Aluma-Kleen

[trap50]

Koffler sells a product by this name. It works great to clean aluminum boats. It's a acid of some kind. Anyone know anything about it and if it can be purchased elsewhere?

[Chaps]

I get some stuff at a pressure washer dealer here in Seattle. It is a blend of acids (including citric) and who knows what else. I dilute it about 10:1 with water and apply with an all-plastic garden type pump sprayer, let it fizz for about a minute then hose off. Really brightens typical workboat type aluminum and seems to get rid of some of the scale. Don't use it on shiny or polished aluminum as it will dull it. Also, it will really attack galvanized trailers so be careful if you have one of those under the boat. One more thing, aluminum has to be clean before applying, it won't strip areas with greasy fingerprints, boot marks, etc. Costs about $14 gal., think its called alumabright or something like that. Janitor supply houses have it too sometimes.

[DriftR]

Trap50
The product you mentioned is good for aluminum for sure. But it is highly toxic. If it is the same cleaner (check label) that I used to use years ago, that product eats asphalt big time. I used to use a product for washing my aluminum semi truck fuel tanks. Works great but once I saw what it did to asphalt I stopped using it. Not a good chemical. Check that label out first hand. Good luck

[Mark Mc]

Hey Trap50, as DriftR stated you want to be real careful with this. I looked up the MSDS; it has 2% ammonium bilfuoride (NH5F2) & 1% hydrochloric acid. Although this doesn't sound like much, the ammonium bifluoride will behave like hydrofluoric acid. If your skin contacts this low a concentration, you may not feel a chemical burn right away. But the fluoride ion will seek the calcium in your bones, and many hours later you could be screaming in pain. You don't want me to tell you what a person looks & sounds like after an HF exposure. At that point the treatment is injections of calcium gluconate. The impact from a one-time exposure could be a weakening of the bones affected.

Yes it can be used safely, but what a hassle:
If I were to use it, I'd have a Saranex coated Tyvek suit, with industrial-quality gloves (like a MAPA / Pioneer "Trionic" acid glove) taped to the sleeves, rubber boots taped to the pant cuffs, spash-proof goggles with a face-shield over that. Then there's the cleanup to ensure nothing is contaminated, especially anything kids will touch. So what I'm saying is, this kind of material is best suited for professional use at a boatyard with an isolated, controlled area.

This is what I do at my "day job" is deal with issues like this. So I'm not trying to scare you, just give you the straight answer. Be safe, Mark

[WP]

Well spoken Mark! I worry about the casual use of chemicals that I see on the shelf at stores. My exposure to many of the same or similar chemicals (in higher concentrations in general)and the effects they can have, make me concerned. Please everyone, use chemical compounds safely and knowledgably. They all have effects on the environment and on us...make sure the benefit is worth the cost/risk before using anything.
WP...a worrying old "motherhen"
:tongue: :tongue:

[trap50]

Thanks for the great info. There isn't any product lable on this to be able to look it up in the MSDS.