Seems like you have it all together Brian! I had to get the 320 grit at Rockler Woodworking, it was the only place I could find that had it locally. I got the 400 grit black stuff for wet/dry sanding at the auto paint store. I would sand after the acid wash too, it's easier then because the acid removes the tough oxidation off the top surface.

I would not recommend using the power washer to hose off the acid either, the chances of it blowing around are much higher with that. I would just use the garden hose with a good stream but no real pressure, JMO for safety.

Once you have it clean and acid washed and dry, make SURE its dry. you can start the buffing. Use little dots of F7 and work them around doing small sections, 2 foot or so at a time. If you haven't looked at it there is excellent instructions on the Nuvite site for using thier stuff. After you do the whole boat with the F7 you should wash it down with warm soapy water to remove any grit and grease left in it. Again, after it is dry start over with the S grade. The S goes way quicker and easier I thought. Also an old screwdriver or file is good to clean out your buff when it starts to clog but be carefull when doing it!  Anything else? Let me know! Good luck and don't forget the before and after pictures for us!!

Well I can offer advice on the pictures, don't use camera software - just get a media card reader, one of those that covers 10-15 different cards for about $15-25, put the card in, (I use manual mode, move - not copy the files), I then use either IE to view but if you have Office 2003 or 2007, then Office Picture Manager works good for viewing, resizing, renaming, etc.

I'd say your wood removal plan will work fine Brian. I did mine close to that way. I just set the blade, an old blade, on my circular saw about 3/4 inch and cut all the way across between the cross members and it all came right off. That also made getting rid of the old deck a lot easier with all smaller peices. You'll be fine!

I did use the 400 wet before I buffed. I think it made the buffing go faster. I did not get overzealous with it though. I did it by hand with a sanding block which also allowed me to really look at the whole tube a little at a time to inspect for any spots I missed with the other operations. I finished all the hand sanding in one evening for the most part.

Scbadiver did Sharkhide keep the high shine you got when you finished or did it dull the finish?

In your opinion, if I didn't use Sharkhide and kept it in a sling in a covered slip, would the shine last as long as if I had used Sharkhide? 

Judgepw, I used sharkhide on mine and loved it.  I bought mine new and put it on before the boat hit the water.  I saw a boat that was purchased at the same time as mine and he didn't sharkhide his and it looked bad after just a few trips to the river.  The sharkhide will help it keep its shine.  I can't say enough good things about it, it is truly a superb product.

I think it also makes it easier to clean the Pontoons as I used simple green and paper towels to clean mine when I got home after fishing.

I used the 320 dry, with a palm sander and then the 400 wet by hand with a block. After You're done buffing, I would recommend a good wash down with plain old soap and water ( I used Dawn Dishwashing soap, 'takes grease out of your way'  !)  Then after it's good and dry I wiped down the whole thing with a rag and laquer thinner to make sure it is clean and free of polishing grease, THEN apply the protectant.

As far as the wood goes, I picture would help. I'm not sure of what you are asking there. Sorry.

Holes? Smaller the better in my opinion. The cables will come out of the box easily enough, pass them through the hole and reattach. I'd NEVER cut a hole in the deck big enough to pass the whole box through!!

The 4x4's go from side to side not length wise. So 8 feet would probably be long enough.

Oh and the credit goes to the doghogman - not me - all I did was make it a sticky note.

Sorry Eric for my earlier confusion on who gets that credit

Im still working on pictures of our toon, but when I bought it I stopped at a Blue Beacon Truck wash and had them acid spray (several times) and use high pressure spray to clean them.  They did a great job and got 95% of all the crud off..........25 bucks!  I know I still have to polish them, but this was well worth the money spent.

Too much work for me.  Mine stay au naturel.  Just scrape/power wash 3 times a year and a shiny finish will scare the fish anyway (gives me excuses to 2 different questions).

Seriously, y'alls boats look great!

I have been reading all post about cleaning and polising toons. I have tried all products that was recommened.

This was a/c coil cleaner

Then another product

I did not like the products. Now look at what I found. One spay let sit for 2 min. and wash off.

More samples

***realigned pics and text for best viewing***

The last pic is the whole toon cleaned in 1/2 hour. Its called aluminum brightener and fiberglass cleaner.

Found it at hardware store in the paint section.

Unfortunately this product is only sold in a few areas (made locally in Harahan, LA/New Orleans, LA) and has distributors in the gulf coast cities of TX, AL, LA and MS, southern AR and northwest FL. So its doesn't exactly help the majority of our members. But looks like it did a good job of prepping though.

When using Nuvite Polish;;; Do you have to change pads when you change compound. Like from 9 to 6 Etc.

Thanks   Ronney