1991 175 Spirit Rub Rail

[ktcarter]

Has anyone ever taken the rub rail off, flipped it over, and reinstalled it? The top of mine is damaged by the sun and the bottom side is like new. My rub rail has the rubber insert....not metal

 

[DennisG01]

Rubrails are installed by hand. So if you reverse it, you're going to end up with extra holes in the boat since the holes in the rubrail won't match up to the holes in the boat. BUT... can you even reverse your rubrail? Usually they are not symmetrical from top to bottom (the bottom being slightly bigger because the deck/hull overlap).

Compound/buff it to make it look better.

 

[ktcarter]

Thanks for the reply. I've tried compound and buff. Unfortunately it its in too bad of shape. If i were to buy a new replacement rub rail would i not have the same problem with holes? This rub rail looks pretty symmetrical.....but is could just be my bad eyes.

 

[DennisG01]

Yes, of course, a new rubrail would present the same issues with holes. Doesn't mean it can't be done - just something to address.

The deck fits over the hull like a shoe box lid. That happens behind the rubrail. So the bottom edge of the rail will typically have an extra lip on it because of the "lid".

I haven't met a rubrail yet that I haven't been able to make look better. You may just need to be more aggressive (using a PROPER buffer). Once you get rid of the top layer of UV damaged PVC/Vinyl, the underlying material is still good. I've heard some have had some luck with acetone - but you need to move quickly since it basically melts the rubrail. I do not know how long that method lasts, though. But keep it protected with 303 and that should help.

 

[gw204]

I've got 50+ feet of OEM rubrail off of the 227 I threw away. It was a mid-Atlantic boat so the fading should be less than what you have on our boat. It's your's if you cover shipping.

 

[seasick]

Yes, of course, a new rubrail would present the same issues with holes. Doesn't mean it can't be done - just something to address.

The deck fits over the hull like a shoe box lid. That happens behind the rubrail. So the bottom edge of the rail will typically have an extra lip on it because of the "lid".

I haven't met a rubrail yet that I haven't been able to make look better. You may just need to be more aggressive (using a PROPER buffer). Once you get rid of the top layer of UV damaged PVC/Vinyl, the underlying material is still good. I've heard some have had some luck with acetone - but you need to move quickly since it basically melts the rubrail. I do not know how long that method lasts, though. But keep it protected with 303 and that should help.

I've had some luck with acetone. The trick is to make sure the rail is completely dry and that as you rub with the acetone, keep changing the rag are or rag. If it gets dirty, it reapplies the gunk to the rail. After cleaning, I use Mop & Glow ( floor wax). That holds up fore 4 months or so in the summer sun.

 

[ktcarter]

Will give the acetone a try. Brian I would love to take you up on your kind offer if it is still available.