Corrosion Repair

[paddler]

So, I put my boat up for sale, and have had an offer of a trade-in from a dealer toward the purchase of a new boat. However, while thoroughly cleaning it last week, I noticed some corrosion around the windows and fasteners. This looks like crevice corrosion, and I assume it's merely cosmetic at this point. I removed the for sale ads, and informed the dealer of this problem. I also contacted the manufacturer, as I believe that poor manufacturing processes led to a preventable problem. They deny culpability, of course. The worst corrosion seems to be at the seams of the rubber window seals. Seems to me that a little silicon sealer would have gone a long way towards preventing this corrosion.

Anyway, I'm looking for advice on fixing this problem. I think the year I bought this boat, it's a 2006, the manufacturer used something other than Zolatone. I'm waiting to hear back from them. The windows will need to come out, all the affected areas sanded or wire brushed, then etched, primed and repainted. I'm a bit miffed the builder drilled holes after painting the hull and then pop riveted snaps and grommets without sealing them. Should I be?

Here are some photos, any input is appreciated. Sorry, they're cropped form the right, but I don't know how to fix that and they still give you the idea:

[mojomizer]

How honorable on letting the dealership know about the problem What was the dealerships response?????

Have you peeled back some paint in a inconspicuous area to see if it is just surface or really pitted?????

[goatram]

All Aluminum Boats used in the Salt Water has that problem to some degree. Northriver has that issue as not being warrentied now in their current Website. Remove the the pop rivets, Clean area, Alodine, Prime, and Paint. Windows you are correct they gotta come out to repair the frames.

From their Maintenance Manuel

"6. After running your boat in saltwater, it is required to flush the engine with
freshwater (see engine owners manual) and wash the entire boat, inside and out,
as well as the trailer with fresh water immediately after pulling the boat out of the
water. Washing the boat is a critical means of reducing the risk of crevice
corrosion and paint related corrosion. Washing should include: complete
flushing of the entire boat inside and out using freshwater and boat soap. Don’t
forget to wash the trailer as well. We also recommend that you wax your boat as
often as possible especially prior to using your boat in saltwater. Because
saltwater corrosion is not warrantable we don’t recommend mooring or excessive
use in saltwater. Should you drill any holes through the painted surfaces you must seal these holes with silicon or a rubber gasket. This is not a guarantee that
corrosion won’t occur, but it will help keep it to a minimum. North River Boats
also recommends the use of after market products that can help with saltwater
corrosion. Please carefully follow the directions on the container for use of these
types of products."

They paint with a automotive type paint then top coat it with Zolatone. They also use plastic washers between the SS snaps and sheetmetal

[welder]

Paddler, you sir are a gentleman as Mojo stated above^^^
Your repairs should be simple but a pain in the butt to do .
I'm NOT making excuses for ANYONE but we [ Mfg'rs and we private guys ] learn from others mistakes or lack of knowledge. One of our members up in Alaska had the same issues around his windows and it was a simple fix just a little time consuming .

The fix is easy, the fun part is getting paint to match.

[paddler]

This boat is a Hewescraft SeaRunner. I contacted the factory and reminded them that in fact they represent the boat as being suitable for use in salt water simply by virtue of the name. I told the warranty manager that it isn't called the "Fresh Water Only Runner". I don't mind that the crevice corrosion isn't covered by the warranty, but rather that they didn't do the simple stuff at the factory that would reduce the possibility. North River's explanation is far superior to what I received from Hewes.

My dealer says my boat is worth within about $2,000 of his original offer, the difference could be less. It's over all a very clean boat, and I'd put it's fishing capability and efficiency up against any other 20' boat. This corrosion is a pain to fix, but really is cosmetic.

I asked Hewes to send me some paint to match the original, that's a small gesture given the troubles I face. In my opinion, crevice corrosion and it's prevention should be well known to manufacturers, and they owe it to customers to perform simple steps in their processes to protect their customers from troubles down the road. Hewes let me down in this regard.

I'm talking to my dealer about a new NR OS, and my experience with the Hewes has taught me a lot. I'll continue to do my research, ask questions, etc. I'm thinking about just having Sharkhide on the outside, and no paint anywhere. I'll be talking to other makers, too, like Lee Shore, etc. I first saw Lee Shore's boats a long time ago, and judged that the Hewes offered a better value at that time. I have long admired North River, even before their troubles. I like the hull design with the chine flats, etc, plus what I judge to be high build quality. I've pretty much ruled out Silver Streak and some of the others. I may got to some of the boat shows, too. One thing I will guarantee is that I won't have any surprises with a new boat.

[kmorin]

paddler, the cause of the corrosion is the (methods of) installation of the fasteners and the windows, but its not limited to Hewes' boats the practice is widespread and the reason is either ignorance or an unwillingness to build well?

I have seen less than year old boats from Hewes with many other corrosion issues and their owners were also blown off. I can't rate Hewes high for these practices but then "we get what we pay for" and Hewes isn't the higher priced and therefore higher quality boat in the market.

If we're shopping on a budget, then a boat that gets us on the water and enjoying some time afloat is good. Hewes gets their owners on the water, even if they have substandard building practices when compared to other builders.

To clean these up the "best" I'd suggest you make a small sand blaster, work on containment and masking and just soda or bead blast the area with a very small nozzle and then "Etch;Aloldyne;Prime;Paint;Clear Coat those areas with an airbrush sized paint application.

Yes it's a small scale repair and not more than cosmetic at this point, but... you're right and Hewes' name will eventually be known for its less than standard building practices.

I have drawings of a homemade sand blaster (somewhere?) if you want them?

Cheers,
Kevin Morin

[paddler]

Thanks, Kevin. First, on the repair, most of it looks easy. However, the grommets are riveted to a rail that's closed on the ends, so drilling out the rivets will mean leaving the back side of the rivets under the rail unless I open up the aft end and blow the pieces out with compressed air or water or fish them out with a magnet. Welding it back up will be a pain due to the foam under the gunnel, so I'll probably have to leave it open.

I was thinking of using sand paper or wire wheel on most of the areas, but sandblasting is probably better for the rough surfaces. I have a small compressor, so if you have plans for a small sandblaster, I'm all eyes.

Hewes hasn't responded to my email from yesterday. I will make sure to be diligent about informing their customers, past, present and potential future, about their construction methods and unwillingness to stand behind them. Oh, and their wiring sucks, too.

[goatram]

Sand blast, Sand paper, or 3M Scotch Brite Disks. I would not use SS wire wheel to remove the corrosion; Reason is that the soft Aluminum will fold over and bury the corrosion. Alodine when applied to the surface will identify any remaining Corrosion by turning it black. You then need to rinse/flush the are to neutralize the alodine then dry and prime with a Zinc Chromite Primer. You can get alodine at West Marine as well as spray cans of the primer.

[paddler]

Thanks, guys. This doesn't look to be as big of an issue as I first thought. The R&R of everything will take more work than the repair job itself. Do I need to acid etch it before the alodine?

[kmorin]

paddler, drilled out rivets are a pain if you can't work to the back side, even if you were to replace with plastic washers and even plastic sleeves the seal with rivets isn't the best. I'd want to look at threaded stud mounted hardware but that implies working the back side of the surfaces, so if that can't be accessed, then I'd want to experiment with onesided installs and something like permatex/av-gasket or 5200 PLUS the plastic isolators because even with isolation if the install provides a water inlet into a foamed chamber- you're trading one problem for long term problems.

goatram, the reason I suggested a small nozzle blaster is that the small areas could be taped off, and blasted with more control and left coin sized where is a 4" buffer is used the area seemed like it would get larger than the original problems?

I'm thinking these repairs could be really small spots and strips, and with a plastic/tupperware type bowl taped over the blast area and a shop vac, the amount of abrasive could be so small it was contained. Then by using a similar bowl containment and painting with an airbrush, touch-up the areas in each sequence of coating should be as contained as possible?

Incidentally, about SS 4" power brushes. There is one with twisted wires that are all 0.012-0.014" diameter that seems to work well to clean and remove surface corrosion that will not excavate the metal if not left on the spot for a long time , the finer wire tips will float/bend and just remove a small surface film at low enough temperatures that the metal is cleaned but not melted and folded or 'smeared'.
http://www.airgas.com/browse/productDet ... t=WBU08284 this one has wire diameter fine enough not to cut, gouge and fold in my experience.

cheers,
Kevin Morin

[kmorin]

paddler, in case you're interested here are some images of the sand blast pot I've made plenty of times over the years from whatever is on hand that comes close to these functions.


first a pot, this one a real cone bottom shape that works to drain the sand, but the piping most important. The right hand side is the supply which pressurizes the pot and also flows under the pot to collect abrasive and go to the nozzle.

air hose will work fine.


this valve arrangement shows ball valves as they're available with 'full ports' so they're not a restriction unless you want them to be. This also allows you to 'tune' the air flow to the top of the pot, the outlet of abrasive and then finally to have a shut off at the base of the blasting hose, and you'd have one on the blasting end too- behind the nozzle.


very small diameter ceramic nozzles can be pushed into the hose and clamped, not elegant, but functional.
http://www.tptools.com/p/3394,390_Type- ... -3-Pk.html


I found a number of fire extinguisher bodies at an auction years ago, they made more than a few little abrasive pressure posts. The installation of fittings onto the side walls worked like this.

I've used these little blasters to etch glass, blast small pieces in good control and to lift paint in very small areas, and to work as open air bead blasters to clean out corrosion inside of rusted equipment. I've loaded them with sand of lots of types, especially softer 'filter' sand or white silica that is for large water filters, and some other products to get control of the blast. They work, they do require some operation and tuning but they sure do keep the sand in a tight area for good control.

Cheers,
Kevin Morin

[mojomizer]

Son inlaw has brought over some pretty crusty fishing reels and I had pretty good success with a dremel tool. Stiff plastic brushes and cotton type wheels removing corrosion.(I avoid metal brushes) I have also been able to carefully and slowly remove rivets with some precision grinding. No pressure letting the rpm's do the work.

I like the sand blast pot idea and will incorporate that into my fix it knowledge base. I wonder if a old wall texture paint gun and hopper (modified nozzel or tube) would work????????

Matching the splatter paint as Welder mentioned is tricky. Anyone know of any products for small touch ups?????

After All the work is done I have used a product called: http://www.saltx-saltremoval.com/ before storage.

[goatram]

No issues on my side. I have the 2" 3m Scotch brite pads that clean up the corrosion real good then I also use the acid to get the pin holes cleaned. The Bilges of the Commercial Airplanes like 737 and 727 get corrosion in them and it needs to be removed and repaired For Structural Integrity

I like the sand blast Idea with the cup containing the media. Again Zolotone can be bought in Spray cans of some of their colors. Ask Hewescraft what type and colors of paint that they used. Chris (Bumgardner) Used to be the Manager at NR and he helped me out with answering a few questions even thou I was not the Original Owner of my Boat So I received no warranty Support.

[mojomizer]

Color me blind and paint me blue......... I could not find Zolatone in spray cans???????????

[paddler]

Hewescraft sent me the paint codes today. It's PPG stuff, and $100/qt for the gray, plus $69/pint each for the black and white splatter, plus hardener.

I spoke with Bryan, the warranty guy, also. I very clearly explained that there was no information on crevice corrosion or it's prevention in my original 2006 owners manual, and also that the methods they used at the factory led to the eventual crevice corrosion I have developed. I don't know if they have changed their processes since 2006, but I advised him that they should be doing everything they reasonably can to prevent corrosion and educate customers on the topic. Bryan has agreed to send paint for the repairs if it is possible to ship it via UPS or USPS, Fedex, or whatever. He was actually cordial on the phone, and sensitive to the fact that their procedures have cost me money and caused me trouble.

[goatram]

Good to hear that they are willing to help you in getting the proper paint.

Mark I was under the impression that they sold their basic colors in spray cans. I Again stand Corrected; But I will Make it up to Jon. You will have to make due with what you have on hand. They do say a kit that you can use
http://www.autobodysupply.net/ZOL8209-p/zol8209.htm
Close enough for spot repairs

[paddler]

Reactivating this old thread. I tried backing into my garage with the bow door open, turns out it doesn't fit. Bent the door a bit and popped the window out on one corner. I removed the window and straightened the door, but there is corrosion around the frame. So I'm going to finally address the corrosion in the door and the other two windows. They're all out now and I have removed most of the corrosion using coarse SS steel wool. I need to address the pits now. Thinking about buying a portable sand blaster from Harbor Freight. Then priming with zinc chromate primer and repainting.

I have a few questions:

1) Hewescraft uses PPG paint, not Zolatone. I'd prefer using a spray can as I don't have an air brush. Not at all concerned about matching the existing paint as the repaired areas will be quite small and the boat is now 18 years old. Suggestion on what type of paint to use?

2) Can I reuse the old gaskets? They appear to be in excellent condition, but I wonder if they will seal as well as new.

3) I plan to run a bead of 3M 5200 around the frame after the install to seal the gasket against salt water intrusion and around the window to gasket to prevent leaks. Hoping to prevent a recurrence of the corrosion.