G Lap
Active member
Does Thompson's Water Seal contain any chemicals that are harmful to bare aluminum? Is this a safe product to use for sealing wood that is in my jon boat, and in direct contact with the aluminum? Thanks for the input.
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Does Thompson's Water Seal contain chem. harmful to Alum. ??
- Thread starter G Lap
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JeffChastain
Well-known member
Good question. I used thompson's on my benches. Hope it's alright!
jigngrub
Well-known member
Thompsons is little more than parrafin (wax) and mineral spirits, I don't think either will harm aluminum.
Captain Ahab
Well-known member
jigngrub said:
X2
Jay415
Well-known member
I've heard of a lot of people using it and haven't heard of any issues.
after tearing my floors and decks out the other day i didnt notice it but today i noticed some off color white spots on the aluminum benches my deck was attached to and i did use thompsons to treat the deck. i ran my hand across it and the white areas felt like a real fine grit sandpaper???? as soon as i figure out how to make the file size on pics i took fit to post them i will. very odd as i cant figure out what else would have caused it.
Jay415
Well-known member
ever use the boat in salt or brackish water? Sounds like it could be salt corrosion.shawnfish said:
G Lap
Active member
I was thinking the same thing . . . about possibly being caused by salt corrosion. My last jon boat had some corrosion which I believed was caused by saltwater. The previous owner had fished often in saltwater.
This corrosion was in tight areas where the seawater would have been trapped (like between the bottom of transom brace and the bottom of boat). This area would have dried from the seawater after each fishing trip, but deposits of salt could have been left as the solution evaporated. So, over time salt can build up in tight areas such as this. Even rinsing the boat with freshwater would have a hard time at removing salt from very tight areas such as this.
This type of corrosion that I saw was eating little holes in the aluminum. I believe that this same affect could be seen on bunk boards that are covered in carpet. After fishing in saltwater and loading the boat, the bunk carpet would be wet . . . the water will evaporate, leaving the salt behind. Over time, the concentration of salt in the carpet could possibly increase.
This corrosion was in tight areas where the seawater would have been trapped (like between the bottom of transom brace and the bottom of boat). This area would have dried from the seawater after each fishing trip, but deposits of salt could have been left as the solution evaporated. So, over time salt can build up in tight areas such as this. Even rinsing the boat with freshwater would have a hard time at removing salt from very tight areas such as this.
This type of corrosion that I saw was eating little holes in the aluminum. I believe that this same affect could be seen on bunk boards that are covered in carpet. After fishing in saltwater and loading the boat, the bunk carpet would be wet . . . the water will evaporate, leaving the salt behind. Over time, the concentration of salt in the carpet could possibly increase.
G Lap
Active member
I sent a question to Thompson's, asking if their product was corrosive to aluminum . . . here is the response that I got.
Thank you for contacting Thompson's. We appreciate your inquiry.
Our products are not considered to be corrosive, however we do not test for application on metal surfaces. If the Aluminum has been painted or the finish oxidized it will be very difficult to remove any over-spray without effecting the aluminum. Our products are not really designed for marine type of applications. While the product will not necessarily be submerged, it will be subjected to a higher amount of moisture. I would recommend checking with your local boating and marine store for a finish they would recommend. Our Parent company, Sherwin-Williams manufactures a variety of coatings, including marine grade finishes that would meet your needs. You may want to contact them for a product.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Thought some of you would be interested in reading it . . .
Thank you for contacting Thompson's. We appreciate your inquiry.
Our products are not considered to be corrosive, however we do not test for application on metal surfaces. If the Aluminum has been painted or the finish oxidized it will be very difficult to remove any over-spray without effecting the aluminum. Our products are not really designed for marine type of applications. While the product will not necessarily be submerged, it will be subjected to a higher amount of moisture. I would recommend checking with your local boating and marine store for a finish they would recommend. Our Parent company, Sherwin-Williams manufactures a variety of coatings, including marine grade finishes that would meet your needs. You may want to contact them for a product.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Thought some of you would be interested in reading it . . .
here's what i found, and it was only where the thompsons treated plywood was.
like i said, it felt like fine grit sandpaper and cleaned up with some steel wool but i had to really put some elbow grease into it...
like i said, it felt like fine grit sandpaper and cleaned up with some steel wool but i had to really put some elbow grease into it...
G Lap
Active member
Shawnfish,
Did it look like it caused any damage or penetration into the metal, or was it just the paint?
Could that possibly have been caused by the plywood rubbing there when someone was on the deck?
Since you were treating the wood with Thompson's, I would assume that the wood was not pressure treated?
How long did you have the wood mounted there on your bench seat?
Did it look like it caused any damage or penetration into the metal, or was it just the paint?
Could that possibly have been caused by the plywood rubbing there when someone was on the deck?
Since you were treating the wood with Thompson's, I would assume that the wood was not pressure treated?
How long did you have the wood mounted there on your bench seat?
G Lap said:
no damage or penetration into the aluminum bench, not sure what you mean by "was it just the paint" the bench is bare aluminum. and it wasnt from rubbing, i had the deck carpeted on both sides and it was secured good and didnt shift at all. and your assumption is correct, it was not treated. funny thing is my floor supports were treated and the floor wedged between the front and back bench and was not secured any way besides that. so i figured id keep them in till now because i could just lift it up to check for any signs of a chemical reaction from the treated supports and there was no sign of anything at all where they rested on the floor, only there where the thompsons treated deck sat??? weird but i dont know what else would have caused it.
oh, i replaced the 3/4 treated deck with the 1/2 inch thompsons treated deck in may if im not mistaken. either way it was no longer than 6 months.
one more thing, i put 5 coats of thompsons on a small peice of pine ply and screwed it to a small sheet of aluminum. im gonna check it every few weeks or so to see what happens so i know for my own satisfaction if it was the thompsons or not.
Jay415
Well-known member
then the Thompson's never touch the Aluminum if the carpet was on the bottom too. Still looks like salt corrosion to me. What about road salt from snow storms?shawnfish said:
Could also be battery acid corrosion..ever have any battery leaks?
My guess is since you had carpet on the bottom too is that some chemical soaked into the carpet and cause the corrosion. Not the Thompson's. Just an assumption, I could be wrong.
Jay415 said:
i should have explained a little better when i said both sides were carpeted, when i carpeted the deck i left about six inches overhang around the perimiter and folded it around the edges to the underside of the deck and then used leftover peices to fill the bare spots, so there were some, but small spots of exposed plywood. my boat has never seen snow as its covered every winter and in my garage and my grandpa did the same thing when it was his(he bought it new in 1979). im positive nothing else came in contact with the carpet that would have soaked through to cause it. and there has never been a battery anywhere near the bow until this year and it's a sealed gel type so i know thats not the cause, plus it was mounted under the deck on the floor of the bow. im convinced it was the thompsons, and time will tell as i observe my thompsons experiment over the next several months.
but we'll have to wait and see, but i could be wrong also.......
Jay415
Well-known member
Hmmm just throwin out ideas. Still it doesn't sound like the Thompson's though. You said you used scrap carpet to fill the gaps. The gaps needed to be filled cause the plywood wasn't making contact with the aluminum because of your 6" overlap. I'm at a loss for ideas right now.
I guess you just have to think back about what the boat has been through. Maybe like the one time something may have been spilled.
I guess you just have to think back about what the boat has been through. Maybe like the one time something may have been spilled.
Jay415
Well-known member
I was just looking at the pics again and they look patchy. Kind of like how you explained filling the gaps with carpet. Is it possible that it is rubbing wear? Is it where the carpet patches were? Like the edge seems to have more. I'm thinking maybe because that's where you had you 6" overlap.
the plywwod had good contact, i just wanted the carpet as a buffer between the two so there was no void. and like i said before it was not caused by rubbing, the deck was locked down 100% tight and a earthquake would not have made it shift in any way. it wasnt from the patches or overlap as it was on the whole bench(i cleaned most of it up before the pics). and the scraps were the same carpet so i know that nothing got on it before i put them on. and i know for a fact that nothing ever spilled besides maybe a pop or a beer, but i dont remember that happening this summer.
im getting some comfort knowing it puzzles you as much as me, at least im not the only one scratching my head. lol!
im getting some comfort knowing it puzzles you as much as me, at least im not the only one scratching my head. lol!
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