I’ve been working on a few miscellaneous projects lately. When we went to the boat show back in April we found a product called Spotless Stainless. It’s a gel-like substance that you put on rusty stainless steel, let it sit for 3o minutes then wash off and the rust is gone. It wasn’t that expensive and I’m all for spending money if it will save me hours of scrubbing. The only catch is that you can’t let the product dry, which is kind of tough in the delta where it’s windy most days. The guy selling it said to use plastic wrap to keep it from drying. So I tested it on a few areas that were really rusty and lo and behold, it works! Now, it’s not perfect because our stainless has 37 years of accumulated rust, but it’s certainly WAY better than it was and more than passes the 10-foot rule. And I didn’t have to spend hours scrubbing with the Flitz. Plus, it even removes the rust that gets in under the screw heads. No amount of scrubbing will get that off.
The other project I started is sanding the teak handrails. Our exterior handrails were an abomination; nothing but sharp, jagged hand-manglers. We were going to replace them with stainless handrails, but I thought I’d see if the teak could be salvaged. We took them off the boat over a year ago and they’ve been stored in the shed. This job probably would have been impossible if they had still been attached to the boat. I spent a few hours sanding them with 120 grit sandpaper. There were a few spots that still had the old Cetol, but it flaked off pretty easily. Once they were rough sanded, I used the teak cleaner and brightener then lightly sanded with 150 grit sandpaper. They’re like brand new handrails now. I still need to finish them with Cetol and the gloss coat, but first we need to drill new holes in the cabin top for them so we can cover the holes with teak plugs. But before all that we need to paint the cabin top and apply the non-skid.
Great before and ‘aft’ pictures. Get it? Aft? Isn’t that a boat term?
Hi Suki!
On the teak handrails: I agree they can be made to look new especially if you have them off the boat, however, keeping them looking great is an ongoing task for as long as you own the boat. Refinishing them after you mount them again will always be more difficult. The alternative is stainless as you mentioned, but to replace teak hand rails with stainless gets into custom metal work which is wildly expensive. Ok, let me get back to sanding my handrails again:)
Very true, Rich. I’m glad we didn’t go with stainless grab rails. Not for the expense, but mainly for the looks. I’ve seen a few Tayana 37’s that have done away with the majority of their teak above deck. Eyebrow mouldings, grab rails, cabin trunk trim, etc., gone. The boats just don’t look like a Tayana anymore. I’m all for tearing off teak decks and eliminating 8000 potential leaks, but I still love the look of a classic Taiwan boat.