White Specks on Aluminium

[Remdrake]

I was looking over my boat the other day and noticed a bunch of white specks on the bottom/sides of the boat. Is this salt deposits from saltwater? I took it down to the Chehalis at the end of October and noticed it after that trip. What is the best way to remove these? How bad are they? Will they go away if not treated? Has the damage already been done? Just curious as I am preparing to clean and sharkhide the boat. Thanks

[ArtB]

I think it is oxidation. I tried everything I could think of on my 14 ft. Gregor. Nothing worked. At Allen Marine they suggested that I get a commercial cleaner available in Corvallis. I tried it. It got rid of the spots but it dulled the finish so badly that it looked like it had been out in the weather for 50 years. My present boat, a 16 foot Alumacraft, is painted above the chine but the bottom has the same white spots. I used both boats in salt water which may have caused this though the condition existed before I bought them.

[fishkisser]

Ah the bane of aluminium boats , they almost last forever ... But those pesky spots just keep returning . :berry: If ya spent a lot of time inside the hull instead of out they won't bother you so much.:meme: :meme: :smirk:

[icbig1s]

And oxidation is a good thing. It may not look great, but it's an extra layer of protection, that if removed, could later become pinhole leaks. My 33 yr old Gregor ain't pretty, but it don't leak either. Another way to stop further spots from forming may be to ground your batteries to the hull. In fact, my fishfinder won't display properly with out the grounding.

[Regular Joe]

And oxidation is a good thing. It may not look great, but it's an extra layer of protection, that if removed, could later become pinhole leaks. My 33 yr old Gregor ain't pretty, but it don't leak either. Another way to stop further spots from forming may be to ground your batteries to the hull. In fact, my fishfinder won't display properly with out the grounding.

I thought it was a great no, no to ground to the hull. Everything should be grounded back to the battery. If you ground to the hull you will have a hot boat. This is what I have been told my many!

Joe

:smash:

[icbig1s]

I bought my Gregor 10 yrs. ago and it had an electric start out board, meaning the the battery was grounded to the hull via the motor. I would tend think that is so with all metal boats with an electric start outboard. I then replaced that motor with a manual start motor and the first time out, my fishfinder wouldn't even read the bottom until I hooked up a wire from the hull and attached it to the negative post of the battery. So what I figured is the battery has to be grounded on a metal boat for the fishfinder to work on a metal boat. What do the experts here say?

[Chrome Bumper]

Those white specks are oxide. If you want to make them go away you can remove enough metal to do that with acid wash and buffing. Or just clean them up and seal them.

Sharkhide is a thouroughly tested products to deal with your issues. Looks like dusty flecks of powdery dandruff no?

[SR1 5]

My boat has the same problem but I'm sure mine comes from the de-icer the hiway dept sprays on the roads and there is a good chance that is where yours came from