Anyone have any REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE with a wax or other product on new aluminum to keep it looking new through the years?

Yeah, it's called fiberglass!

J/K Beezer

Kyle, I have been using Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish. GI Joe's has it, and I think I've seen it at Schuck's. Bought a tube of Flitz at the boat show, thought I would give it a try this spring.

The new "stuff" is called sharkhide. Do a search here or at ifish.net and you'll get lots of info. I just applied it to my newly shined boat, but I don't have any long term experiences to share.

Where can I buy SharkHide in the seattle area? Is it available online?

SA

I had a buddy pick up mine at Stevens Marine in Portland. It's like $50.00 for a quart (I think), but you only use a little for a 20' boat.

Geez Beezer, you really know how to hurt a guy!!!

The guys at Willie did recommend Sharkskin, but I'm looking for someone who's actually used it. The website kind of scared me. It's actually $38.00 a quart. My question is, what does it do to paint if you get a little on it???

Kyle, I put sharkhyde on my boat last year. Should have done it when I first purchased the boat. I was planning on applying another coat this year but dont need to. I use my boat mainly in the salt it does as exactly as advertised.


troller

"What-A-Shine"

Does Sharkhide take off those little white spots? I talked with a guy at three rivers today and he said that those spots can actually come from road chemicals when you haul rather than from salt water. I dunno......I always try and wash my boat down and flush it as soon as I get off the water..Maybe some zinc plates would help.

The white spots can come from the salt. But the de-icer that they throw on the roads the new chemical stuff is probably the cause. Sharkhyde is only a protector or covering you will have to acid wash or polish out the spots . You need to polish your boat then clean it with thinner they recomend a type of cleaner to get the polishing compounds off of the aluminum so the sharkhyde will adhere. Once you use the thinner or cleaner you polish job will look hazy. Just take a clean soft cloth and polish it back to a shine then apply sharkhyde. It is alot of work but worth the effert you wont have to do it again for years.

Troller...thanks alot...You don't know how many people I have asked and never had a definitive answer....