does anyone out there in boatland have any tips or ideas on wht to use to clean my aluminum bass boat? i wanna realy make it shine.  would a car buffer work?

i dont see why it wouldnt, i clean my aluminum bass boat with just sope and water. just make sure you get all that algae and stuff off the hull and every thing that can cause a lot of drag.

I have a dark grey aluminum express.  Whatch ya recomendation for wax on these aluminum boats?  Also i want to wax my motor cover but dont want the swirls you get some times from waxing. Its a yamaha v-max.

I recently used Toon Brite on my Bass America. I have yet to have my boat in the water as I am afraid I will not be able to get her back on the trailer that she currently sits on. I bought it in Oct and it has some pretty dark water lines. The only problem is that one jug will not last very long so I would recommend 2 or more if you apply it as liberally as I did. My dad reconmmended it to me. With an even application it really does a great job. I wish I had some before and after pictures (day and night difference. Forgot to mention that very little (none what so ever) elbow grease it required. My dad told it is the same stuff people use to clean pontoons. Makes sense. I picked it up at the local boat shop for about $18 bucks or so and I must say it was definitely worth every penny. I found out the the sides of the boat are acutally painted grey. If you use it let me know what you think. I think it is also know as Toon Shine. Awesome stuff! Might want to use some rubber gloves though.

Gar-Balls if you are going to wax your motor I would reccommend using a cleaner product first to remove any previous wax and oxidation build up. Mothers and Meguiar's both make these products in either a paste or a liquid. You apply it like a wax and it will help clean the surface so the wax isn't smearing around all the junk that washing didn't remove. once you have a clean surface use a good quality wax and you're all set. I have an older Charger fish and ski that I did this on and it shines like new.

Not sure what you could use on the aluminum though sorry can't help there. Have used a cleaner for alumunium cleaner called Aluma Brite that I got at my local parts house, not sure if it is safe on boats worked great on my truck box.

Harshman

Yeah, I've heard of the aluma brite.  A farmer told me about it.  He uses it on the rims of his tractor tires to get rid of the stains from water leveling his rice fields. Its some type of acid that he cuts with a particular amount of water.  I dunno the amount of water.  I'm afraid this would be too harsh on the painted surface of a boat.  The boat is not real stained, its got alot of scuff marks.  I guess a good compound would work.