Handrails and Rust...... How to address

[agoltz]

Hi Everybody,
I wanted to ask for some help on a vexing issue. The boat is a 2012 Freedom and its always been stored out of the water with canvas. Unfortunately we are now at that point where Im starting to see rust around the handrails (back, in boat) and that is creating stains that go down to the floor. I can clean them with a rust remover, but this is like taking an advil for a kidney stone. I need to remove the stone! Any suggestions on how to address more permanently? The handrails dont appear to have an easy way to unscrew (from the inside). Argh - why cant grady offer these things as plates with external screws so I can clean, seal and re-bed!
Thanks in advance!

 

[Sdfish]

I'm following this one, I have the same struggle. Every 2 months I take out the rust remover...

 

[Bloodweiser]

23 yo Grady no rust issues. What I do is spray and wipe all bright work with T9 before and after use. Maybe too late if rust is already established itself ??

 

[seasick]

Rusting of the handles is one thing but often the problem is rust bleeding from the mounting bolts. Stainless will rust under the right conditions; some moisture and not a lot of air. In general if it is the mounting bolts or hardware or even the underside of the handle mounts, the fix is to rebed the bolts with sealant and/or rebed the mounts. That usually means that the hardware has to be removed, the rust cleaned off, the fittings coated with a sealant like Life Caulk and then bolted back on.
If the handle it self is rusting on an exposed surface, it is either a crappy stainless alloy or defective

 

[DennisG01]

What Seasick said. Research "crevice corrosion". Stainless steel stains less... But it needs oxygen to self protect itself. This is where that crevice corrosion comes in - small, minute pockets where moisture can gather. This is actually why you never see SS fittings used below the waterline - bronze or Marelon are the only allowed materials. You may be able to seal the crevice from the outside, but it would probably be short lived given how small the bead of sealant would be. The best method is to figure out the way to remove it and bed it properly.

If you can't get to the nuts on the back side, a 4" or 6" deck plate is cheap and easy to install in the vertical sidewall and would give you great access with absoultely no compromising of structural integrity of anything.

 

[Sea Shift]

Hi Everybody,
I wanted to ask for some help on a vexing issue. The boat is a 2012 Freedom and its always been stored out of the water with canvas. Unfortunately we are now at that point where Im starting to see rust around the handrails (back, in boat) and that is creating stains that go down to the floor. I can clean them with a rust remover, but this is like taking an advil for a kidney stone. I need to remove the stone! Any suggestions on how to address more permanently? The handrails dont appear to have an easy way to unscrew (from the inside). Argh - why cant grady offer these things as plates with external screws so I can clean, seal and re-bed!
Thanks in advance!

"On/Off" hull cleaner is the ticket your looking for! Just beware of where the run-off goes. It can ruin galvanizing and some plastics. Great stuff thought

 

[Fishtales]

I've seen the problem in the past on thru hulls, handles and bow rails on some boats. All you can do it seal the edge with caulk and stay on top of it. SS will rust in the right conditions.

 

[grady33]

What Seasick said. Research "crevice corrosion". Stainless steel stains less... But it needs oxygen to self protect itself. This is where that crevice corrosion comes in - small, minute pockets where moisture can gather. This is actually why you never see SS fittings used below the waterline - bronze or Marelon are the only allowed materials. You may be able to seal the crevice from the outside, but it would probably be short lived given how small the bead of sealant would be. The best method is to figure out the way to remove it and bed it properly.

If you can't get to the nuts on the back side, a 4" or 6" deck plate is cheap and easy to install in the vertical sidewall and would give you great access with absoultely no compromising of structural integrity of anything.

Exactly! I saw a video somewhere that discussed this and how to solve it. From what I remember, removing the handle and resealing or adding new screws was the solution.

 

[ROBERTH]

What seasick and others said! Find a way to remove it, polish the SS and hardware, if need to use a wire wheel on a drill to clean the threads of the bolts, bed really well with a quality caulk so all surfaces that are hidden are coated to prevent creeping rust later.
Also, I notices that when I used some rust remover on the SS on top of my hardtop, the rust went crazy on these parts. Seems SS does not like the rust remover chemicals.
I have since removed the hardware, polished up with rubbing compound, coated with Sharkhide and re-installed. No more rust issues.

 

[jillyrubyjane]

You can try using star brite EZ-ON EZ-OFF to clean it. My hull had rust stains as well as dark stains from mangrove tannins. I sprayed this on and the stains just start to melt and run. Didn’t have to scrub at all.

 

[Dhirsh]

Clean it up and treat it with collinite wax. We make our boat detailers us toothbrushes for the tight spots. I respectfully disagree with using on and off or any acid on metal unless you are positive It wont damage your finish. It will likely make rust come back double the next time. . Those acids are good for removing rust stains from fiberglass or tannin stains on hulls but its basically muriatic acid so you definitely dont want it on aluminum and you probably shouldn’t use it on any metal whatsoever. Elbow grease and some sort of protective barrier to help prevent rust is the answer, not the easy answer, but the correct one. ANd if you have fasteners that are uncontrollably rusting you might just have to replace them. Often times its the easiest and least expensive way to do it. Just clean up the old rust with cleaner wax before installing the new sealant and fasteners.

 

[Fishtales]

Found this stuff called Quick Glo on Jay Leno's Garage and it looks interesting as a rust cleaner and also as a protector.
Going to try on the motorcycle, old car and of course the boat... They make 2 versions. Can get on Amazon or direct from the US manufacturer.

 

[Fishtales]

Wolds Best Rust Remover | Rust Remover Bicycles | Rust Remover Harley Davidson | Cleaner for bronze, copper and more... (quick-glo.com)
Forgot link....

 

[Cap'n Pete]

I contacted the Grady factory about this problem on my new Freedom 325. Only the two rail ends on either side of the motors were showing rust as they entered the decking near the motors. The factory engineers' thought is that while Stainless itself doesn't rust easily, any fine particles or shavings of stainless will rust. While the factory tries to clean the embedded rail ends before adding the final fiberglass, some of these small particles may make their way into the final product. Since the ends are embedded and not accessible, the best solution they had was to first remove the rust causing the stain on the fiberglass, then let everything completely dry, and finally fill the very small circular area around the rail and deck with Dow 4000 sealer. Dow 4000 is hard to work with, but with lots of care I did seal both sides with a fine line of Dow 4000. It has been six months and so far, so good.

 

[seasick]

I can't seem to find product info on 'Dow 4000'. Is that the correct product name?
Thanks

 

[Cap'n Pete]

Sorry. In my rush to reply I didn't get the package of material that I had in the garage and just operated from memory. Got it now.
The material that the Grady factory recommended that I use is "3M Marine Adhesive Sealant Fast Cure 4000 UV". The blister pack # is 05280. West Marine sold it as did Amazon.
I was warned that you should buy a small amount and use it at one time, because it cures in the tube after opening. This is true! My 3 once tube is three months old and is solid as a rock.
I used painters tape all around the area because the adhesive is very difficult to remove once applied. I enlarged the area around the railing as it penetrated the decking just a little with a knife, then applied the 3M 4000 in the cavity using the included tip and a toothpick to be sure it penetrated into the area around the rail as far as possible. All this before it "cured" on me!
I have a Grady White decking that is white but the 3M 4000 is still a little whiter.
Sorry for the confusion.

 

[seasick]

Thanks, I found the data sheets.

 

[ROBERTH]

I store my caulks in the refrigerator and get at least 6 months out of them. If not, like you said, rock hard in very short order.

 

[Ted R]

Flitz polish works great on the SS as well.

 

[seasick]

I store my caulks in the refrigerator and get at least 6 months out of them. If not, like you said, rock hard in very short order.

I wanted to look at the data sheets to see if 4000 was a similar compound to 4200/5200 and it seems it isn't. I store 5200 in the freezer and it can last a long time, a year or more. The freezing doesn't hurt it but I don't know the 4000 would act the same way. 4000 is a new thing to me and I knew nothing about it.