Caring for your Pontoons
There are several things you should know, or decide, about how you want to care for your pontoons. You should make this decision before you even buy your new pontoon boat, as the aluminum oxidizes in a few weeks after it leaves the factory. Faster if you put the boat in the water. The good news is all this is just a cosmetic thing. You can choose to do absolutely nothing to your pontoons, and they will last just as long as keeping them looking nice.
If the pontoons in the photo below looks good to you, or you don't really care what your pontoons look like, you don't have to do anything to them. Aluminum will tarnish (or oxidize) but once the surface has fully oxidized, the oxidation process stops, and your pontoons will always look like this (unless you polish them). The good news is your pontoons will last just as long if you do nothing to them. This is all just a cosmetic thing.
Doing nothing is of course the easiest approach. Your pontoons will quickly look like mine did in the photo above. Second simplest is to apply Sharkhide to the pontoons ASAP after the boat is built. Bennington Marine offers this at the factory for an additional charge. If you can get the factory to apply the Sharkhide for you, all the better as they can reach all the nook and crannies before the boat is fully built. Or, you can ask your dealer to apply it. Or, you can do it yourself. It is very easy to apply, you basically just wipe it on.
Sharkhide is basically a clear coat paint, more or less. It's not actually paint, but it acts like paint. What it does is seals the aluminum (or any other metal) and keeps the air from oxidizing the surface layer. Whatever your pontoons look like before you apply the Sharkhide, they will look exactly like this for a very long time (years) after you apply the Sharkhide.
That's why if you like the brushed look straight from the factory, then you should apply Sharkhide immediately to preserve that look. If your pontoons already look like mine do in the photo above, there's no point wasting your time/money on Sharkhide.
If you want to polish your pontoons to a mirror finish like I did (see the photo below), don't waste your time Sharkhiding at the factory. Leave it off so you can do the polishing first, then put on the Sharkhide to preserve the mirror finish.
WARNING - Polishing is a TON of work. It can take several FULL DAYS of work to get your pontoons to look like mine do in the photo below. It requires some special tools and materials as well, and requires a bit of mechanical aptitude. Don't take this lightly. Don't even start this if you are not willing to follow through all the way to the end.
Rather than explain how I did this, I'll just give you a few links to other sites that show how this is done.
Here is the site that has the material I bought to do this. You will need an grinder/sander, like the photo below:
Here's the Zephyr website. Download the PDF file with instructions on Machine Polishing Step by Step Guide:
Zephyr Resources
The page above also has a You Tube video. You can either go there and see the video, or click the direct link below:
Zephyr YouTube Polishing Video
