Pedestal removal...or not

[SkipperC]

Hi all,

I have a bit of corrosion around the rim of the pedestal mount, but nothing terrible. I’m in the process of reworking the Helm/guard rails/pod... halfway into the project and I’m thinking I should take care of the pedestal paint since I’m focused on this part of the boat.

Has anyone had success sanding and painting the pedestal while still attached to the boat. I’d rather not go through the labor of taking it off for such minimal surface level corrosion - or do you think my laziness is going to be the long shortcut.

Looking for someone to knock some sense into me.

Thanks

 

[Loren Beach]

I have used one-part marine epoxy point to touch up the dings in the base on ours and it has not peeled off in several years. If bare metal it has to be cleaned well... and better to prime first with some zinc chromate.

I have seen boats where the base corroded thru, but from water the looked like it came from underneath. I do not know if the corrosion started inside or was just blistered paint that was ignored for a decade or longer.

 

[SkipperC]

Thanks Loren - the sides are bare metal (hard to see in the photo)where the paint has blistered completely off. So I guess I’ll remove and do it right...once.

(with Zink chromate base as you suggest)

thanks for the info!

 

[Afrakes]

Wise Idea

The boat being in a salt water environment I think it best to remove and rehab thoroughly. Who knows what's going on underneath. Plus it gives you an opportunity to re-bed it.

 

[Christian Williams]

Different strokes.

If the rest of the pedestal is OK (paint adhering) , I'd just clean and sand the base and paint it.

Use a primer. Tape the tops of the stainless machine screws--painter's tape, make a circle with an exacto knife. Tape carefully around the perimeter at the deck.
.
I use Interlux Brightside but any gloss white will do.

The base gets stepped on, so I consider this a standard maintenance job. I just did it two months ago.

 

[SkipperC]

Hmmm. Pedestal seated in 5200...

Well, got all the fasteners off the pedestal, but it appears to inseparable from the deck as the base seems to be filled with 5200. No going back now, any thoughts on how to speperate without cracking the deck? Tried a chisel and palette - didn’t work...

Any advice appreciated...

 

[SkipperC]

Different strokes.

If the rest of the pedestal is OK (paint adhering) , I'd just clean and sand the base and paint it.

Use a primer. Tape the tops of the stainless machine screws--painter's tape, make a circle with an exacto knife. Tape carefully around the perimeter at the deck.
.
I use Interlux Brightside but any gloss white will do.

The base gets stepped on, so I consider this a standard maintenance job. I just did it two months ago.

wish I could rewind a few hours - ha!

 

[bigd14]

You need to find a can of Marine Debond. Then it’s a multi step process. 1. Attempt to scratch or score the existing sealant. 2. Spray some debond around the scored areas. 3. Wait awhile for it to work it’s magic. 4. Work at it with tools chisel, piano wire etc. 5. Repeat as needed. Eventually it will come off. Might take awhile but the stuff works. You have the advantage of lots of leverage with the pedestal. Good luck!

 

[Emerald]

I hesitantly mention heat. How you apply it is the problem. Would be nice if pouring boiling water on it was sufficient, but given the size above acting like a heat sink, have a hunch will need something more sustained like a hair dryer or heat gun. But if you could warm up that outer part of the flange of the base that's got the contact with the goo, it should soften up.

 

[Christian Williams]

Good excused to buy a Fein or Dremel oscillating multitool.

The flat-cut blade makes short work of jobs like that.

 

[SkipperC]

Thank you

Thanks everyone,

Really appreciate all the suggestions. Tomorrow is a new day and I’ll make use of these ideas.

 

[Red Squirrel]

When I took mine off. I put pressure on it from side to side and it eventually gave way. Rocking motion in a 360 degree fashion.
The sealant mostly adhered to the pedistal. No sealent on the deck. My core was rotted underneath.
I’m glad I pulled it. Getting the sealant off the pedistal was a pain. The best for me was acetone and a wire brush on a drill. I’m repainting the whole thing using Blue Water Revolution paint from the bottompaintstore.com.
i think I’m going to use Butyl tape when I put it back in.

 

[SkipperC]

Well, it all took me significantly more time than I had planned for (even with my boat multiplier of x2)...and I started multiple projects at once...bad idea if you want to actually sail the boat.

Thank you to all of you for your help and knowledge. This forum and the people on it are just amazing.

The pedestal came off using de-bond I bought from Westmarine - (I think it contains gold). The tools used were a palette knife, a multi-tool and vocal cords, for enough swearing to make the devil wince.

Railmakers.com (thanks for that info Christian) bent a 1" stainless tube to match the original 12.5inch centers for $120 bucks. They did a great job. I ordered new chain and wire assembly from Edson (I think with more patience, and better parts sourcing I could saved money getting the chain and wire elsewhere.)

I rebuilt the wheel brake with pad material from mcmaster.com. I don't like what I did with the screws fastening down the brakes as seen in the pic, next time I open the pedestal up, I think it would be better to use rivets. The pedestal itself was sandblasted, and turns out the aluminum was in good condition for its age, I had it powder coated by a shop that does a lot of work for marine applications : www.safewaysandblaster.com. I've read the pros and cons, and went with this solution.

There was a crack on the rail plate that holds the pedestal and rails together, I used Elco Welding in Venice, CA. Love them.

The pedestal is now mounted through deckholes, where the plywood has been routed out, and the cavities filled with epoxy. So, shouldn't have any water intrusion into the deck. The rails are sealed using grey butyl I ordered from https://marinehowto.com/bed-it-tape/

I purchased an i70s, and will be putting in an axiom 7" right next to it, that will fit the Scanstrut pod with some minor modification. I intentionally wanted to keep the pod smaller and closer to the original combi sized head. The rails and pod sit too high, the rail is a couple inches too tall and will get cut down when all is said and done.

 

[MMLOGAN]

Beautiful Work

Vince,

Great looking work. You should be very proud of how far you have come!

All the best,