choppedliver

Could but probably not cost effective. I think they are going to get a can of rustoleum and be done with it. lo. Don't care if they rust, they will last a few years. Right now they are still in my garage.

choppedliver

Well I finally got around to it. I ground the rust off these suckers. The Upper tubing ( round ) is galvanized. The lower ( square is not). So the upper is really not of much concern.

On the bottom, I sprayed rustoleum industrial enamel down the tubing. I was pleasanly surprised at how far I was able to coat the inside. I am pretty sure it reached all the way to where the galvanized joins the regular steel.

For the vertical part, I wasnt as worried about rust from salt water accumulation, since it is vertical and will drain out. Now it is coated, so it should slow down , and I always rinse with freshwater.

On the horizontal part of the "L" , I took some 316 stainless steel plate I had laying around left over from building flounder gigs, and I sealed that sucker completely off. Just welded it shut.

I put 5/16" holes in each cross member and will be drilling same size hole in my trailer frame.

I topped the whole thing off with 4 coats of the same semigloss black rustoleum industrial enamel.

My pvc guideons with the LED lights will be covering the tubing. The wiring will run down the square tube.

Here is a picture so far



Remember this is an old boat, with an old trailer, which is half rusted already. These guideons will most likely last much longer than my trailer, and all they cost me was some welding supplies , some rustoleum, and about $2 in galvanized bolts. I already had the metal laying around.

imontoyu

Grind as most of the rust off them as you can, primer them, then put the truck bed liner paint on. When they rust out build some new ones, and just keep your eyes on scrap aluminum laying around here and there. If something doesn't look good about just do it again until its good for you.

hogdogs

I have sprayed hundreds of gallons of industrial enamel... We baked it at 175-200 degrees for an hour or 3. It really made it much more durable. It adhered much better as it flowed into the fine grooves we don't see with the naked eye...

Good luck with your new guide-ons!
Brent

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brasshog

If you look around you can find the rubberized coating that is made for dipping the handles of tools in for about $12. Wal-mart,hardware stores, and even Advance Auto sells it I think. I would just pour it through a couple of times or give it a bath. good rubber coating may help it last especially inside the tubes.