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Rub rails ....paint or not?

F

fishin Hatt

Active member
Joined
Aug 28, 2007
Messages
58
Status
  1. OWNER - I own a Hatteras Yacht
Hatteras Model
38' CONVERTIBLE-Series I (1968 - 1972)
I have aluminum rub rails running along the sides of my 1971 38 convertiable I was wondering if anyone has painted them with any success?

What can you do with these to polish them up and get them looking like new if you don't paint them? There is alot of scratches and gouges in mine and they are pretty dull now.

Cheers!
Marshall
 
Aluminum can be polished, but it will dull out very quickly. Originally the rub rails were anodized which provides a long lasting shine and protection. Once this is degraded over time, you are not left with many viable options. Painting is a solution but because these are "rub rails" you will be forever touching them up. The other challenge is getting something that will stick. One option you may consider is painting them and then installing a stainless rub strip to take the abuse. I originally was considering this, but my aluminum rub rails had several warped spots from some hurricane damage, so we removed them and a teak and stainless rub rail is being installed instead. I am sure that there will be some additional ideas tossed out to think about, just hang out and wait for some more good ideas to pop up.
 
In a word don't. If the aluminum is pristine you have a chance, if less than pristine it will be a constant problem. I went through hell with the alum sheer guard on my Bertram, I spent a fortune to have it professionally stripped, and prepped using the Awlgrip process and painted. It lasted 1 month before it started to blister. From my experimenting Rustoleum will not be as likely to blister as a LP paint will. When I have to paint window frames I always spray with Rustoleum and refinish every couple years.
If you don't mind the work, replace the alum with the PVC replacement extrusions. Dave
 
The rub rail in my 45 had several spot with corrosion and scratches. We decided to replace with a PVC base and SS rail. Heavens Bay Marine pre-formed the bow section and shipped all other part needed. You can contact René Rodriguez at heavensbay@aol.com for more info.
You can see some photo on the gallery
 
The rubrails on my 48 Yachtfish had been painted when I bought the boat. Needless to say, they didn't look great when I bought the boat, and really looked lousy within a couple years. I sanded all the paint and anodizing off the rails as the anodizing was also shot. I polished the rails with a product called Flitz and they came out great. A shine you can comb your hair in. But, as has been mentioned it is an annual job up here in the midwest and it is good for a couple days of work.

If you decide to paint the rails, you will also have to install chafe guards wherever your lines may rub across the rails or you will constantly be touching up that area. Myself, I wouldn't bother.
 
Our 1975 Hatt had the stainless rails as do all of the newer Hatts. Why not just change the whole thing out for stainless. They are zero maintenance and will definately save you work and $ in the future.
 
dwaynec said:
The rubrails on my 48 Yachtfish had been painted when I bought the boat. Needless to say, they didn't look great when I bought the boat, and really looked lousy within a couple years. I sanded all the paint and anodizing off the rails as the anodizing was also shot. I polished the rails with a product called Flitz and they came out great. A shine you can comb your hair in. But, as has been mentioned it is an annual job up here in the midwest and it is good for a couple days of work.

If you decide to paint the rails, you will also have to install chafe guards wherever your lines may rub across the rails or you will constantly be touching up that area. Myself, I wouldn't bother.
Click to expand...

Ok .......how do you "Re-Anodise" the rails??

Thanks for the tips guys.
 
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