Factory rivet removal and paint question from the trim!

[Dug]

Hi all,

for those who have removed the aluminum trim from the flybridge, then faired it and painted. How did you get rid of the rivets? Did you drill them out? I am finding they spin. So I am contemplating cutting them off, grinding flush then smashing them into the edge with a hammer and punch then filling over them and off we go.

Better way?

Many thanks in advance!

Dug

[CaptPatrick]

Hi all,

for those who have removed the aluminum trim from the flybridge, then faired it and painted. How did you get rid of the rivets? Did you drill them out? I am finding they spin. So I am contemplating cutting them off, grinding flush then smashing them into the edge with a hammer and punch then filling over them and off we go.

That or a high speed 90 degree grinder with a thin kerf metal cut off blade. One of my favorite & most used tools...

[Dug]

Like a Fein multitool?

[CaptPatrick]

Nope. The multi-tools only vibrate. You want a full rotational 4 1/2" grinder:

[dcasey10]

Dug I ground right through mine that I could not get out.

My aluminum trim was mostly attached by small screws though.

sanding under the fly bridge cap/rounded edge is really fun...

[Dug]

Ah ha! Gotcha Patrick. I have one of those, and have used it to perform miracles. This may be yet another rabbit out of the hat trick!

DJ, Yeah. I can only imagine!!!!!! Having done many boat bottoms and my own actually multiple times, sanding over head just sucks.

:)

Dug

[Dug]

Actually, funny grinder story. To me anyway...

My dad has a boat trailer that has not always been well taken care of. We needed to change center rollers and to do so we needed to remove the bolts that were well stuck.

I finally asked him to get out of the way, marched into the garage, grabbed my grinder and proceeded to cut them off one by one, and was done in a shower of sparks in about 15 minutes. Now, my dad is accident prone (making me look like I have never cut myself ever! and those of you who know me know I am very accident prone) and he immediately announced that first thing Monday morning he wanted me to go out and get him one of these machines. I refused on the grounds that I valued his life and didn't want him killing himself. But I did get it for him, and that machine is a ripper for so many jobs!!!!

It was a fun day with Dad. He's pretty hard to surprise most of the time, and this was a win relative to that!

Dug

[Bob H.]

Dug, they spin so fast that you cauterize any wound you may get.lol. A handy but lethal tool.BH

[CaptPatrick]

Dug, they spin so fast that you cauterize any wound you may get. lol. A handy but lethal tool. BH

Came within an inch of permanently disabling my left hand when that thin kerf cut deep into my wrist just above the base of the thumb. No sh!t there're dangerous... I was cutting the stem of a transducer, holding the stem in left hand and cutting with right hand. Blade grabbed, grinder jumped out of my hand and went airborne. Still my favorite tool, but use it with far more respect and care now!

No, they don't cauterize the wound... I put a good 1/2 pint of blood in the bilge. Severed a couple of nerves and left thumb is permanently "a sleep now", but no loss of function.

If you didn't bleed today, you didn't work hard enough...

[John F.]

I have a makita angle grinder. It wears a cut off wheel or 36 grit paper. Great tool. I have a lot of respect for it, and refer to it simply as "the beast."

[Navatech]

Came within an inch of permanently disabling my left hand when that thin kerf cut deep into my wrist just above the base of the thumb. No sh!t there're dangerous...

Same sort of thing happened to my father-in-law... At the time he owned a metal fabricating shop... He DID end up losing most of the use of his right thumb... Ended up having to sell the shop...