oxidisation issues

[foreverstrung]

Hope I've got the right forum here.......Brief update, I pulled my boat out of the water last Sunday and have spent this week gettin to know her better, installed my Lenco trim tabs and doing maintenance. I'm going to put her back in the water on Monday and while she's out I planned on cleanin her up. The arch on my Explorer that my Dad had installed has still got a fair share of salt deposits/oxidisation left over from California and I was hopin you all might give me some tips for cleanin my chrome of these deposits.
Appreciate ya

[wingtime]

Are you sure they are salt deposits?  More than likely they are aluminum oxide.  aka corrosion.  Need to clean them off.  Your arch is probably bright anodized aluminum.  Get some Flitz or Never Dull and clean them up

[pete]

http://www.starclean.net/    

[gran398]

Exactly, you have an anodized aluminum arch.

What you are seeing is corrosion/light pitting/whitish whelps etc.

Clean it up with the products suggested...NO Scotchbrites, wet sandpaper, etc. (will strip the anodizing)

Then buy a spray bottle of Rupp Aluma-Guard. The real deal....a wet, stay-on corrosion preventive.

[foreverstrung]

I've got some never dull, left behind in my Dads bag of tricks. It cleaned up about half of the oxidization but some of the whelps are kinda stubborn. Ya'll gave me some products to check out and I am most grateful, but considering the condition, after using the never dull, what do you suppose would be the next course of action?

[gran398]

You can always have it powder-coated. If it is properly done, all you'll need to do is wax it every six months or so.

[foreverstrung]

So Have I waited too long? Are these blemishs here to stay? What other options do I have?

[wingtime]

get a pic of them for us.  Depends on how bad the surface is pitted.  The corrosion pits take a long time to happen.  It doesn't happen over night.  Not washing off the bright work and waxing it often is the usual cause.   Saw a segment on Ship shape TV where they sanded the anodizing off a T-top and scotch brighted it to give it a brushed look and sealed it with Sharkhide.

[gran398]

Exactly. Show us some pics

A large pitted area is a whelp that has popped open. At this point you'll need to get aggressive and take an 80 grit Scotchbrite to it. Or maybe a Dremel if it is still a whelp. Not too heavy, just bust the zit.  Clean it up, feather the pit into the existing tubing wall and hope the powdercoat fills the void.

Otherwise, you're stuck with the pit.  Don't try and fill with epoxy, fillers etc...can of worms. A year down the road...the filler beneath the powder-coat gives birth.

At some point....The corrosion/pitting is too deep and untreatable...so you end up throwing good money after bad to band-aid a spreading virus.

 You will then most likely throw in the towel, say the heck with it and fab a new top

Ching-ching.

Where you'll save money, and prevent wasted money...is a correct diagnosis presently.

Show us some pics, we'll solve this.

[gran398]

Addendum:

If you choose the powder-coat method:

Take it to the best shop in your area, by reputation.

Make sure they are familiar with and practice the new dipping procedure for large aluminum parts (in this instance, T-Tops).

This will insure maximum adherence, based upon acid stripping and proper electrolytic bonding of the powder-coat to the substrate.

[foreverstrung]

Pics...

[gran398]

Bro...you are looking good

Was expecting a WHOLE lot worse, just shows the value of pics.

You have the beginning stages of light corrosion. That top can't be very old...3-4 years or so? Or kept inside mostly?

Take the lightest grit scotchbrite you can find....and saturate it with Rupp Aluma-Guard. The idea is to beat down the corrosion a bit, without stripping the anodizing. The liquid will clean, penetrate, nourish, and stay on the aluminum. Regularly used...prevents further corrosion.

Go easy, rub back and forth with the tube, just as if it were wood-grain. Concentrate the effort on the blemishes, but keep it relatively light even there. The liquid will do the work. Not sure if the other members have tried this Rupp product...but to me nothing else comes close. Recommended years ago by a sportfish captain out of Palm Beach.

The blemishes won't disappear entirely. But they will be minimized and held in check. That's a plus...and keep using the Rupp after each trip, right before you put her up. You can switch over to a saturated cotton washcloth at this point.

Again...good news

[wingtime]

yeah thats not too bad at all.  Get some grease lightening.. not the citrus kind and spray it on a spot.  It has and acid in it that will attack the aluminum oxide.  Some of the better aluminum products will get that off to a point.