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Refinish options for wedge bracket


goodmatt78

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I was lucky enough to get a spare manual wedge bracket to replace my original.  The original is in poor shape, but still works.

The new to me bracket is slightly pitted and needs cleaned up but way better than the original.

What options do I have to refinish?  I am thinking linex since it is fairly high build and I'm also considering anodizing, but I'm not sure how they can handle the pitting.

Any other ideas?

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Anodizing will show all the pits, scratches, etc. that are in the part before the process.  A rubber coating like Line-X will hide everything, but I question its ability to stick to aluminum long-term.  Perhaps you could have a welder fill the pits and then you can dress them flush and give the whole thing a "brushed" finish with sandpaper.  You could then have it anodized.  Better yet, have a chem-film (e.g. Alodine) conversion coat applied, then anodized it or prime and paint it with a good two-part paint like Awlgrip.

If your original bracket is pitted, it seems like you moor your boat for long periods in relatively conductive water.  The damage is caused by electrolysis, probably between the stainless parts and the aluminum parts under water.  A few strategically placed zinc anodes should help stop the pitting.

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Sealant will adhere just fine to the bare aluminum.  3M 4200 or 5200 will seal it to the hull without any additional coating at all. 

As far as refinishing the bracket, what about powder coating.  I did my swim step brackets 8 years ago and they still look new.  

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What ever that is used outside of anodizing should be carefully considered on the "inside" of the bracket (e.g. where the wedge actually mates to.  The fit/tolerance between the wedge and the wedge bracket is rather tight, so building up any thickness could make raising and lowering rather difficult.

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I wiped my wedge bracket down with Xylene and then rattle canned it in 2015 (primer then paint), and it still looks like I just painted it.  I didn't even remove it, just taped off the area and sprayed.

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56 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

I wiped my wedge bracket down with Xylene and then rattle canned it in 2015 (primer then paint), and it still looks like I just painted it.  I didn't even remove it, just taped off the area and sprayed.

Ha... That was what i was thinking.   However, I just bought a quart of smooth durabak..... So, I'll see how that works.  As a side, i was also thinking if using this product for my f150 bedliner.

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15 minutes ago, goodmatt78 said:

Ha... That was what i was thinking.   However, I just bought a quart of smooth durabak..... So, I'll see how that works.  As a side, i was also thinking if using this product for my f150 bedliner.

I would still prep and prime the aluminum to get your coating to stick properly.  The chem-film conversion coating would be best.  A local machine shop should be able to do it fairly cheaply.  Clean up the part yourself to save a few bucks.

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