Just bought my first boat and I need cleaning advice

[Drew Eddy]

I just bought my first boat, but the hill is disgusting. It is half painted and half bare aluminum. I need a cleaner that will clean the aluminum but is safe for the paint. Any help is much appreciated.

[Drew Eddy]

4 minutes ago, Drew Eddy said:

I just bought my first boat, but the hill is disgusting. It is half painted and half bare aluminum. I need a cleaner that will clean the aluminum but is safe for the paint. Any help is much appreciated.

I meant to say hull* not hill. And the boat is a 2011 triton vt17 for reference  

[Jig Man]

Totally awesome from Dollar General is a very good cheap cleaner.

[GaryH]

Hopefully @A-Jay will see this and give some answers. He runs an aluminum boat and is meticulous with his. Sorry I can’t help as I’ve only owned glass boats.

Oh and congrats on your new boat.

[A-Jay]

I wash & wax my Lund 1875 Pro-V Bass rig 3 or 4 times a year depending on use.

Preferred wash is Meguiar's M4364 Marine/RV Boat Wash

https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Marine-RV-Boat-Wash/dp/B0000AXVCB/?tag=marinetalking-20&th=1

Preferred wax is Klasse and it's actually a super easy to use and really effective All in on polish.

http://klasseusa.com/kalsse-all-in-one.html

https://www.autogeek.net/klasseallinone.html

 

Between washing's and after every trip (while it's still wet),

I wipe the entire exterior (except the seats) with Boat Bling Hot Sauce.

Spray it on, wipe it off. 

I have a black hull that's prone to water spots.

This vinegar based product has been a god send. 

Spot are a thing of the past now. 

https://www.amazon.com/Boat-Bling-HS-Premium-Remover/dp/B006GWVBQ8/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=26Y6R3TGVLT7K&keywords=boat%2Bbling&qid=1677190836&sprefix=boat%2Bbling%2B%2Caps%2C110&sr=8-3-spons&smid=A1Z8PMDHY6RP52&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzS0dHOFNQVkpYNVZLJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjAwNzQyMk9TRktVVEJXVjhEUCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTc4NzA1M1ZHQ1dPOFdENlhMRyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1

I buy the gallon. 

 

I prefer to fish from a clean rig.

It takes some continued time, $$$ & effort to maintain the level I prefer,

But I'm very willing to do it. 

 

Hope that helps

A-Jay

[Catt]

12 hours ago, Jig Man said:

Totally awesome from Dollar General is a very good cheap cleaner.

 

Awesome cleaner will clean aluminum boats, fiberglass boats, upholstery, carpet, tires, rims, your truck, & it removes water scrum, mildew, mold.

 

The wife uses it to clean grease splatters in the kitchen, cleans counter tops, & the bathroom.

 

You can get it at Dollar General, Family Dollar, Lowe, or Home Depot. 

 

[Johnbt]

And cleaning the black and green stains off white gutters and downspouts, too. And the mold and mildew off HardiPlank siding. Available in gallons, too.

[gim]

15 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I wipe the entire exterior (except the seats) with Boat Bling Hot Sauce.

Spray it on, wipe it off. 

I have a black hull that's prone to water spots.

This vinegar based product has been a god send. 

Spot are a thing of the past now. 

I use Boat Bling products too on my aluminum boat.  Its so easy to use and effective.  Spray on, wipe off with a microfiber towel.

 

I also use the Toon Sauce, Conditions Sauce (twice a year), and the Vinyl Sauce on my seats.

 

I believe the OP may have more than just a few water spots to clean on his hull, so Boat Bling is not really designed for a heavy, deep cleaning.  Once you get that skum and other crap cleaned off, Boat Bling is more of a regular use cleaning product.

[Drew Eddy]

54 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I use Boat Bling products too on my aluminum boat.  Its so easy to use and effective.  Spray on, wipe off with a microfiber towel.

 

I also use the Toon Sauce, Conditions Sauce (twice a year), and the Vinyl Sauce on my seats.

 

I believe the OP may have more than just a few water spots to clean on his hull, so Boat Bling is not really designed for a heavy, deep cleaning.  Once you get that skum and other crap cleaned off, Boat Bling is more of a regular use cleaning product.

It’s the aluminum portion of the boat that is the worst. The top half of the boat which is the painted portion just needs soap and water. It’s just water lines from not being properly cleaned on the bottom half. I’ve seen some people use aluminum brightener on their aluminum boats. Since half of mine is painted I am worried that the acid in the brightener will hurt the painted portion of the boat. If I can figure out how to downsize the image of the boat I will upload it, but it says the file size is too large. Thank you for everyone’s help so far! 

[WIGuide]

Something like this would be a good option for getting all the scum off.

https://www.wholesalemarine.com/toon-brite-pontoon-aluminum-boat-cleaner/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA3eGfBhCeARIsACpJNU9YfjSS9ivoC7p9NrXv6l5hQZtD6Ld4JTcLnLmHJWWUFNYKnyviis4aAjdaEALw_wcB

[gim]

40 minutes ago, Drew Eddy said:

It’s the aluminum portion of the boat that is the worst. The top half of the boat which is the painted portion just needs soap and water. It’s just water lines from not being properly cleaned on the bottom half. I’ve seen some people use aluminum brightener on their aluminum boats. Since half of mine is painted I am worried that the acid in the brightener will hurt the painted portion of the boat.

My hull is the same way.  The lower half/underside of my Ranger RT178 is unpainted.

 

You can always tell which boats sit in the water for extended periods of time, or are neglected by their owners when there is a nasty skum line on the side of the hull.  If you allow it to stay there long enough, it becomes almost "caked" on.  That will never happen to my boat because 1) it does not sit in the water long enough, and 2) I take better care of it than that.

 

Good luck with the hull washing, I look forward to the photos.

[TnRiver46]

I saw a guy clean a boat that sat in the water everyday with a product called hull cleaner from wal mart. I scrubbed that stupid thing with all manner of solvents, the hull cleaner was the ticket. But this was fiberglass 

[volzfan59]

Awesome is just that! We use around home on just about everything, heck I've even used one heavily stained work clothes. It's pretty cheap to purchase too. I've used it on my aluminum hull before. It's all painted camo though.

[Crappiebasser]

12 hours ago, WIGuide said:

Something like this would be a good option for getting all the scum off.

https://www.wholesalemarine.com/toon-brite-pontoon-aluminum-boat-cleaner/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA3eGfBhCeARIsACpJNU9YfjSS9ivoC7p9NrXv6l5hQZtD6Ld4JTcLnLmHJWWUFNYKnyviis4aAjdaEALw_wcB

Toon brite is great stuff but it’s not for painted aluminum. It will take the paint off.

[Johnbt]

NAPA Aluminum Brighter. Okay I was curious about the acid content. Up to 9% on items one and two:

 

Hazardous components

1. Phosphoric acid liquid Concentration 1 - 9 % (weight) CAS no. 7664-38-2

2. Sulfuric acid Concentration 1 - 9 % (weight) CAS no. 7664-93-9

3. Ammonium Bifluoride Concentration 1 - 5 % (weight) CAS no. 1341-49-7

4. ETHYLENE GLYCOL MONOBUTYL ETHER Concentration 1 - 5 % (weight) CAS no. 111-76-2

[airshot]

My tinnie is painted thru out, so some simple green cleaner to remove the scum, usually thinned diwn with water, unless scum is really bad.  I just use turtle wax spray on wax, easy on and easy off. Actually dont even bother buffing the bottom, only the areas where you can see to make it look good. This is my first aluminum hull that is totally painted !!  Much easier to keep looking good than the others with natural alum on the bottom....

[DaubsNU1]

It is times like this when I really appreciate the ultra-low maintenance of a 1960 Rich Line : ) 

 

[Way2slow]

I generally clean mine about once a year, need it or not, with SprayNine.   

I used this to clean the pontoons on a pontoon boat I bought that had constantly sat for 18 years in Lake Sinclair Ga., and it did a great job.  Purple Power 1 Gallon Aluminum Brightener 4120P | O'Reilly Auto Parts (oreillyauto.com)

 

[Tennessee Boy]

I keep mine clean by putting it in the water for several hours at a time a couple of times a week.  ?

[813basstard]

1/3 dish soap, 1/3 white vinegar, 1/3 hydrogen peroxide.

 

Laugh, but I’m telling you it works 

[Deleted account]

29 minutes ago, 813basstard said:

1/3 dish soap, 1/3 white vinegar, 1/3 hydrogen peroxide.

 

Laugh, but I’m telling you it works 

 

LOL. Take some C₂H₆O, mix it in a large container with a little Coca Cola, set it aside, use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean the hull,  then go back to the original mixture and drink it.

[airshot]

1 hour ago, 813basstard said:

1/3 dish soap, 1/3 white vinegar, 1/3 hydrogen peroxide.

 

Laugh, but I’m telling you it works 

For the bare aluminum or the painted aluminum ??

[WIGuide]

On 2/24/2023 at 10:01 PM, Crappiebasser said:

Toon brite is great stuff but it’s not for painted aluminum. It will take the paint off.

Their add says it won't harm painted surfaces or decals, but I haven't used it personally so I'm not sure if that holds true. It sounds like you might have more of a first had experience with it?

[TnRiver46]

17 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I keep mine clean by putting it in the water for several hours at a time a couple of times a week.  ?

That’s how I roll. The brown ring accents the camouflage nicely 

[BayouSlide]

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

That’s how I roll. The brown ring accents the camouflage nicely 

 

You must be my brother from a different mother ??