Restore black anodization

[Hudsonian]

The black anodization has faded on my twenty five year old aluminum cleats and line organizers. I would like to restore their appearance. I could pull them, clean up any bedding compund adhering, and boil then in black anodizing dye but that's just too messy and tedious. Don't ask me how I know.

Has anybody tried spray on restorer for windshield wiper arms? Any other suggestions that would have a smart appearance and be durable?

[sailingdog]

You're not going to get very good results without removing the hardware IMHO.

[scottyt]

something that you might be able to do with less mess is powder coat, it wont last as long but its easy to touch up. spray with a home powder coat kit and throw them in the oven

[sailingdog]

I'd also point out that if the organizers are 25 years old, and have never been rebedded or if it has been a while since they were re-bedded, rebedding them may be a very good idea.

[Hudsonian]

Thanks for your help. I have rebedded the line organizers but it's about time to redo them. I'll explore the powder coat. I don't think my marriage could withstand more boiling dye.

[sailingdog]

Not a big fan of powder coating aluminum. It generally requires heating aluminum, and some aluminum is heat treated and if exposed to enough heat, will lose the tempering that provides much of its strength.

[scottyt]

SD to a point your right about the heat issue on some things. now with the mass of a cleat i really dont think they use heat treating for strength, but they do make low temp powder coats.

powder coating does have its place, something like cleats it would do well. it will need to be redone every few years ( 5 ) which would be a great time to rebed them. but the DIY kits would make the redo cost 5 bucks when it needs to be done. now i would not use it on something like a winch or any real area where lines get dragged or run across.

[sailingdog]

True, but not all places do low-temp powder coating, and not all parts are safe for the higher temp powder coating. Cleats are probably safe, as they're probably not heat tempered...but still avoiding bad habits is a good idea.

[poopdeckpappy]

My last boat I removed all the deck hardware and portlite trim and had it all powdercoated a weathered bronze, came out looking awsome especially when bedded back on the newly painted off-white deck with the freshly varnished teak toe rail & handholds and the new hunter green canvas

[Hudsonian]

A quick search indicates that commercial shops heat the objects to 400 degrees F. for 20 minutes. Would this heat impact strength? My mast was powder coated from the factory. Would it be stronger if uncoated?

Do it yourself powder coating appears to be cost prohibitive for my small needs. The commercial price appears to be about $5.00 to $8.00 per item. Given three cleats, the end caps on the boom, and two line organizers and a five year recoating cycle, twenty years would be required to amortize the cost of the required abrasive blaster, filtered spray cabinet. electro-static spray gun, compressor, and dedicated oven.