I use DW Davies Aluma Bright at 14 dollars a gallon. Key is getting the toons wet first with my product and I use a garden sprayer to lay a heavy even coat. I would not even try it with a trigger sprayer.Before and afters . The gallon lasts me two seasons so 7 bucks a year LOL.

[Lifesatripp]

Thanks for the info guys! I think the problem is that it's a 2008 and the pontoons have never been cleaned. When I bought it this spring it went right in the water so it's oxidized pretty good. We put on some rubbing compound and used a buffer, it's gonna work but with a lot of applications and a lot of elbow grease!

[ROBBSRACINGENGINES]

IMO you cant beat the ease and thoroughness of AC coil cleaner. I put it in a pump sprayer straight. Soak half of one log with the coil cleaner at a time and let it set for 3-4 minutes. Then hose it off. Works beautiful and cant get much easier.

[ToonGuy]

Thanks for the info guys! I think the problem is that it's a 2008 and the pontoons have never been cleaned. When I bought it this spring it went right in the water so it's oxidized pretty good. We put on some rubbing compound and used a buffer, it's gonna work but with a lot of applications and a lot of elbow grease!

That is a major issue. The first look at your pics and I had the impression they had not been cleaned enough. Like the others said, even coats and NEVER let any cleaner dry on your logs. NEVER clean them in direct sun light or risk streakes. I've had toons that were so bad that 6-8 coats of straight mruatic acid wouldn't touch the deposits. The only onther choice at that point is a sander or buffer with some harsh compound. Good luck.

[OK Toon]

I used the Napa stuff on mine last year and it did a great job. It did make them a dull color, but i was better than the crud color before. They still look pretty good this year but I have a lift in my dock now so the boat doesn't just sit in the water anymore. I meant to do Sharkhyde on them after I cleaned them last year, but never got around to doing it.

[jimrs]

Our lake will make your boat look like yours after 6 mos in the water. It is hard to clean but I found that it will come off with the use of toon brite. It takes a few times and with a scrub brush on a handle during the coats helps. The first time I used it I had to use four bottles to get it clean but it did get clean. Any of the cleaners mentioned above will do it. When your that dirty you have to take it off in layers and the brush helps to get it done faster.

[woolznaz]

IMO you cant beat the ease and thoroughness of AC coil cleaner. I put it in a pump sprayer straight. Soak half of one log with the coil cleaner at a time and let it set for 3-4 minutes. Then hose it off. Works beautiful and cant get much easier.

Do you do anything to protect your trailer bunks or frame when doing this? Does the AC coil cleaner take paint off the trailer or hurt anything else?

[Bryden24shp]

I covered my trailer with poly, stuffed it between the pontoons and bunks as good as I could. You don't want to spray any of it on diamond plate trim. It will stain it real bad...

[woolznaz]

Thanks, Bryden. I suppose I would do the same thing. This stuff has to be pretty harsh. I keep thinking if I do it, no matter how careful I am, I'll get it on the trailer which is actually very nicely painted, and yes, there is some diamond plate as you pointed out. I also worry about how some of this stuff has to gather between the carpeted bunks and the pontoons and just sit there. No matter how much i rinse it, it seems like there would still be some concentration of this stuff just sitting there soaked up in the carpet and resting against the pontoons for days or weeks after I do this. I'm pretty interested in tackling this and making my pontoons look nice, and then sharkhiding them in hope they can stay looking good. I think I'm over thinking it and finding stuff to worry about that I probably don't need to..... on the other hand, I don't want to put forth this kind of effort and expense only to mess up something else.

[tuned]

I've been struggling with the concept of using ANY aggressive cleaner with the boat still on a carpeted bunk trailer. Scared that the chemical will be trapped in the carpet and do permanent damage to the metal that is held against it.
I am presently designing a lift system at my house in order to pull the trailer completely out of the picture next year. Then I will likely just use cheap HCl (muriatic acid/concrete floor etch). Timing and a VERY good rinse will be key at that point.
I can kill some weeds in my ditch at the same time