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E27 bow cap- white or plated?

Haiku

Member II
I've just replaced the cracked and chalky rub rail on my Ericson 27. In order to do this I had to remove the bow and corner caps. As I'm sure is common, they're corroded and sad looking and I'd like to refinish them while they're off.
My first thought was white- either powder coat or paint. I already have some one part polyurethane that I could use. Then I thought, what about chrome or nickel plating? Has anyone else tried this? How do you think it would look? Anyone have any idea how much it would cost? Ideally I would get it to be a close match to the rest of the stainless on the boat. I've already ground them down and slightly rounded off the edges. There are still some small corrosion pits and grinding marks. Would the plating look terrible unless they were perfectly smooth to start with? How about powder coating?

Any pictures of already refinished pieces would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 

davisr

Member III
I sanded, cleaned, primed with Zinc Chromate, and applied three coats of two-part polyurethane to mine. The pits remain due to the previous owner's neglect, but with the two-part poly they are not detectable unless you stand near them and consciously look for flaws. I have an E25, but I believe that the caps are identical to those on the E27.

Roscoe

http://ericson25.blogspot.com/p/introduction.html

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DSCN4898.JPG
 

Glyn Judson

Moderator
Moderator
Refinishing your bow & end caps.

Dear friend, Roscoe appears to have been right on track and the end result looks smashing. I might have been tempted though, to add a thickened mix of West System #105 epoxy to the pitting and over several applications, end up with a factory smooth result, then apply the final finish. Go for it, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey CA
 

Haiku

Member II
I think the white is the safe way to go, but I like the idea of the stainless steel look. It depends on cost and durability of course, but I think it could look good if done right.

I'm going to go talk to a couple of places tomorrow to get an idea of how realistic it would be.
 

Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
Aluminum issues

The caps are aluminum and were powder coated from the factory.

You can't really plate them in a marine environment. The issue with chrome plating aluminum is that the first strike is in copper. (This means that the first thing they do is plate it in copper), this allows the chrome to stick to the copper which is the second strike.

If you put something that is copper, over aluminum, with chrome over than in a marine environment.......... You get what we commonly call a battery.

Generally chrome plating doesn't work well on boats, that is why we have stainless steel, and bronze.

Guy
:)
 

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
12 years ago I simply sanded mine down and used Rustoleum spray primer and spray white simi gloss. They are still holding up fine. Not a complicated or expensive job at all.
 

Haiku

Member II
Thanks for all the responses. After talking to a local powder coating shop and reading the advice from you knowledgable gentlemen, I've decided to just paint them myself. While I like the idea of having them look like stainless steel, it looks like the only way to do it would be to have them remade in stainless steel. Not worth it.

I think I'll try the Interlux one part polyurethane I already have. I'm a little worried it will be too glossy but I can always try a semi-gloss spray after the fact if it is.
 
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