aluminium toe rail - how to scrape?

[jaybeegee]

Hello all! As you can see from the attached link the aluminium toe tail of my Dufour 27 (1975) needs some work! I am considering scraping it off and give it abit of a polish rather than paint! Is there a recommended approach to ease scraping?
thanks,
J.

[tommays]

It was most likely anodized which is not gonna scrape off with any kind of ease and painting it due to the amount of water it sees would IMHP become a nightmare

Taking it off and having a shop redo the anodizing would be the real cure

[paulk]

Painting aluminum is a nightmare. Primer gets on everything, and is a funky color. It has to be applied within X minutes (75?) of the surface being exposed to air. The finish coat has to be applied within Y minutes (!) of the primer being dry. The finish coat runs everywhere. Touching up what's there with some automotive spray paint (MASK CAREFULLY and EXTENSIVELY!) might be the simplest Quick & Dirty option. When it wears off, you slap on some more. It would probably be simpler to buy another boat with nicer-looking rails than to try removing the ones you have.

[Pub911]

I had my alum' toe rail removed, sand-blasted and then powder coated - that's right, not anodized as it was originally, but powder coated in black (matching original). 8 years later and it looks like it was just refinished - EXCEPT for where it's taken a hard hit and the powder coating has chipped. But even in the damaged area, the chipping hasn't spread. That stuff is tough and stuck on good.

Good luck.

[Faster]

Originally Posted by Pub911

I had my alum' toe rail removed, sand-blasted and then powder coated - that's right, not anodized as it was originally, but powder coated in black (matching original). 8 years later and it looks like it was just refinished - EXCEPT for where it's taken a hard hit and the powder coating has chipped. But even in the damaged area, the chipping hasn't spread. That stuff is tough and stuck on good.

Good luck.

Would this job you did have cost less than buying new rail? or reanodizing the old?

On the one hand this kind of rail is probably getting a little hard to locate (though a member here recently did do just that).

I do agree with the others that a cosmetic coverup like painting is a non starter. Best to remove and retreat. The powder coating is an intriguing option, esp if it's not horrendously expensive.

[jaybeegee]

thanks for taking the time to reply.

I will investigate the powder coating option!

Forgot to mention that she is currently berthed limiting the options so will go for the paint job solution (without scraping). I will use the paint remover once she is the yard!

thanks again

jay

[Pub911]

I couldn't locate a replacement toe-rail for my discontinued Hughes / NorthStar 38, so remove and restore was my only option. It took me a while to find a place that could handle the 4 pieces each being about 20' long, but I did - a non-marine business near Hartford, CT. I'm sorry, I don't have the records and can't recall who they were, but it was a single proprietor and he charged me something like $350 - a good deal in retrospect given the durability.

Good luck.