bertram31.com

Jack's post about treating his outriggers with CX got me to thinking about the window frames and rub rail on the 31. I believe both the frames and rail are anodized aluminum as opposed to raw aluminum. Ours are in excellent shape on our '70 SF 'cause it has been in fresh water and under cover for 41 years. Would you guys recommend CX, CRC-656, Alumigard, or something else to keep the pitting at bay?[/i]

Tommy,
I have found that Woody Wax works pretty well on aluminum anodized pipe on some of the T-top and tower boats that I have surveyed. The product is made in West Palm area. It depends on the level of pitting, seems to work on low to medium levels the best. I've used it on the aluminum end caps between the express bridge wings and the side deck joint. Mine has been on the boat since it was built in 1961, not alot of deep pitting but years of saltwater exposure. I cleaned with Corrosion-X sprayed into a Bronze wool pad, polished with cloth lap wheel then added 2 coats of Woody Wax, I did it 4 years ago still looks good.
Pete

Thanks Pete,

Your experience as a B-31 owner and as a marine surveyor is invaluable to us grunts, and we really appreciate that you share with us so generously. I hope to see you during the FLL Show.

Tommy

Tommy
I had Edison clean and coat all my anodized aluminum.
I believe Marlin did this to all his new tower stuff...that's where I got his name. My window frames, etc were still nice with the boat from the Great Lakes so I wanted to keep it that way. He says it lasts 3 years with no add'l work. http://www.clearkotesystems.com/about/

I sprayed all my window frames with CX. It cleaned them up nice. It was however dripping off for a week or so, made a bit of a mess. And needed to clean the windows a few times.

Try first hitting the window frames with a weak solution of acid - I use an "aluminum brightener" available at many hardware stores - and here at Home Depot. I use a soft brush and just brush the acid solution on, let it sit no more than a minute, then flush it off....re-treat any stubborn areas. After it dries, apply CX by spraying it on a rag and wiping it on the aluminum vs. trying to spray it. If it still wants to drip, cut the CX 50/50 with lacquer thinner and try wiping that on. It may take several applications of the CX to get the stuff way down into the pores of the metal, but its by far the best "home remedy".

UV

woody's sells a metal sealant, you can buy a kit that contains the metal sealant, the woodys wax, 1" foam brush, and a bronze wool