Shining Aluminum

Alloy wheel cleaner?. I think it's largely phosphoric acid and some surfactants, at least the stuff I have.

Find a truck stop where they do truck washing/detailing. Grab some of the stuff they use to "acid wash" the tanks and chrome. It will clean off most of the crud that normal cleaners wont touch. Next get a cheap RA buffer and a couple tubs of Mothers Mag and aluminum polish. Wear clothes that you don't ever plan on keeping. Take the buffer and polish and go to town on the hull. Mothers will polish the aluminum up to a mirror.

Just doing the gunwales. That is the part around the edge of the boat that one uses to grab onto when sitting in the boat. I guess "edge" is the best terminology. The exterior is painted, and I am going to repaint that. The interior does have some flat spots that I want to dress up, but only a few small ones

What should I use afterward as a sealer so it don't look ratty in six months?

Steve

paint...

(sorry, but it's true :) )

Offered to help save you some grief, not necessarily a specific solution: What you're trying to do is one of the most difficult coating jobs the home handyman can do. Be prepared -- nothing is guaranteed when you're clear-coating aluminum for a tough environment, like on a boat.

Without an anodizing, polished aluminum develops a microscopically thin layer of oxide in, literally, five or ten minutes. You will not be able to work through that. You will be painting oxide, not aluminum. There are some aluminum etching paints used in aircraft and automotive body painting, but I've never heard of a clear one.

I recommend some patience searching the Web for examples that have proven to work. You'll see recommendations for POR-15 Glisten, which costs like hell but which has its adherents. The general recommendation by paint experts is a polyester/polyurethane two-part clear coat. It also costs a lot. Don't consider spraying it; it will multiply the cost and it is dangerous to spray unless you're prepared to pay serious attention to breathing protection. But brushing won't leave the smoothest finish. It could defeat your attempt to make everything shiny and slick.

Here's a good general discussion of clear polyurethanes:

Good luck. If it were me, I'd give it a brush finish, clean with lye solution to get some more tooth on it and to strip any cleaning compounds, and coat with brushed-on POR-15. But that's all semi-educated guesswork.

I've used that to clean the aluminum parts on my box truck. Stuff works great, I also polished the corner pillars after cleaning them with aluminum polish. It works much faster after using the acid wash. Only caveat is that it removes the oxide layer, Mother's gives it some protection but limited.

Here in Oz we have a product called Ally Brite , I think its made or marketed by Septone , Its a pale pink liquid , apply with a garden pressure sprayer and then hose off with fresh water. . Not sure how to protect the finish maybe some auto wax polish or similar.

I just purchased some of this clear finish ,I use it as final clear coat on my homemade fishing lures . Single pack moisture cureing polyurethane ,goes rock hard and impossible to remove after a week or two .

It's not cheap at 90.00 AUD per litre , but a litre will last me for a very long time. I thin it 20% with the recomended thinners and spray it through an air brush ,the finish is as clear as new glass.

Just remember that the grey surface of aluminum oxide on the aluminum is what protects it. Bare aluminum left to surface oxidize in most marine grade alloys is one of the best low maintenance surfaces you can have for a marine environment.