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Teak grab rail rebedding

J

John Wressell

Member II
I need to remove and rebed the teak grab rails on a 1983 35, MK III. Has anyone done this and if so do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,

John Wressell
 
treilley

treilley

Sustaining Partner
I have done this and I was not able to save the wood as it appeared to have been bedded with 5200. I made new ones and reattached with screws, bungs and 4000.
 
Cory B

Cory B

Sustaining Member
Leaks?

John or Tim,

I'm just curious why you are/were rebedding them... were they damaged, or have you noticed leaks? The design looks a little more solid and leak resistant than what was used on earlier Ericsons (although maybe not quite as attractive to my eye). When we bought our 35-3 I tracked down and fixed all the leaks I could find, but didn't notice any due to the grabrails.

Thanks,
Cory
 
treilley

treilley

Sustaining Partner
No leaks, just layers of bad finish. Mine had just been sanded and refinished too many times that I decided to replace them. They broke fairly easily when I tried to remove them.
 
Tom Metzger

Tom Metzger

Sustaining Partner
I did it on my E-34 last year. I started on one end with a sharpened putty knife/scraper working it in the top and side using a hammer. Round the corners of the scraper so you don't take too much gel coat. It takes a while, but is very doable without breaking anything.

I had no leaks, but didn't know any other way to do a good job refinishing them.
 
H

hodo

Member III
There is a solvent for 5200 available, and, it actually works! Also, once you get the fasteners out, You could use a piece of piano wire with a wooden handle on each end, and "saw" through the 5200.
Harold
 
Mindscape

Mindscape

Member III
How are they attached?

How were the grab rails attached? Are they screwed into a backing plate with wood screws or is there a bolt and nut arrangement?
 
Tom Metzger

Tom Metzger

Sustaining Partner
On the E-34, & I assume on the E-35-3, there are large sheet metal screws into the fiberglass and lots of sealant. I think the sealant is 5200, but I don't really know how to tell. There are plugs over the screws.
 
Tom Metzger

Tom Metzger

Sustaining Partner
OT - Screws

FWIW, those fasteners that are fully threaded are sheet metal screws.

Sheet metal screw - Rod with deep spiral threads the entire length and with one pointed end and a head on other end. Holds thin metal sheets together. Holds well in wood. Manufactured from metal. Can be rotated into or out of the object using a screwdriver or wrench.
Click to expand...

Wood screw - Tapered rod with spiral threads along 3/4 of the length and a head on one end. Fastens an object to wood or other soft material. Usually manufactured from metal with various sizes and drive types. Can be rotated into or out of the object using a screwdriver.
Click to expand...

Sorry, just being my normal PITA. :nerd:
 
S

SteveL

Member I
I recently had to replace a hatch. The hatch was screwed into the deck and it's rotten balsa and was also cemented by 5200 or something similar. The twist was that instead of bungs, the screws in the hatch were covered by 3/8" of epoxy! A very cheap solution was to borrow a friend's Fein saw with the 152 blade and cut through the space between deck and hatch. Then the whole thing lifted out. Okay, cheaper for me than for my buddy as Fein saws are around $400. But I hear there are reasonable Chinese knockoffs that are serviceable. Still, for the purpose of this thread, I think you could easily cut under the rail, and once it is apart, you'd see what you were dealing with. But cutting through a number of stainless screws ruined the bi-metal blade and I had to buy a new one. Still...
 
Loren Beach

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
SteveL said:
I recently had to replace a hatch. The hatch was screwed into the deck and it's rotten balsa and was also cemented by 5200 or something similar. The twist was that instead of bungs, the screws in the hatch were covered by 3/8" of epoxy! A very cheap solution was to borrow a friend's Fein saw with the 152 blade and cut through the space between deck and hatch. Then the whole thing lifted out. Okay, cheaper for me than for my buddy as Fein saws are around $400. But I hear there are reasonable Chinese knockoffs that are serviceable. Still, for the purpose of this thread, I think you could easily cut under the rail, and once it is apart, you'd see what you were dealing with. But cutting through a number of stainless screws ruined the bi-metal blade and I had to buy a new one. Still...
Click to expand...

I bought a Harbor Freight knock-off last year for $39.95. I got enough use out of it for my little project. Much Slower than stated/observed speed on a real Fein. Blade attachment is crude. It got really hot in sustained operation, and can only be used with gloves.
Upshot is that it's really cheap, and worth every penny! :rolleyes:

That said, the principle of a vibrating cutting tool is a great idea. Some day I will be buying the "real" version.

LB
 
G

gascolator

New Member
There's a special place in hell for people who won't learn the difference between adhesive and bedding compound. In it, they're forced to go about with a 1-gallon can of Dolphinite attached to their backside with 5200.
 
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