Float Cleaning / Paint

[gear]

I want to clean up my floats on the Maule (EDO 2448's). I'm considering two options - the first is to clean and polish them and the second is to paint.

If I go the cleaning route, and suggestions for cleaning and polishing the aluminum? They are pretty dirty right now - was sitting in a marina all summer and the water wasn't the cleanest.

If I go the painted route, can I do this myself or does someone certified have to do it? Prep-work procedures? Special paint for floats? There are the remains of "anti-slip" treads on the tops that have worn off over the years - any suggestions on how to remove that?

thx.

garth

[mtv]

Garth,

DO NOT strip and polish floats. You will wind up fighting corrosion till the floats dissappear.

You can strip and paint floats yourself if you feel comfortable doing so, and have the equipment and space to do so.

I've used chemical stripper to strip the old paint on three sets of floats. Works good, and there are actually some non toxic strippers out there now, though I don't know if they work as well as the really nasty ones. If your floats are original paint, it won't take much to strip them.

Once stripped, you'll need to acid etch, then alodyne them. The acid etching is a wash coat that you let work for a while, then wash off. Wash THOROUGHLY, though, to ensure that you get it ALL off. The acid reverts all corrosion and etches the surface for paint adhesion.

The alodyne is a wash coat, and is a gold colored watery liquid that is an anti corrosive. Primer goes over the alodyne, again, after the alodyne has been washed thoroughly. Lots of good primers out there these days. Traditionally, zinc chromate primers were used, but again, lots of good paint products available today, including self etching primers. I have no experience with self etching primers, but supposedly they can save the acid etch and alodyne steps. I'd acid etch and alodyne if I were to do it again.

Then, it's time for the paint. I've used laquer, Ditzler Durathane, and Imron. I wouldn't use the epoxies again. Many folks in the industry suggest pretty strongly the use of laquer top coats, for the simple reason that corrosion will show up quick with laquers. The epoxies can hide a lot of corrosion before they start to show bubbling. If you aren't in a very corrosive area, epoxies might work fine. Worked fine on my floats in Fairbanks, a dry climate with fresh water only.

There are dozens of flavors of automotive paints out there that might work just fine as well.

I did all the prep work, and paid a guy to shoot the primer and finish coats. I didn't have a good place to do that, nor did I have all the paint equipment or the skills.

If you feel like you can paint, and you've got the equipment, give it a go. A little less than perfect paint job isn't going to be noticed on floats by most folks.

For "non skid" surface on the decks, I waited till the paint was mostly cured, then painted (with a brush) some pretty thick black paint on top, and used a salt shaker type device to spread ground walnut shell for non skid. Worked great, and lasts longer than you'd think.

MTV

[gear]

Thanks MTV. Was out to the plane today and took a closer look at the floats. I may just opt to cleaning them up.

I put plumbers anti-freeze in the floats this past fall so I decided to take a look in the inspection hole. To my surprise, I found the anti-freeze to be frozen solid It was about 15F

I looked underneath the floats and saw pink antifreeze that was frozen along the bottom of both floats. My floats did not really leak a lot before so I don't know at this point whether or not it was leaking out old openings or if the freezing has caused new openings. The location of the leaks appear to be at the very bottom of the float where the seam is. I guess I'll find out in the spring how bad it is.

Note to self - never again use the plumbers anti-freeze crap that I bought!

garth

[mtv]

Garth,

I always use RV antifreeze, but you have to really get all the water out of the floats before you add the antifreeze, then you need to cover the floats to prevent any rain getting in, cause any dilution will allow the stuff to freeze.

Don't despair. A vacuum cleaner and a spray bottle of soapy water will find leaks in the spring. Then you reverse the vacuum hose and apply a little gas tank sloshing compound or other sealant to the leaks. Voila!! Tight floats.

If you want a more detailed description, PM me. I'd definitely do this before you put them in the water if they've leaked that much.

MTV

[steve]

Garth,

When you buy the RV anti-freeze, note there are different solutions available (just like "winter" windshield wiper fluid). I have had good luck with the minus -40, as it seems to work well in our climate. Steve

[gear]

The bottle said -40 but I'm sure there was some amount of water in the floats prior to me filling them with the anti-freeze.

Having said that, I have the plane stored indoors so I don't know why I did not just get all the water out of there and leave them dry,.....