342 Radar arch repair

johnep

The radar arch on my 2005 342 has several rust bubbles coming out.  I figured I could grind it down and prime and paint those areas.  After grinding them there seems to be bondo in several areas.  Is that normal? My main reason for doing this was to fix leaks when my canvas is up. Not sure if I should use regular bondo or a marine grade if there is such a thing.  Seems my minor repair is turning into a much larger job.

LaRea

Is it near the base?  Some early 342s suffered freeze damage from water being trapped.  A gelcoat repair from 12-13 years ago might require touch-up at this point. 

Can you post some photos? 

Black_Diamond

So the structure of the arch is aluminum, so that is not ‘rust’ per se.  You will need to get to bare metal, then prep/prime/paint for aluminum. The arch is glassed/gel coated for the finish. 

johnep

The arch is coated with a type of filler, not fiberglass. I have found a two part epoxy sealer primer.  Once that has set up I will fill in the areas and gel coat it.

Handymans342

I researched drilling the screw holes out and taping them and using high strength nylon machine screws to avoid the corrosion from 2 dissimilar metals. 

Cableguy Greg

The arches are painted with an AwlGrip style paint, not gelcoat. That is why they fade at a different rate than the boat itself.

raybo3

Why not buy  aluminum screws?

Handymans342

raybo3 said:

Why not buy  aluminum screws?

Not strong enough

raybo3

Handymans342 said:

raybo3 said:

Why not buy  aluminum screws?

Not strong enough

Not true. We use them all the time. 

Handymans342

They may be if they are machine screws. Why did the factory use stainless screws into Alunimum knowing it would cause issues later on with corrosion?? Heck, why did the chicken cross the road?? LOL

raybo3

 all boat manufacturers use s/s screws into aluminum. Its just easier I guess.  

Black_Diamond

Chicken question answer: to see his friend Gregory Peck. 

SeaHare

Does anyone know what paint or product to use for a rinker arch ( 01)? I need to touch mine up from the zipper hitting it in the wind

Handymans342

I was told by Rinker it is the same color as the Ford vans .Oxford white

Liberty44140

Handymans342 said:

I was told by Rinker it is the same color as the Ford vans .Oxford white

I believe that is just for the boats that used the bright white color. The boats that had the off white/light beige color used a different color. My gelcoat and arch are a lot tanner than a 95 Econoline

My boat is "sand white" above the rub rail and on the arch. Here is what matches perfect for my gelcoat repair:

https://www.iboats.com/shop/spectrum-color-rinker-2000-2005-sand-white-color-boat-gel-coat-patch-paste-repair-kit.html