Rub rail trim?

[Mattrick2oo3]

Just picked up this 89 Four Winns Horizon 200 and wanted to clean up the exterior a bit. I'm no dummy when it comes to detailing (my Dad was an auto-body repair man / painter for 25 + years.) but does anyone know where I can get new rub rail trim?

You can see in the picture that there are some pretty good scratches on it. I'll probably polish it for this season but wouldn't mind replacing it this fall along with a couple of the seats.



Thanks!

-Matt

 

[73Chrysler105]

Re: Rub rail trim?

Check here in Iboats they have different options for rub rails.

And welcome to the site.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Rub rail trim?

Yup, but...Be prepared!!! Fairly Pricey Stuff!!!!!
This stuff Really does a good job cleaning and polishing the Rub Rail and other metal on the boat.
Less than $4 bucks @ WalMart

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Rub rail trim?

As soon as you try to match what you have, or find an acceptable replacement, you'll probably want to just remove what you've got, polish the aluminum track and clean-up & detail the rubber insert. You'll be surprised how good it'll turn out w/ some work.

$300 is probably a good ballpark, and it may not match what you've already got.

 

[Mattrick2oo3]

Re: Rub rail trim?

Eeek, well I wasn't expecting it to be cheap but that's a little salty. I already planned on polishing all of it up for this season so I'll just go ahead and do that still. I just hope it turns out looking decent, the PO had left a couple pretty gnarly deep scratches on it

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Rub rail trim?

Use the Mothers with some 00 Steel Wool. It will really help knock out those Scratches and put a Nice shine on it. When it Turns Black and pasty, use warm soapy water to wash it off. Might take a couple of applications to get it where you want it.

 

[gm280]

Re: Rub rail trim?

I as well can't understand the over-the-top cost of rub rails either. But like previously stated, clean the aluminum parts up and buy replacement insert, which is equally expensive too for what it really is... GT1000000 (GT1M) has some very good before and after pictures of his aluminum polishing techniques. Research his threads and take a look...

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Rub rail trim?

This link...http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/shining-aluminum-599830.html has a discussion on the topic and a video featuring GT1000000 that pretty much covers the topic.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Rub rail trim?

In your case, you are probably not going to be removing much of anything...it would be best to mask off the rubber insert, if you plan to leave it in there, with at least 3-4 layers of masking tape or 2 layers of duct tape...and do the same to the hull above and below...
If anything you can work on a section at a time...in other words just mask the area you plan to do...
Also, being that you are working on the boat, it would be best to do it all by hand...unless you have a lot of practice using a D/A, I would advise against it, because you could slip and cause damage to the hull...or the rubber insert...
If you have any deep scratches, you might have to start with something as coarse as 40-60 grit paper and work your way up to 800-1200 grit until you get rid of the previous grits scratches...
Once you get to the final grit...you can apply some Mother's and buff it out...if it still won't shine the way you want, go to a finer grit...by the time you get to 1200-1500 grit, you should be almost polishing the rail...
Be sure to use wet paper for the finer grits, 600 and up and add some dish detergent to your water and rinse often...
You can get a High Polish if you take your time and you should be able to avoid spending the big bucks for new rail by using some of that free elbow grease...
Have fun and post up some close up pics of your project as you work through it...
GT1M
PS- here is a slightly better video of the process I used to polish my rub rail using a D/A and Mother's...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b81XyMwfqq4