Best way to clean rubrail

[XStar08]

Hi folks. As winter has arrived (currently snowing, -9 celsius outside) I'm in tryingbto get these not so fun things done. Outside of the boat has been cleaned a few weeks ago roughly. Looking closely to the metal part of the rubrail I notice that it has tarnished (most likely caused by the really aggressive thing the dealer uses to get rid of these chalkstains).

So now there is the question on how do you keep your rubrail nice and shiny?

Thank you, XStar08

[Kyle]

I would try using some metal polish or a product called never dull. It comes in a can and its a cotton soaked material that you wipe or polish metal with. Then you use a clean towel to buff to a shine. Walmart has it.

Never Dull

[CC2MC]

Or Try Mothers Metal polish, also sold at WM. Did the dealer put some kind of acid on there and what kind of chalk do you speak of?

[XStar08]

Thank you for your replies.

I don't know what the dealer used but it was for sure some serious stuff since all the hard water stains where gone almost immediately (I mean the ones which occur when the boat is in the water regularly and not cleaned every time).

I already tried some metal polish stuff but did not work out. What do you think the rub rail is made of? Stainless steel or aluminum?

Greetings,

XStar08

[jgraham37128]

Originally Posted by XStar08

Thank you for your replies.

I don't know what the dealer used but it was for sure some serious stuff since all the hard water stains where gone almost immediately (I mean the ones which occur when the boat is in the water regularly and not cleaned every time).

I already tried some metal polish stuff but did not work out. What do you think the rub rail is made of? Stainless steel or aluminum?

Greetings,

XStar08

I'm going to say stainless.

[CC2MC]

Stainless for sure. Aluminum is too soft.

[milkmania]

Just an idea.......Tarn-X

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TRPpBk67hU

[CC2MC]

You try an electric buffer?

[ZachDaddy]

I would suggest the following:

The Mother's metal polish or Meguiers metal polish or Flitz metal polish. All are excellent cleaners and will yield the result your after.

Second...I would use a cordless drill and remove good many of the screws than are in the rub rail. I remove about six or so, this is far easier than cleaning out the phillip heads stainless screws. Then if you have an old wool pad and an obital polisher, at a low speed polish the stainless rub rail. If you don't have an obital then a micro fiber is your best choice. Your working toward seeing a lot of black it the rag or wool pad. Pressure/fiction is what works the best. You'll see.

If you are serious about the shine...after you buff, use lemon juice and wipe over the rub rail. A little goes a long way. It cleans out that black stuff from the pours of the metal.

Cleaning the rub rail is time consuming but if your a shine person its will worth the effort.

Also using Acetone on the plastic backing of the rubrail or any place on the fiberglass, will remove any marks and will NOT hurt the plastic or the fiberglass. Acetone is one of the ingriedents of the gelcoat.

Post the after pictures. I'll clean mine and post a few pic's with a "how to"

Cheers

ZachDaddy

[XStar08]

ZachDaddy, thanks for the hints which will be tried out as soon as it gets little bit warmer out there.

Do you recon taking a few screws out for polishing, putting them back in and moving on to another section?
I'll order a bit of Meguiers metal polish. Do you think a dremel will do the job or would I need another machine (orbital such as makita which could be also used to buff the hull if needed).

Thanks again for your tips, will let you know if and how it worked out.

XStar08