Cleaning Rudder Assembly

[shank]

Hi,
I have an 87 model and I would like to clean up the rudder/tiller assembly. I'm not sure what the metal part is called but there is a fair amount of "pitting" or little divots in it that I would like to remove. I tried different cleaners but they just make the pitting show up even more.

Also, I would like to remove the rudder from this metal bracket to paint it but I can't get the pieces that hold it together apart shown by the arrow in the photo. I've whacked with a hammer but after years in saltwater it's fused together.

Can anyone offer any suggestions on these two issues? Thanks

 

[CaptDon01]

Shank,

I just finished working with a friend on getting his factory kick-up rudder apart and cleaned up. We laid the rudder down flat, and applied PB Blaster penetrating oil on the large aluminum washers. We kept is moist with oil occasionally applying more. Took close to a week, but supporting the aluminum rudder assembly on some blocks of wood, we gave a good the bolt a quick "smack" with a hammer and it broke free. We were able to disassemble it to clean it and applied some lubricant to the pieces. The bolt was replaced, but it's available at most hardware stores.

As for disassembling the aluminum plates from the cast aluminum frame, my best recommendation is to forget it. Yes, guys have been successful, but if you break it, which is very easy to do, the rudder is history. The factory kick-up rudder is no longer available, as well as most of the parts also. The same goes for trying to polish out the spotted corrosion. It's a common issue.

Personally, I hate the factory kick-up rudder. It should've been replaced a long time ago. I've gone with the Rudder-Craft rudders, (both a fixed and kick-up), and it a far superior design, and greatly improves the handling of the boat.

Don

 

[CloudDiver]

The pitting on the aluminum is long term corrosion. There really is no way to 'remove' it for the most part. Aluminum oxidation (or aluminum rust, for lack of a better term) is very tough. The only thing that breaks it down are acids that break down mineral scale and deposits. CLR used to be good at this, but they changed the formulation to a weaker acid, however it is still somewhat effective but takes longer.
I used a chemical cleaner I get my welding supply store designed to degrease and clean metal in preparation for welding. It is a mild phosphoric acid solution that will clean rust and corrosion scale like no other. It works well on aluminum but you have to be careful when cleaning any amount of aluminum with stainless steel present, it will eat the aluminum of left to soak. Its fine if you are cleaning aluminum alone with no other metal present. This is how I get stubborn corrosion scale off spars after the hardware is removed.
Like Don said above, the stainless screws are practically fused into the aluminum casting with bi-metal corrosion. It is extremely difficult to get things apart without a high risk of breaking them. In several cases I've used the phosphoric acid solution I mentioned above to liberally soak stuck fasteners and dissolve the white chalky corrosion. Keep in mind, this only works in so far that the solution can eventually get to the threads to act on the scale. PB Blaster also works over time, but the lubricant must also be able to reach the threads. A combination of the two methods might eventually get you there, but you have to be prepared for weeks of soaking the PB Blaster, trying every few days to loose the screws. Don't risk using an impact driver, just use a Phillips tip in a socket and use even but firm pressure. If you over do it you will break them off.
If you are successful in getting things apart then clean everything really good and I'd suggest painting the aluminum components, Rustolem self etching metal primer is good for this, then topcoat with an enamel of your choice.

I got a factory kick-up rudder from e-bay... Luckily it was taken care of, didn't sit in the weather much and the threads of the bolts all had tef-gel on them. Everything on mine came apart without any major fuss.

 

[C22-Daydreamer]

I found CLR to be a great way to clean up the black residue from the boom off my old mainsail. There was some nasty black smears in several places all over the sail. I applied it on all the areas liberally and let it soak for over an hour. When I came back to check on it the black smears had all but disappeared. I worried about it harming the sail but it had no apparent damage to it. This sail is an older sail and I replaced it with a newer one. It has some small 1/4" size holes in it but is otherwise okay. They were there before I attempted this. Now the sail looks so much better than it did. I plan to keep it as a backup just in case.

 

[langfordja]

Is the bolt that Capt Don smacked out with a hammer, stainless ?

I assume that we are talking about the bolt that holds the two discs in place, which squeeze the rudder, holding it in position.

I also smacked mine out with a hammer but I wasn't sure if I should replace it with a stainless bolt from Home Depot. Since my (stainless) screws holding the aluminum plates together, as mentioned above, have also become one with the plates. I don't want to use the wrong metal for the smacked bolt and have it eventually become one with the discs.

 

[langfordja]

I just saw the rudder parts on ebay, in the attch'd photo. These look a lot like mine. The ebay seller said :
"Pulled from an 1985 Catalina 22 ... Zinc/Stainless ... The locking handle appears to be a stainless steel replacement"

I am just trying to figure out what types of metals are used (and ok to use together) in the rudder assembly.

All my rudder parts (plates, discs, handle, bolt, nut, washer) appear to have the same type of corrosion on all of them. So I was assuming they are all the same material. They feel pretty heavy so I was questioning whether they are aluminum. They don't look like stainless but they are really old. Could they be zinc, like the ebay seller said ?

 

[CaptDon01]

All aluminum, stainless steel pintles, screws, and the locking bolt, tightening handle is brass.