Wolfer, without pictures its hard to be informed enough to reply with any firm statements about your boat. (so the following is kind of generic) First, lets take a look at the possibilities? It could be painted, and the boat could have huge decals or vinyl covers on the sides? Chaps raises this question because (of all of us here) he sees the most variety of hull coverings of all of us "cubed".
I'd ask you to get with Woolrich and ask if the boat was custom wrapped or painted, and the last owner, if possible, to get more info into his work on the boat. Stripper, strong and industrial- not '
orange scented floor cleaner for the weekend home owner' will lift most paints but.... if the surface was really well prepared for paint, and the guys at Woolrich would do a good job if requested- will still leave paint in weld edges and other shape contours where you'd have to pressure wash 'live or active' stripper out. Cleaning a good quality industrial (read toxic) stripper with an abrasive (sand in the water stream) hydro washer-- is an excellent way to remove paint scraps lifted by the stripper but not rinsed off due to the contours; by the garden hose.
So.... there may be some paint (or decal glue) left in some places? To get to the 'natural' (alloys aren't natural in the true sense) aluminum you'd want to follow the paint stripper/decal removal with a decent acid wash or etching. This is as abrasive/corrosive/dangerous/pain-in-the-stern as decent paint stripper but for different chemical reasons. (Search function on this site)
Once the metal is a nice bright white, bare aluminum color, just leave it alone- (for your remaining lifetime) It will get more dull and gray colored, and the waterline will foul with metal salts that often color the topsides a few inches above the bottom paint- depending on the local mineralization in your waters.
wolfer wrote:Also I recently replaced a bad aluminum prop with a stainless steel one and now I noticed white corrosion on the bottom end.
Bottom end of what? prop, hull, skeg of engine? trying to get a better picture.
Don't forget to contact Woolrich and let their tech's give you some feedback too? Remember when working on the phone a picture is worth countless words- so call; find a tech: get his email, take pictures and send them; make a date to call THAT TECH ONLY; (make sure he's not on vacation); call back discuss numbered photos, with numbered details that makes sure.....
Everyone is on the same page of the hymnal. If you don't do that, like posting here without pictures- we're all
shooting in the dark, with blindfolds on, and YOU loose the opportunity to learn from those who may have already found a solution to your problem- but... being blind neither Chaps, or others, or the pro's at Woolrich can help you more than they can understand of your boat's conditions and your goals.
wolf, I'd sure like to help, and the most help I've been is to suggest you consider taking advantage of the
full spectrum of the digital form of communications our host, welder, has Blessed us to enjoy.
Cheers,
Kevin Morin
Kenai, AK