How much metal does acid washing eat?

[sunedog]

I have a 2001 Bennington that I bought in 2003. When I replaced the carpet with vinyl in the Spring of 2014, I jacked the boat up and put it on blocks so I could have uninterrupted access to the bolts underneath to strip the boat. I used a floor jack and a scrap of 2 x 4 with a V cut to match the keel to jack it up. Once, while jacking it up about midway between the baffles on the rear of one pontoon, I was shocked to see the pontoon compressing instead of the boat lifting. I quickly let it down and only jacked it up under the baffles after that. Thank goodness, the compression did not cause a permanent dent in the toon.

Was that normal? Do you think acid washing the toons every Fall since I bought it (I guess 12 times) can eat that much metal which resulted in the toon compressing?

I realized in hindsight I was jacking up the heaviest part of the boat. I have a Honda 115 HP with a dry weight of around 500 lbs hanging off the back.

[HandymanHerb]

It's removing the corrosion layer and a very small amount of aluminum

[Bamaman]

Are you acid washing because your boat toons are green and grundgy?

My toons stay out of the water all year, and I just do a light polishing to remove the tarnish the first of June. I bought my old Starcraft pontoon in 1985, and the toons still look good.

Acid washing will shorten the lifespan, however I don't know how long they'll last. They still could use a good polishing after the acid wash, however.

[sunedog]

Are you acid washing because your boat toons are green and grundgy?

Acid washing will shorten the lifespan, however I don't know how long they'll last. They still could use a good polishing after the acid wash, however.

Yes. The boat sits in the water at my dock from March to October and I acid wash it every Fall to remove the algae and accumulated scum.

I know acid washing removes metal. The question is how much. And is it normal for a tube to compress when you jack up your boat mid way between the baffles?

[Cowracer]

I'm pretty sure if you single-point jack ANY pontoon between the baffles, you are going to dent the hell out of it. They are not designed to take point loads like that. You need to spread the load out over a few square feet (even when jacking on a baffle)

Tim

[HandymanHerb]

Aluminum is resistant to breakdown because it forms a strong chemical bond with oxygen. This is why aluminum often becomes discolored or dull in appearance. To clean aluminum, acid needs to be used in order to neutralize the buildup of oxidation.