Polishing aluminum Rudder parts

Hi all,
As a winter project I decided to rebuild my rudders based off of information I found on this site. I has REALLY helped me understand how they really work. Anyway, I got the idea that I could polish the aluminum parts on my buffing wheel, and was surprised how rough the castings really are! It seems that just taking a file or sand paper to many of the edges would really help the performance, along with adding the plastic spacers, etc.

So has anyone really polished them up? I think I will be able to make them look like chrome when I am done. Once I get there, I will post pictures.

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Steve
2017 Hobie 16 "Cayman" sails 114795
1985 & 1973? Hobie 14 "Sea & Ski"

quick answer... yes you can polish your castings.

You will need a high speed rotary buffer. Orbital buffers will not cut it. Start off with a "scotch bright" pad on your buffer with an oil like WD40 and get everything all smoothed out and even. Then switch to a rouge polish wheel matched to the rouge you choose. Red is the most coarse. green is medium, white is fine, then go with the liquid aluminum polish to bring her up to the chrome finish.

Now how long will it last???? that all depends on the quality and hardness of the casting. The harder the aluminum the longer it will take to buff out but the longer it will hold the shine. If its soft it might loose its shine in a couple hours.

I have not buffed out my castings but plenty of fuel tanks and wheels on trucks.

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'73 hobie 16 restored 2011
'00 Seaswirl fishin boat

oh yeah don't do this in your living room. It makes a freakin mess. you will be covered in black by the time your done

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'73 hobie 16 restored 2011
'00 Seaswirl fishin boat

What you'll end up doing is removing the anodizing from the casting. Bare, pure aluminum forms a thin, oxide coating within minutes of being exposed to air, but it won't protect it from salt water. That's why the parts are anodized to begin with.

Steve, you're probably OK as you sail in fresh water, but even fresh water will dull the finish quickly.

Actually, that was going to be one of my questions. Once I have it shiny, what should I coat it with to keep it that way?

Or is all of this a waste of time and a fight against physics?

_________________
Steve
2017 Hobie 16 "Cayman" sails 114795
1985 & 1973? Hobie 14 "Sea & Ski"

Mbounds... I didn't realize the castings were anodized. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

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'73 hobie 16 restored 2011
'00 Seaswirl fishin boat

Another option is to polish them up and then find a local shop to anodize them. I'm sure there are quite a few in SE MI. There are different processes depending on the chemicals (acids) used, but the goal in each is to form a hard ceramic-like layer over the aluminum to protect it. In the end whether its worth it depends on how important the cosmetic appearance is.

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Jeff R
'88 H18 Jolly Mon
'10 F18 Closely Called
cramsailing.com

Oooooh, polished AND re-anodized... that would be cool... if I were going to that extent i'd pick a really noticeable color... and ask your anodizer what colors last longer, some are bound to fade faster in the sun. (I've noticed fade on my mountain bike parts)

One time took a BRAND NEW Hobie 20, drilled out EVERY rivet and had the whole boat powder coated, I mean every piece of aluminum... looked sharp for about 3 months, turned out they did not use a UV stabilized powdercoat... yup drilled out the whole boat AGAIN and re-powdercoated.

A few problems with powdercoating:

1) Increases thickness and in anything with a tight tollerence it was an issue and I ended up sanding it down. In some cases it helped loose fitting castings, but in most cases it was a royal pain.

2) Eventually corrosion will creep under the powdercoat. It will look great for a few years but eventually look like crap.

I did my boat parts in white (I was tired of getting burned on the hot aluminum in the summer time - and it worked! a LOT cooler!) It looked really, REALLY sweet... for a few years.

I sold the boat and saw it again many years later, from a distance it still looked OK, but up close everywhere was corrosion underneth anywhere near an edge or drilled hole.

In hind sight, I wish Hobie offered clear anodizing like in the early years, even though it does not look as nice as black... it's cooler in the summer time!

Cheers!

Hmmmm, interesting ideas! Since I have the orange tramp and sails, orange powder coated might look nice! You are right, powder coaters are everywhere in SE Michigan due to all the hot rodders.

And, I need to be sure to get a UV powder coat. Good tip. This would save some polishing, also. It just needs to be clean, not buffed.

_________________
Steve
2017 Hobie 16 "Cayman" sails 114795
1985 & 1973? Hobie 14 "Sea & Ski"