Littlesaltwash
Well-Known Member
In early march I posted a thread on WW asking for opinions on sharkhide, a tough clear coat, that protects aluminum, painted, and about any metal surface. Rivergoer was only only person who responded but IMO reinforced what I had read via other threads/sites, particularly the Hewescraft owners group. Lots of folks in the Northwest use it to protect their aluminum hulls from the corrosive effects of deciders used on the highways which can eat thru your hull. A lot of the dealers in aluminum boats out there order their boats which it done on the new mill finish. We don’t have to worry about deciders that much here since spring rains will often wash the roads clean. (But, early birds coming over the passes in the early spring should be aware of the corrosive effects) Since I had recently bought a boat that I wanted to last the remaining years I have left I contacted Clint at sharkhide and went thru the process of cleaning and “sharkhiding” the hull. Attached is a picture of the bottom of the hull where I couldn’t easily restore the bottom and wasn’t too noticeable except when being the trailer queen. The difference is pretty startling between the cleaned aluminum and the oxidized aluminum only 5 years old with limited use. The oxidized aluminum color wasn’t too noticeable with the paint color of the boat and my first thoughts weren’t of cleaning it up and getting it shined but more in the line of long term protection for this investment. I couldn’t believe the difference though after cleaning it up with the acid based cleaner. I “finished” the aluminum with the brush/sanded finish (using 3m pads) instead of the more time consuming polishing finish with paste and buffing. The clear coating process was tricky but my backyard finish isn’t to noticeable unless you look for it. Just putting my experience/opinion out there in case you need something to do on your boat instead of all the fishing we are missing.
