Requesting input on Xstar Tower

so our 04 X star factory tower and M/C speaker cans are getting all these whittish spots all over.
had some detailers look and said the aluminum is pitted.
Called DBG and they said nothing can really be done about.
They reccomended powder coating the tower and cans.
Now my dilema is what color.

Just looking for some suggestions. Or does anyone else know an alternative?

I would say white if you powder coat

white

Are you running in salt water?

Are you running in salt water?

I believe the pitting you are talking is the same thing as oxidation. If that is the case then you should be able to polish the spots out with a compound, terry cloth and elbow grease. Unless you are just set on powder coating. If that is the case I say go with white and tint the windshield.

Original owner here and never been in salt water.

I though compound and a buffer would do the trick, but no good.
Even DBG (local tower manuf) said it wont come out. They said they see it quite often.
so here I am contemplating powder coating the tower and cans.

As a Wakeeboard Tower retailer, selling Monster Tower, Mastercraft OEM towers and a couple others here is my advice:

Get hold of a product called 'Flitz' it's an aluminum polish that won't destroy your anodized coating.

The problem with heavy polishing of the finish is that it will strip off the anodized finish and allow the tower to decay very quickly (it'll also mean lots more polishing!).

Something like Flitz is ideal as it won't remove the coating but will sort the white dots (think 95% gone) - it won't be visible enough for the spots to be an issue anymore.

This is the method we use and recommend to customers; it generally works very well.

Mike
Wakeboard Towers UK

p.s - Props to Bill, the inventor of Monster Tower for this tip, he put me onto the Flitz polish and I've never looked back!

Is this a MC tower problem only?
Will using Flitz from the start prevent this?
Will it work on stainless towers?

I have been wrong before, but I highly doubt you have a stainless tower. It's not an MC problem it is an aluminum problem. I personally like aluminum better than chrome due to it being lighter and not rusting over time. However, to keep the mirror finish on aluminum you have to maintain it with something like Mothers polish or Flitz at least once a year.

This is an interesting problem.

Your tower and all the components are anodized aluminum. Anodizing offers some of the best protection against salt corrosion on aluminum. In fact, all the fishing tuna towers are made of the same material and they seem to last forever. I am surprised you are getting corrosion and pitting on your xstar when the boat is not even in salt water?

Obviously the boat has been subjected to salt air (you do live in the SD area). But you still shouldn't see any corrosion. Is there a possibility that the tower and components surfaces have been scratched by excessive cleaning/polishing. If so, you may have worn down the anodized coating which opens itself up to corrosion.

Either way, there isn't a good way to fix it unless you paint. OR...you figure out how to remove the boat from the salty/corrosive environment.

hope this helps.

Flitz if its alum or ss.

Where can Flitz be bought?
Yes the boat is kept in an enclosed canopy inland, not near salt air.
I will trythe Flitz and see what happens.
Thanks guys for the input.

Kevin,

Google it, its not very expensive, $10 or so for a tube...

Sounds like 'Fluid Concepts' makes a very fair point - this could be down to over polishing in the past, or the use of an abrasive cleaner...

Give Flitz a whirl and see how you get on... I guarantee it will make plenty of difference for you

I've seen this on my brother In-Law's '01 X-Star and thought it was due to salt water corrosion too. Do you live near the coast? It could also be due to a contaminate that was on the aluminum prior to the finish being applied???? maybe...maybe not.

Can you feel the "pits" like a chip in paint?

Your pitting is very likely a by-product of the anodization process itself. My source here is U.S. Pat. No. 6,884,393. (Note that the active ingredient in the protectant, Flitz, is only disclosed as an organic salt. I wonder if it isn't nickel acetate, that being a known sealant of the anodization process's inherent pore forming activity.)

"In the typical aluminum anodization process, such as a Type II process (U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,529 and U.S. Military Specification Mil-A-8625E, 'Anodic Coatings for Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys,' Apr. 25, 1988 ...) aluminum is anodized in an aqueous solution of 95 mL/L [sulphuric acid]for 30 minutes with a direct current of 15 to 21 volts and at a density of 9 to 12 [amps per squre foot]. Following the anodizing step, the aluminum oxide layer is sealed in boiling water or an aqueous solution of nickel acetate (5-5.8 g/L) for 30 minutes. The sealing process causes hydration of the aluminum oxide layer, which makes it impermeable to liquid."

"Anodized aluminum coatings are inherently porous. This is due to the fact that the coating is produced electrolytically by anodic oxidation of aluminum. As the oxidized layer becomes thicker, there are two basic competing processes that occur [citation omitted]. At the same time as the oxide coating is forming, it is being redissolved by the electrolyte. As the oxide layer builds up, it tends to limit the electrolytic current flow, because the oxide layer is relatively non-conducting. However, due to the re-dissolution of the oxide, pores begin to form in the oxide layer. These pores produce channels of high conductivity by locally thinning the oxide layer, allowing the liquid electrolyte to penetrate close to the metal substrate, while oxide and hydroxide crystals build up on the surface of the film, increasing the overall thickness. As long as the pores remain accessible to the electrolyte, the current can continue to flow and the film will grow further. The solubility of the oxides and hydroxides in the electrolyte can affect the porosity. Borate and tartrate electrolytes, with a low solubility for the oxides, tend to produce thin, dense coatings with low porosity. The coatings stop growing at relatively low thickness due to the high resistance of the less porous oxide layer. Sulfuric acid electrolytes tend to allow for faster dissolution of the oxide, allowing the pores to form and providing practical film thickness of 0.1 to 1.2 mm."

I like the white powder coating idea... It'd look great on your boat.

So I found the Flitz website.

http://www.flitz-polish.com/?leadsource=PS114&s_kwcid=flitz|1025785399&gclid=COOkzf2CvZkCFSEgDQodeQhA7A

But should the paste or the polish be used?