Would you paint your rubrail aluminum?

[CloudDiver]

I have my rub rail off the boat. I have the older style narrow channel and I will be ordering the new Vinyl Strip from CD.

I have cleaned off a bunch of bi-metal corrosion crust and other junk, in some places the anodize went along with it. I have a few boxes of nice new stainless #8 screws to put the channel pack on. To prevent future bimetal corrosion and generally improve the appearance of the channel I am wondering if it is worth painting the aluminum?

If I give the aluminum a good once over with a medium scotch brite pad and then use a rattle can of self etching primer I can probably just use my white Interlux Brightsides to topcoat it. I think it would look good and cover up the nicks, scratches, and scabs from the corrosion. My biggest concern is that when I push the new Vinyl extrusion into the channel I'm just going to possibly peel the paint.

Thoughts?

 

[allen-deckard]

If your asking for opinions then I'd have to say a super big no.

Your right I believe when you push that rubber threw there your gonna peal it off in spots and be disgusted with the result.

If I were gonna paint it at all which I wouldn't then I'd have to use emron we used it when I used to build cement trucks and it's tough or better yet would be possibly appliance paint but both pretty much need to be applied by a professional. Both are pretty toxic.

But that's my opinion

If you feel you have to coat it with anything possibly a clear coat might be the best since if it does peal or chip anywhere it's not gonna show as bad.

Add to the fact that even though you have the rubber in there when it's sitting at the dock it's still gonna ding and hit the metal from time to time and touching it up is gonna be near impossible.

Best of luck to ya and whatever you decide I wish the best outcome.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I wouldn't. I've had three Catalinas (22, 25 & 34) all with the same design, and never felt any of them required more visual appeal. It's a tiny portion of the entire assembly that one can actually see, and you'd have to get up close and personal to even see any scratches. My suggestion would be to clean and then polish the rub rail itself so it always looks good. We use either acetone or paint brush & roller cleaner and then apply Collinite Fleetwax to the rub rail. Work done.

Your boat, your choice.

 

[CloudDiver]

Yeah... I think I'm nuking it.

Worst case, down the road I could scrap the aluminum and buy a new rub rail kit that is a PVC kit.
Pro - no aluminum, no bi-metal corrosion problems.
Cons - Kits are around $300, and I'm not sure the PVC is UV stabilized.

 

[$tingy Sailor]

I had to replace the vinyl insert in mine when the boat sustained damaged in a freak storm last summer. It was not very flexible at all and the shop guys had to heat it with a heat gun and beat it into submission with a rubber mallet to get into the channel. Maybe it was old stock, but a paint job might not hold up to the installation.

 

[Time_Out]

Replacing the rubrail was one of the recent projects that I have completed. I can tell you, the molded rubber is very stiff, and really doesn't want to cooperate. The only way I was able to get it to work was to use a 5 gallon bucket filled with very hot water, placing it on a platform (so the material would have the greatest time in the heat to soften it), and then basically prying it into place. I do not see any way you wouldn't scratch the heck out of the paint upon insertion.