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Fixing Aluminum Oxidation

FROGMAN524

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Didn’t get a picture but the top caps on my SCX uppers have oxidized. The boat had a mercathode system and zincs. How can I fix this and prevent it again in the future?


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Racey

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Wax them regularly. Hard to say without oictures of how bad the oxidation is,

Regardless of an anode/cathode system raw aluminum will oxidize when placed in water
 

ToMorrow44

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Water in the Colorado river is especially harsh on anything aluminum, it’s not a anode/cathode problem. Shark Hide may be your best bet, that’s supposed to be the shit for anything aluminum, but no idea how it holds up.
 

boatpi

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Post a photo, we may offer a suggestion for a special level of anodizing
 

FROGMAN524

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Alright I’ll snap some pictures today. Definitely not shiny like When I got them just very dull now after only being in the water 3 or 4 times.


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FROGMAN524

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Ok here are the top caps I was talking about

IMG_4309.jpg

IMG_4307.jpg

IMG_4308.jpg



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FreeBird236

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Ok here are the top caps I was talking about

View attachment 975054
View attachment 975055
View attachment 975056


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Looks like typical hardwater deposits from the river water, I see it on the black parts of the drive and transom as well. If you wipe down with something like Hot Sauce after every use it won't build up as bad. The condition it's in now I would probably use Lime-Away and then Hot Sauce and then wax.
Maybe also polish the aluminum after it's clean and before the wax.
 
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boatpi

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I sent an e mail to my mill,
Waiting for the best expert to respond.
 

MK1MOD0

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Lime away works wonders to remove the scale. I’d use it on the out drive , prop rams ect. didn’t have to use it eve time, but just a few times a season.
 

FROGMAN524

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Lime away works wonders to remove the scale. I’d use it on the out drive , prop rams ect. didn’t have to use it eve time, but just a few times a season.

Does the shark hide coating keep it from continuing to happen?


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Rotten deal

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Just called. Brett says they’re anodized from the factory.


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I thought so and I’ve seen them due that before. Not sure if it’s just water or heat from drive doing that. Maybe water getting under anodizing? Did they say why they due that?
 

FROGMAN524

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I thought so and I’ve seen them due that before. Not sure if it’s just water or heat from drive doing that. Maybe water getting under anodizing? Did they say why they due that?

He didn’t say but said only permanent solution is painting or anodizing them another color.


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02HoWaRd26

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Lime a way in a spray bottle. Spray wipe anywhere you didn’t mean to get it then wipe from the parts. May take two or three goes but that’s just heat baking the water on the polished parts. Then hit with some good polish.
Then basically repeat the polishing as needed.
 

RiverDave

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Try toilet bowl cleaner first and let us know how it works.. It's cheap and surprisingly effective.

RD
 

FROGMAN524

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Ok I’ll try both of those and post back after I get some results.


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FROGMAN524

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Clean all the soot off the transom while you are at it hahaha

Yeah that stupid scum line from the marina is hard to get off if you don’t get it right away. The hot sauce doesn’t work very well either after the fact.


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rrrr

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Is the lime away acidic?


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Big time. Its pH is around 2. Household vinegar is a milder acidic cleaner, it's 5% acetic acid, pH is 2.7. Try it first.
 

Duck'ed_Up

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Yeah that stupid scum line from the marina is hard to get off if you don’t get it right away. The hot sauce doesn’t work very well either after the fact.


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IMG_8281.jpg

Try this for the scum line and yellowing you get on the bottom. This stuff is amazing!


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FreeBird236

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He didn’t say but said only permanent solution is painting or anodizing them another color.


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You could powder coat them clear, they would look the same and be much easier to clean.
 

FROGMAN524

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You could powder coat them clear, they would look the same and be much easier to clean.

Funny because IMCO said do not powercoat them. Said it doesn’t hold up.


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FreeBird236

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Funny because IMCO said do not powercoat them. Said it doesn’t hold up.


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Maybe because of the heat, not sure. Most all my hardware is clearcoated polished aluminum and has held up great (12 years), but I don't have that type of cover on the drive, just a chrome drive shower. For some reason I do have silver anodizing on the supports for the powdercoated swim steps, and the swim steps shine and are much easier to clean than the supports.
 

RiverDave

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Do not put acidic products on anodizing.

toilet bowl cleaner is pretty mild.. would you go with a base style product like lime away? Or what would you use?

RD
 

RiverDave

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Is the lime away acidic?


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I think it's a base? now I'm curious.. want to know what ole Racey would do.. I used toilet bowl cleaner to clean my drives all the time.. but I gotta admit I didn't have annodized parts on the drives..

RD
 

Racey

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toilet bowl cleaner is pretty mild.. would you go with a base style product like lime away? Or what would you use?

RD

Toilet bowl cleaner will strip anodizing, might not do it instantly like muriatic, but it will definitely do it, lime away is an acid as well has a pH of about 1.

Even base pH degreasers like purple power i have found to discolor and stain anodizing. It's super important to keep a nice coat of wax on it to stop this during your normal cleaning.

Keeping anodizing clean is more about doing the prepwork first rather than cleaning it after.
 

FROGMAN524

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Hot sauce has vinegar in it. Is that a problem? I’ve read to use baking soda.


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