Aluminum rub rail repair

[HotSpot]

Hi All. This is kind of a general boating forum thing, but I respect the depth of knowledge here and hope you all can lend some advice.

On the last days of last season, a persistent wind and a couple swift storms pushed things around at the dock for a couple days. Of course we were out of town.

Dock lines must have stretched a bit and the big round fender that usually would prevent this must have been overwhelmed. The result was that the rub rail was doing its thing against a pier post for some time. Eventually an exposed screw head from a deteriorating dock bumper gouged the aluminum rub rail real good.

Figuring that rub rail is designed to be a sacrificial item, I was looking to replace a section, but it appears that the particular Taco marine rail (0511TAL20D) is discontinued. So, instead of replacing the entire rail with something else I am hoping to repair, but have no idea if this is an endeavor worth attempting, or how to effectively do it.

I was thinking to sand down the high spots and fill the low with some kind of filler.

Any suggestions on methods or materials?

Many thanks in advance!



Once that screw gouged the aluminum, the rub rail must have started tearing at the fabric, esposing more of the screw… a viscous circle.

[Rawleigh]

I have the same rash.

[neil]

Rayleigh that is not a rash,it is a battle scar

[John F.]

Crows Nest has the same battle scars and wears them with pride. That, and if you're at a place where boats are rafting up, everybody leaves you alone because that low slung aluminum rub rail is merciless.

[Yannis]

It'll buff out!

[Carl]

If you have an eagle eye and side for perfection, you would have to replace with new or remove it all, have welded and ground then re-anodize finish. My guess is the time and money spent on the 2nd option is more than cost of new.

Options-

The rails are heavy enough to grind, sand and finish with a shot of clear coat to offer some protection to the elements. But a good eye will detect the low area, clear will not hold up and aluminum will oxidize to whitish powdery in the area that was sanded removing the protective, hard anodize.

You can do the above, but as you said just remove high spots by sanding or filing. At that point to keep original, give a clear coat to temporarily protect. Or fill low spots, but doubt color and finish would match so maybe paint…but then where you paint will not match the rest.

My prior owner sanded entire rail and painted silver or maybe it was aluminum color. In either case being aluminum some spots corroded under, lifting paint. Bumps from use scraped, gouged other spots. I sanded it off, primed and went flat black to mimic a rubber rub rail. Being paint and aluminum this is now a bi-annual touch up or redo at best. But I also use a cheap paint knowing scrapes will happen.


Me, if original and in good shape, I’d file off the high spots to almost smooth, trying not to remove anymore of the protective anodize then I have to and leave as battle scars.

[Yannis]

Carl, all this interesting speech just to say it will buff out, LOL !!!

[Tony Meola]

Any chance it can be filled with JB Weld, sanded smooth then the whole rail painted? To me that is the first thing to try. Try filling it, let it harden off and see if the filling takes a grip. If it does then paint the whole rail as Carl described.

Otherwise unfortunately it is a new rail.

[Carl]

Carl, all this interesting speech just to say it will buff out, LOL !!!

nothing on TV to watch. But yes, buff it out.


Tony, JB Weld would work, it’s just epoxy, so that would work too as would marine Tex. Thing is if you fill then it stands out or as you said paint the whole thing. But the name of this thing is RUB RAIL for a reason, it gets rubbed n say bye bye to paint. When paints gone, those new scrapes and bumps really stand out.

If I’m making any point, it’s kinda buff out and leave like a Yannis said or do more work for a temporary fix, like I have done.

[Raybo Marine NY]

There’s pieces of that stuff floating around. New and used.
Getting it to you is expensive if you could find someone sitting on old stock willing to truck freight, and installing it not easy at all.

[HotSpot]

nothing on TV to watch. But yes, buff it out. …

If I’m making any point, it’s kinda buff out and leave like a Yannis said or do more work for a temporary fix, like I have done.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I’ll give the sand and epoxy fill a shot. There is one permex product that says it is clear. Thinking to sand and fill and sand. Then possibly spray with a clear coat and put in fresh screws.

As far as old stock laying around, Seems plausible that there’s a bunch on a rack in the back of some shop. Splicing in a 4’ section would look better and save a lot of time but it just may be a wild goose chase to find it. Maybe that will be the longer term strategy depending on how the repair comes out. I’ll ask some of the local places before I start tough.

[Carl]

Let me know how you make out with the clear product. I'd guess its the line of Epoxy's they offer.

My reservation with clear be it filler, epoxy or otherwise, is that it's a layer that light can play with making it look different. The other is it's soft so if scuffed, it scratches, and hazes making it look different from the base.
Same with the clear coat I mentioned, but that is so thin it kinda blends and when it wears away, you don't know making it appear to last longer.
Wax and polish hold up for short periods too.

I have seen advertisements about Ceramic coating on refurbished aluminum towers. From the advertisement, it looks great, but yet to see a real-life application over time. Maybe you can be the first...prep and application seemed painstaking, but as luck would have it, the cost seemed high too. Then again that was years ago, perhaps the price has gone down and the product got better with time. It's definitely clickbait as I see Ceramic Coating in the car wash soap at the store now...I guess as good as the car wash with Wax.

A Quick fix to make it look ok, and keep an eye out for a piece of rail like RayBo said. If like me, I seem to find things when not looking for them.

Good luck

[CamB25]

I recommend you call Integrity Marine. They sell that rub rail by the foot:
https://www.integritymarinecorp.com/

[Raybo Marine NY]

If it’s just 4’ I can send you some in a tube.
Integrity does technically sell by the foot but there are minimums and they don’t manufacture aluminum rails. They don’t make the stainless they sell either they just offer it as a accompaniment to their rub rail line.
They may have a similar profile but it’s vinyl pvc not aluminum

[HotSpot]

Let me know how you make out with the clear product. I'd guess it’s the line of Epoxy's they offer.

I got duped. It’s not clear. Although the product description page on Amazon mentions ‘clear’, some of the photos in the reviews show the typical gray color. Not the end of the world, but may need a little matching paint too.

Here’s the stuff. Permatex 25909 Liquid Metal Filler, 3.5 oz. https://a.co/d/1uV5Vbh

[HotSpot]

If it’s just 4’ I can send you some in a tube.
Integrity does technically sell by the foot but there are minimums and they don’t manufacture aluminum rails. They don’t make the stainless they sell either they just offer it as a accompaniment to their rub rail line.
They may have a similar profile but it’s vinyl pvc not aluminum

Wow. If you have the same stuff that would be amazing!

I do think 4’ would do the trick. A couple extra splice lines would be way better than any repair job I could manage and save so much time.



I believe this is one….

[Carl]

I got duped. It’s not clear.

You didn’t get duped…many companies selling epoxy products with attributes over what they can accomplish.

Epoxy is great stuff, it just cannot be more than it is. It’s a great adhesive, can be thin, can be filled to be pasty. Can be colored or clear. Yes, if you look for it you will find a clear permatex clear epoxy. FYI- epoxy like west system is clear, or go to arts n craft store like Micheals for Clear Epoxy for even clearer, that mixes with less air, slower dry to let bubbles out.. can be buffed to acrylic clear…. But in the end, it’s epoxy n soft plastic making it easily prone to becoming a cloudy haze. No matter, even if perfectly clear it would stand out as the surrounding metal wouldn’t have the depth of the clear filler.

I go back to what’s been mentioned, it’s a Rub Rail, it’s been rubbed. Clean it up n be done.


Sorry, I’m a 50’ n good guy. If it looks good from 50’, I’m good. If you don’t like, move 10’ back n we’ll talk again.

[Raybo Marine NY]

While I don’t mind the look of that rail on a classic boat it may be a good time to replace the whole thing .
For the 25 you can pick up PVC and stainless rail locally and should you damage a section later it’s more easily replaced.
The stainless insert doesn’t scratch as easily as anodized aluminum. It’s easy to bend when compared to the rail a 31 requires. A 25 has a more traditional shoe box flange design

Local dealer used to have a guy who would sand, fill, and aluminum paint those rub rails on the trade in boats. He would use one of those electric palm sanders they would look pretty good but it took very little to rub that spray paint off.

[CamB25]

Call Integrity.

If you want to replace it with PVC, this is what I used on my 25 and it fits/looks great:

Rub Rail - R1072 (from Integrity/Barbour Plastics)
Insert - STA2416H 3/4" hollow 316SS
End caps - SSMD

[Raybo Marine NY]

this is one of those things its best to obtain locally to avoid truck freight. If there are marinas around you there is likely a local distributor like Lewis , Seacoast/Mesco, Kellogg/Land and Sea, even Port Supply/West Marine.

I buy 12' stainless in bulk from the same place Mark at Integrity buys it from and but its pretty much the same price to truck freight 10 pieces as it is for 70 or 80. You're paying for the space it takes up in the truck not necessarily the weight.
August 2019 or so I paid $450 for 20' feet shipping of stainless because we had a couple projects where we didnt want the seams and I needed some 2" stainless. Earlier that year I had paid around $225 for 12', maybe less?
Jan 2021 I paid $385 for 3/4" 12'
Jan 2022 I paid $585 for 12'
Feb 2023 I just paid almost $800 for 12'

so if you decide to swap the rail out consider obtaining the stainless, if not the whole deal, locally. They'll even sell you boxes of screws and sealant to go with it.

[Carl]

I just caught on...this is the 25' we are talking about. I was thinking a 31 rub rail that is a bit of a bear to change.

[HotSpot]

While I don’t mind the look of that rail on a classic boat it may be a good time to replace the whole thing .
For the 25 you can pick up PVC and stainless rail locally and should you damage a section later it’s more easily replaced.
The stainless insert doesn’t scratch as easily as anodized aluminum. It’s easy to bend when compared to the rail a 31 requires. A 25 has a more traditional shoe box flange design

Local dealer used to have a guy who would sand, fill, and aluminum paint those rub rails on the trade in boats. He would use one of those electric palm sanders they would look pretty good but it took very little to rub that spray paint off.

It will be especially easy to rub the paint off where this damage occurred since it is a high contact point at the dock. Maybe I’ll start backing her in so it rubs on the other side. Won’t have to look at the rash when boarding either!

I did like the look of this rail, but not married to it. It was beefy and yet kind of understated. I’ll start looking around try to find some close-up Pics of other styles that wold be a good fit on the classic. I just don’t want it to look like a tug. I have an old aluminum fishing boat that already carries that look well.

We’ll stick with plan A and get this this thing in workable shape. I can live with a 50 foot looker for now.

[Carl]

It's like getting a fresh cut...stings like hell for a bit, you can't help but think and look at it. Given some time, it will scab over and soon you'll pay it no mind.

[Raybo Marine NY]

what did you decide?

[Raybo Marine NY]

Happen to call today about getting a very specific rub rail truck freight, 3 20' sections- $900 for the truck freight alone. Rail is only $120 a piece.

[Carl]

Shipping costs have gone through the roof.

I used to ship by truck often and found Frieghtquote.com very helpful in saving time and money. Punch in pickup and destination points, freight class, size, and weight with multiple options coming back in minutes from Joeys pickups to UPS truck freight. Book, print BOL n done.

[HotSpot]

what did you decide?

The plan is to attempt to repair it by sanding and filling with epoxy. Already looks better just by sanding down the high spots and removing the gnarled bolts. Next visit to the boat will be fairing with epoxy.

I’ll purchase a few different epoxy kits with various colors to find the best match. The first one I got was almost a tan color. Played around with adding silver mica powder, which was a no go. May just paint the section if there no close match.

if this doesn’t work, on to plan B which will be to locate a small piece to splice in.

I’ll update with pics. Maybe from 20 ft away.

[Carl]

My .02

If you sand it down to the point it’s not jumping out at you then polish / sand / or hit with woven pad for dull grain or whatever to match balance of rail then wax or hit with clear coat or …


Just call it done. Adding a filler that pops can call attention to the area. Just my thought.

[HotSpot]

Carl,

This makes sense. No need to do all the extra work when the result may not look much better than if it’s just left alone.

I may do a trial run on some scrap aluminum channel to see how filling gouges will look. If any doubt on the match, the rail will probably not be filled.

Good advice on the woven pad. Theresa a lot of shine from the freshly exposed material that needs to be addressed too.

Thanks!

[Carl]

Being aluminum, shiny will not last long.

There r times when less is more.

[Raybo Marine NY]

you can spray it with a fine aluminum/silver paint. just blend it out a few feet so its not so noticeable in that one area.
unless you find another used piece with the same patina or a new piece it will stand out just as much

[HotSpot]

Clear epoxy application is done.

Results from a physical perspective are really good. All the gouges are filled in and the surface is very smooth. So at least we won’t need to worry about the replacement dock bumper getting ripped up prematurely.

The the epoxy is perfectly clear so the scratches and gouges are still clearly visible. I was hoping for a little more opaqueness, but this will do fine for now. There’s an expectation that the clear will yellow over time with uv exposure. So painting is still an option, but will wait till season end maintenance.

Thanks all!


Gaps filled. Can hardly see the epoxy…but battle scars still visible.

[Rawleigh]

Try a fairly fine circular wire brush on a 4.5" grinder ad see if it won't help blend out the gouges to get the color even down in the valleys. You can always re-sand the high spots if need be. The Harbor freight surface conditioning tool might help also.

https://www.harborfreight.com/9-amp-sur ... 58079.html

[Carl]

Rawleigh-

You ruined my day, I paid over $700 for my right angle Flex finishing tool...$160 for a pneumatic wheel plus the abrasive belts...

Ah...get what you pay for. I bought their handheld circular saw...used it a couple of times before things started falling off. Then again I picked up a half dozen of their pneumatic rachets and welded a cutting tool to the end to run a one-off job of deburing an inside hole in tubing. Every 500 pieces or so I tossed a rachet away, and welded up a new. I still came out way ahead at the end of the job over buying the cheapest semi-quality tool.

[Rawleigh]

Yeah, I don't usually buy their stuff for the long run but for one off stuff it is great. The conditioner is on sale for $99 this week.

https://www.harborfreight.com/catalogs? ... GED&plcc=N

I actually have one of their Titanium series multifunction welders and it has been great so far. I haven't used my big old Airco Bumble Bee (rebadged Miller Dialarc) since I got it! It is so light weight and easy to carry since it is inverter and will even weld 60 series rods OK.

[gottmoore]

I haven't tried these yet, but am buyng a set to restore my rail to "clear matte", and buff out other items. The rail has been painted white, has similar conditions to yours in several areas. *I may have start with a 400 grit flapper if these aren't up to the removal task.
For the investment$, and grade of change to the material, I see a reasonable choice. These will be less abrasive than "flapper" discs, and may bring your rail "polish" back. Perhaps a good rubbing compound will assist.

10 Pack 4 Inch Round Wool Felt Disc Wheel Pad, for 100 Angle Grinder, Buffing Polishing Buffer Bore Dia-White & Green https://a.co/d/2NjEOkc