Preventing Rust on Winches

[rose20532]

I am currently restoring a Catalina 27. There are three very old winches on her, all with horrible pitted rust. I tried everything to get the pitted rust off, and finally a fine bastard file did a pretty good job. I then polished them with finer and finer sandpaper and emory cloth and the beautiful bronze shines like new under the deceased chrome plate. The problem is that it rusts pretty easily when it rains. What can I put on the bronze to keep it from rusting? Thanks.

 

[Gord May]

Filings

You probably have mild steel filings embedded in the filed parts of the winch. These will now rust.Never file or grind S/S, Chrome, etc. /w mild steel.

 

[Garry @ S/V TASHTEGO]

Have them re-plated

You can have your winches re-plated. Try Annapolis Plating at the web site below.PS. I don't have an interest in the company.

 

[Warren M]

Winches

Sometimes, it's time to bite the bullet and replace those old winches. While new ones can be expensive, boat hardware consignment shops often have some good bargains in very usable used winches. You might take a look at what Bacons in Annapolis has in stock.

 

[John]

Bronze is a non ferrous material

The rust you mentions is the residue imbedded from the steel bastard file you used. It was a bastard alright and now you need to remove the imbedded ferrous residue. check witha local metal supplier to find out how.