Bow and stern rail cleaning

[footbrake]

My '83 Chris Craft Catalina 251 Which I purchased last season came from N.J. a saltwater boat. So I don't have to tell you what the bow and stern railings looked like. Is there anything that will bring back the shine to them or at least make them look good again? I have tried to steel wool a couple pieces but that does nothing. Other than replacing them which would be very costly I was thinking of painting them. What do you guys think? Thanks-Russ

 

[Scott Danforth]

assuming they are stainless, start by cleaning the rust. steel wool will leave scratches. those can be buffed out. I use a metal polishing buff wheel and some rouge

 

[footbrake]

There is no rust, it's just terrible looking metal, all blemished and everything

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

This may sound off but ketchup works wonders if you paint it on thick enough to stay over night. Then wipe it off the next day and hit it with a garden hose and a little scrubbing. You may find its helped a lot. I have cleaned many chrome stainless and aluminum parts with it over the years with good to great results. Its not very aggressive I have never had it eat anything away. I wish I had a before and after photo of the chrome for the sun visors and mirror on one of my antique cars done this way. Before the process you would have wanted to throw them away. Next day they looked really nice.

 

[JoLin]

Flitz metal polish. Nothing works better. It's the standard for salt water boaters in my area.

 

[Grub54891]

If you must use steel wool, Just don't! It embeds tiny pieces of steel in the stainless. You can use bronze wool, it won't leave rust specs like steel wool.

 

[ahicks]

Yup, another bronze wool fan here, for the same reason.

 

[dingbat]

Wash with soap and water then use Never-dull.

If it?s beyond that, fluid film and bronze wool

 

[jetboater]

I agree with the above posters—-don’t use steel wool—?-use a metal polish.


But if it doesn’t look as good as you want it to after that, I’d suggest having it powder coated rather than painting it. The finish is flawless and available in dozens of colors.

I’ve had several pieces done over the years and I found the price surprisingly reasonable. You?d have to remove the railing and take it in to the shop to have it done.