Have a question for the experienced....

My used Horizon 2001 has some corrosion under/near the battery banks in the bow bilge area. It appears as a white crystaline corrosion that follows the flow pattern for a liquid on the aluminum bilge area. It is dry. Too hard to vacuum. It there any way to remove it and give the aluminum a "clean" appearance?

Any suggestions?

It sounds like battery acid has leaked, etched the aluminum and then dried. You might be able to neutralize it with baking soda and water and then wash it off. If that doesn't work try acetone. Acetone will also remove the oxide on aluminum so allow the aluminum to dry thoroughly after you clean it. This is a normal process and protects the aluminum from corrosion.

Pete:

Thanks for your suggestions. I will gather the remedies and give it a try. I want to make it look better, and make sure the reaction(however old it is), has been neutralized. I wil give it a whirl later this week and let you know. Scraping is the other option that seemed like a possibility. I will let you know. Thanks for your help!

Linie (nawtagull)

Peter:

The rock hard crystalline corrosion from battery leak onto the aluminum hulll of my Horizon became powder soft when in contact with plain old water. A little scraping and a wet/dry vaccuum solved the problem. I did use your suggestion to try acetone, which did a good job of further cleaning the area and removing oxidized stains on the side walls. Thanks for your reply and advice... it is great to have your experience to draw upon! Much appreciated.

nawtagull

you're welcome. I suppose I should have said to be careful with acetone. Wear gloves. That sort of thing. I'm glad worked out.

I spray some clear sealant on aluminum than.

I would put the batteries a plastic batteries box to