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Toerail Mistake? Sandblasted aluminum toerails

4K views 13 replies 13 participants last post by  chef2sail 
#1 ·
Looking for some advice.

Removed the aluminum toerails from our boat. They had a ton of whatever deck paint the PO had painted the decks with slathered over them.

I'd started down the path of cleaning them off with paint stripper and a wire brush on a drill, but really wasn't going quickly. Opted to get them sandblasted.

Sandblasting removed all the white paint, and also the black anodizing underneath. The finish is rather rough, which was not unexpected. I actually kind of like the bare metal look.

Do I have to finish them? How will bare aluminum fare in a salt water environment bolted to my decks with SS bolts?

If I do finish them, is there a spray-on paint that would work and be tough enough?

I reached out to one place re: anodizing, but they said their tanks aren't long enough.

Have I made a mistake having these sand blasted?

Thx all...
 
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#2 · (Edited)
I doubt you’ve made a huge mistake - if left bare the aluminum will oxidize over time and take on a white patina. You can use a self etching zinc chromate primer and then put a silver grey paint on it and it will look like it’s been re-anodized, also.

Edit - I would use Rustoleum or equivalent rattle can spray paint over a good primer unless I had access to a shop that could spray a two part tnemec epoxy.

In either case, do something to protect the toe rail from the stainless hardware. A Tefgel coating, or nylon sleeves, bushings or washers to prevent direct contact between the two will prevent the stainless from eating up the aluminum.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Yes you did screw up. The sand blasting not only removed any paint nd anodizing finish but pitted the underlying aluminum leaving it rough. Soda blasting probably would have removed the paint but not etched the anodized aluminum underneath.

I've had bad luck with paint sticking to bare aluminum even when sanded to bright metal and instantly sprayed with Zinc Chromate before painting. Paint always seems to bubble in spots and lift off especially around fasteners. Powder coating has been worse. As soon as you get a small nick in the surface corrosion will spread underneath and coating will come off in patches. Have had good luck painting over hard coat anodizing with zinc chromate undercoat, however.

Unfinished, unanodized aluminum will oxidize to what, to me, is an ugly, rough, mottled grey appearance. Anodizing and painting might smooth the surface out a bit and make it more presentable but doubt you'll get it back to its original finish. Might look around and see if there is an anodizer relatively close with tanks large enough to take your rails.
 
#5 ·
I think the fix to your error will be a two part epoxy primer. Then a coat or two of undercoat followed by a couple of coats of two part epoxy gloss. I've done some parts of my boom & mast this way, with no problems for about 8 years.
SS and alloy will be a problem no matter what goo you use, if you don't renew it occasionally, which I'm sure you would like to avoid. Being a toe rail, it will probably get a lot of water on it and it's fastenings, adding to the corrosion. If you wanted to beat that whole problem, titanium bolts would be almost corrosion free, but probably pretty pricey. We had all the fastenings on our head stay foil changed to titanium because of the ss/alloy corrosion and haven't had a single bit of corrosion since.
 
#7 ·
Lemon juice and salt is not what I would be treating bare, unanodized aluminum with :eek .

It is a tough question because you don't know the alloy or grade of aluminum used. Roverhi has pretty much described the situation well. I guess I'd just go with it as is for a while and see how it does. If it isn't weathering or aging well, then I'd choose between the equal options presented by Capta and Overboard.

As everyone else has pointed out, be sure to isolate the stainless/aluminum contacts.

Mark
 
#9 ·
You screwed the pooch having them blasted.

Spray them with zinc chromate to get a tie coat and then spray with Trim Black from an automotive paint supplier.

Comes out looking very much like black anodizing and is pretty tough. Easy to touch up as well.

This is what it looks like.
 

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#10 ·
Check out GripGard at the Akzo Nobel site (makers of Awlgrip) They have high build primers for urethanes as well as epoxies that will work well on the sand blasted aluminum. When done properly the urethanes hold up pretty well ( 20 or more years ) although they do fade over time. Mathews is another brand that others prefer although I'm not sure whether Mathews makes epoxy finishes or not but GripGard does for sure if that's the way you want to go . Do a google search for GripGard wash primers, which is what works for the urethane finishes.Sorry I can't do the link from this computer. Not sure if it's the computer or if I'm just a luddite.
 
#11 ·
Powder coatings are great coatings, but NOT for marine environments, particularly on a toe rail which takes a lot of beating.
This is not just an opinion but my experience owning what was at the time the largest powder coating job shop in Florida over 12,000 sf plant. We coated millions of parts so I know what I am talking about. Better to go with a product called LineX. This is the stuff they put on bed liners etc and comes in colors and is rock hard.

Google LineX.com
 
#12 ·
Apparently, you folks have never heard about Alodizing, which has been available for many years and much less expensive then Anodizing.

Alodizing

Alodizing is a simple chemical treatment for all aluminum alloys to increase their corrosion resistance and to improve their paint bonding qualities. Because of its simplicity, it is rapidly replacing anodizing in aircraft work.

The process consists of precleaning with an acidic or alkaline metal cleaner that is applied by either dipping or spraying. The parts are then rinsed with fresh water under pressure for 10 to 15 seconds. After thorough rinsing, alodine is applied by dipping, spraying, or brushing. A thin, hard coating results which ranges in color from light, bluish green with a slight iridescence on copper free alloys to an olive green on copper bearing alloys. The alodine is first rinsed with clear, cold or warm water for a period of 15 to 30 seconds. An additional 10 to 15 second rinse is then given in a Deoxylyte bath. This bath is to counteract alkaline material and to make the alodyzed aluminum surface slightly acid on drying.

I have not done this in many years, but I know it is still available in the USA.

Good luck,

Gary :cool:
 
#13 ·
Wanted to follow up on this post. Here's what I've done to try to fix this mistake.

I took the toe rails into a local anodizing shop. He took one look and said the finish was way too rough. The place I had them blasted was too aggressive, and the anodizing would look terrible. Further, he said, they needed to be cleaned up more. He recommended a place that did automotive restorations to have them blasted again, then said I would need to hand-sand them before he could anodize them.

So that's what I did. Another (much more gentle) blasting, then hand-sanded with 120 grit alum oxide sandpaper. Dropped them off at the anodizing shop last week.

A rather expensive lesson, but hopefully it's behind me...

Thanks for the input from all, as always!

-Adrian
 
#14 ·
A lesson learned though
Thanks for posting your results, that helps the rest of us ??

Nice to see someone with a positive attitude and results driven . Pleasant change from the grumpy know it alls and sit in anchorage sailors. Good job

?????

Thanks again
 
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