anodised aluminium

[FergusM]

What is the best way to clean anodised aluminium without destroying the anodising? I have a mast that someone splattered antifouling on, and the leg of a Seagull outboard that was in a well, and had some barnacles sticking to the lower end.

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[VicS]

Remove the antifouling from the mast with the appropriate af thinners, probably trimethylbenzene. Xylene (dimethylbenzene) or toluene (methylbenzene) will also probably do the trick. Even the brush cleaner for Hammerite if you have some.

Test them out on the hull of the 'someone' who splattered your mast!!!!

The Seagull leg is painted, is it not? If so remove the barnacles with a wooden scraper to minimise damage to the paint then touch up with a matching paint, Hammerite perhaps, applied over a suitable primer. I think there is a Hammerite primer for aluminium. By now you've bought some Hammerite brushcleaner so you can use that for the af on the mast.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple>Ne te confundant illegitimi.</font color=purple>

 

[FergusM]

Hi Vic

I thought the lower leg of the Seagull is just aluminium, or possibly galvanised steel around the exhaust. I can't seen any sign of paint. It's a Seagull Kingfisher, one of their last models, I think. It's about 6 hp.

Regards

FergusM

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[VicS]

I'm sorry I'm not familiar with anything as modern as that. My Seagulls (40+ and 40fw) date from the early 1970s. They have painted lower units, the exhaust tube is Al presumably originally anodised and the tube around the drive shaft appears to be Cr plated. All you can do is carefully dislodge the little blighters with something that won't damage the anodising. (You'll probably find a wooden spatula in the kitchen drawer that will be ideal).

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple>Ne te confundant illegitimi.</font color=purple>

 

[boatless]

As long as you don't use abrasives, acids or alkalis you should be OK. Possibly bleach for the barnacles?

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.

 

[penfold]

I might be stating the obvious here, but have you tried nitromors or similar? As far as I know, most antifoul paints will come off with paintstripper.

cheers,
david

<hr width=100% size=1>OMG, Schrodinger's cat is dead!

 

[penfold]

could you not just use nitromors?

cheers,
david

<hr width=100% size=1>OMG, Schrodinger's cat is dead!