is steel wool OK.

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woondirch

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I have an old Sea King 12' (1970). At first I wanted to do some modifications, but since I've had it on the water I'm thinking more in terms of restoration. I think I'll replace the old bench seats with some cool wood and get the old clinton 2 hp shined up. It still has the sea king decal on it. My question is: is it ok to just go over the hull with steel wool. I keep reading about metals reacting with other metals and so forth, am I over thinking this?

2nd question: has anybody had success with putting a lawn chair in their boat. I know it sounds silly but it seems like a simple solution.
 
Lawn chairs collapse when they rock side to side (like on a boat) they do sell folding deck chairs that work well

7-0002.JPG
 
that chair is exactly what i'm looking for, something relaxing for my girl while I attempt to fish. I'm lucky, she'll make me sandwiches on the water if need be 8))
the lakes in arizona are a wonderful sight. I figure that I could put a chair like that in between the front and middle bench (hopefully low) to make things more stable.

Is it better to use a "green scrubbie", or a buffer. I just want to make it look respectable.
I've tried to post pics but have not been succesful. Any help is much appreciated.

good times, thanks
 
By 'green scrubber' I assume you mean a scotch-brite pad?

Yes, that will be fine to use, as it is non-metallic, it shouldn't cause any issues with rust pitting or staining. But any type of metal brush or wool used to clean aluminum needs to be made of stainless.
 
I was under the impression that many people on this forum have used non-stainless metals to clean their boats....ie steel wool and wire cups. I know I personally used sandpaper, but for taking of the paint inside I used a wire wheel for part of it.

I understood that the corrosion aspect of things came from prolonged contact between the dissimilar metals, brief contact shouldn't be enough to create any issues, especially if any residues etc are cleaned off immediately with acetone or a similar cleaning substance...

I am not an expert, of course...this is just how I had understood it after reading through much of the forum...the impression I got was that there is are a lot of rumors and myths about this kind of thing and that many have done it without issue.
 
PSG-1 said:
Never use steel brushes or steel wool to clean aluminum, it will contaminate the base metal and cause rust pitting. Use stainless steel to clean aluminum.
Just to recap on this what are the best methods for paint removal
 
After using several different things, I found that using a 3M paint and rust remover that attaches to a drill to work really great. It does produce a lot of dust, but stripped off old paint and pits really fast. I think I used about 5 pads in all on my Gregor.
 

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If i can hitchhike on this thread if you have a boat someone has siliconed that you are going to rebuck , whats the best way to remove the silicone since a scraper will make a mess of the hull and a wire brush really wont cut it ?
 
thanks this was helpful, one question tho after i've stripped everythinng should i use something to clean the aluminum right away or just before i repaint?
 
After I used the 3M pad, I just wiped the hull down with a dry clean rag and started rolling the primer and paint on with a micro roller.

I did leave the splash well bare because the 3M pad left some really nice swirl mark patterns on the aluminum.
 
You should clean it with acetone right away but also you need to paint it right away. The oxidation process starts immediately with aluminum and if you wait a week to paint you will need to do it all over again. :)

I am still on the edge about buying into the whole "don't even touch your aluminum with another metal" theory. If you use a wire wheel that isn't stainless, then you are cleaning it immediately with acetone and then protecting the hull further with paint, I don't see any danger in that.
 
i tried one of those 3m rust and paint removers today... i bought the one to go on a grinder, it didnt do very well and i wasnt able to use the whole thing because of the backer pad they glue the stuff to. and i didnt cover much ground... so in my frustration i tried a wire wheel, i noticed the aluminum was disappearing and i stopped. i was unaware that i shouldnt attack the old paint until i was ready to slap on the new, so thank you i will hold off on that. also has anyone just had their boat sandblasted? i think ill be able to do this at a relatives house. so i may go that route, ill be able to paint it with a spray gun there to.
 
I recall reading somewhere that you could but not with the regular sandblasting mix...there was like a less harsh way to do it...vague recollection, perhaps someone else can elaborate on that.
 
Sodablasting is less harsh than sandblasting. From what I’ve researched, it’s the best way, but also a $$$$ way.
 
i will research more before i do anything. i can get 40# of sand for 50 bucks. wich seems a lot cheaper than the wheel i used, it was 10$ i really thought it would go farther than it did. maybe the drill operated ones go a lil farther than the grinder type. waste of 10$ if u ask me.
 
Aircraft stripper is the chemical version of removing paint. There's no reason to take it down to bare metal if you plan to paint. Just remove any that's peeling and scuff up the rest. All you need is something for the primer to bite to. If you have any bare aluminum to paint, make sure to use a self etching primer.
 
yea, im kinda throwing the idea around of clearcoating the bare aluminum now. im only one day in on my rebuild and i keep coming up with different ideas. ive only gotten the front deck removed still a long way to go before i should even be thinking about paint. but its hard not to invision it floating on the water already, im sure you know.
 
Yep I know... #-o

I think I'd invest in the stripper first. There are a few builds on here that used it either on the boat and/or the trailer that offered some tips such as using saran wrap to keep the product on paint longer without drying out which allowed the paint to then peel off with a plastic putty knife. I'm sure there would still need to be some mechanical cleaning, but I would think it would be minimal.

Also, I don't think it's too early to be thinking about paint. It would have been much easier to do if I did it early as opposed to late in my build.
 

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