Dinghy Rub Rail Ugly

[djtj0214]

I have a Caribe Dinghy that I got from someone else. The rub rail is REALLY UGLY. It is a medium gray "rubber" on a Hypelon Dinghy with thousands of blackish mildew stain marks. I am looking for a method to remove the stains or a product that will permanently "stain" the rub rail. I was thinking black might be a good choice. I have already tried Outdoor Clorox, Mr. Clean pads, Bartender's Friend, and sanding - sanding works the best but it is VERY slow.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

[djtj0214]

Also, I plan to paint the dinghy but do not think the paint will perform well on the rub rail with constant chaffing against the boat (firehose & fiberglass).

[Jim Cate]

The rubbing strake will be made from PVC. I've had pretty good luck cleaning PVC with acetone. It dissolves the top layer where the stains lie, and will usually leave a reasonable surface. Costs little to try!

But, keeping that strake pretty is a daunting task, considering what its job is. Our dinghy has been called upon to lie against some seriously ugly surfaces... a normal hazard of cruising!

Jim

[Hudson Force]

I've had great success with Heng's rubber roof coating for painting my Carribe RIB.

[Cheechako]

I usually try acetone or lacquer thinner. One will work well and one will work marginally, depending on what you are cleaning. One may leave it a bit sticky also, so do a test somewhere. Seems like fenders clean very well with Lac Thinner IIRC.

[Redline452]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I usually try acetone or lacquer thinner. [...]One may leave it a bit sticky also

Ditto for acetone, works but does soften the material. A coat of wax afterwards (a pain to do but it helps seal the new surface).
Vim with Bleach or SoftScrub creme cleaners can work for some, as can MagicEraser if the dir/scuff isn't too deep.

Dinghy manufacturers should realize that rub rails should not be pale colours.

[sck5]

I thought this post was funny. I have purposely made my dinghy and outboard as ugly as possible to deter thieves. Amazing how ugly you can make them with a couple of spray cans of different color engine paint. Thieves will think twice (at least so far it has worked) since not only do they look like hell but they are not like any other dink or motor you ever saw

[JPA Cate]

sck5,

I hear that. I'm somewhere in between, I really don't want our dinghy looking ratty, though I completely understand not wanting it to be too tempting for theft.


The deal is, some people just like to keep their possessions in like new condition. That's a pretty hard job for someone who bought a used dinghy, but clearly, aesthetics matter to rossny.

Ymmv, mymdv, and that's all part of cruising.

Ann

[Hudson Force]

My ten year old Carribe and outboard are also unique in appearance.





Maybe these are too unique to be stolen. I'm familiar with the plan to make things less desirable to thieves by making them ugly, but I haven't seen the outcome. I think there is more protection by location and cable locking than by appearance.

[Lambretta]

Originally Posted by sck5

I thought this post was funny. I have purposely made my dinghy and outboard as ugly as possible to deter thieves. Amazing how ugly you can make them with a couple of spray cans of different color engine paint. Thieves will think twice (at least so far it has worked) since not only do they look like hell but they are not like any other dink or motor you ever saw

Most intrigued to see what your dinghy looks like
Sounds like a cunning plan ........... just cant bring myself to do that