Did mine a year ago
I refinished the grab rails on my previous boat about a year ago. The first thing: I started as in the photo accompanying this thread by masking around the rails and doing it in place. However, after one or two coats, I found it would be easier to remove them and do it at home. Even after having started with them on the boat, it was worthwhile to take them off and finish at home. As a newbie, I sought and got quite a bit of advice. Here's a summary of some of the points that were raised with me: The finish should not be applied in direct sunlight. Also, it shouldn't be applied on a windy day as the wind will kick up dust that will stick to the finish. Also, don't do it right before evening as dew can adhere to the finish. Given all of this, as I said, it was a lot easier to do it at home, off the boat. The other thing I found was that, despite the time I took to mask off the surrounding deck, some of the finish did leak through onto the deck and I then had to paint that. Finally, I was told to apply six to nine coats. Of course, I am in a saltwater environment, which maybe has something to do with it. But anyway, the more coats the better, and if you go to the trouble of taking the rails off, why not apply a few extra? (PS. All the work was worth it. Aside from how nice it looked, I think the nice looking wood made it a lot easier to sell the boat when that time came.)
On to the next project. B/Seadance