Slider Rail and UHMW Block Questions

[lrfrey]

I must have looked at several hundred RV's over the past few years, and now I can't remember if folks paint the slider rail or leave it raw. (If painted does the paint hold, if raw what is used to keep it from corosion?)

Also, what is the best method of triming the UHMW slide block? I tried a band saw followed by a belt sander on a scrap piece, and it really doesn't work too well.

Larry

 

[kevinh]

I must have looked at several hundred RV's over the past few years, and now I can't remember if folks paint the slider rail or leave it raw. (If painted does the paint hold, if raw what is used to keep it from corosion?)

My paint shop gave me the choice, but they recommended NOT painting it. The paint apparently rubs off. If you do paint it, I guess put some of the clear teflon tape from the flaps on the top.

I'm going to get my rail annodized someday - I should have done it before installing onto the plane.

 

[lrfrey]

Thanks Kevin. Annodizing sounds like a great idea, never thought of it.
Larry

 

[kevinh]

Thanks Kevin. Annodizing sounds like a great idea, never thought of it.
Larry

btw - the annodize place will charge you for the 'batch.' If you do the back rail you might want to do the side rails to match.

 

[sf3543]

I painted the rail on my -6, but it wore so I stripped it and had it chrome plated with a satin finish....looked great.
Another option is to just polish the aluminum. (Cheapest option and looks just as good as chrome.)
If I had to do it now, though, I'd send it to Cradin Technologies to be coated either with ceramic, which looks like chrome...or he has other types of coatings such as teflon, etc.
Prices are about 24% of chrome. I had a pitot tube and mount done for $45 (Chrome priced out at over $100) and the entire exhaust and intake set, including the heat muff and several brackets and clamps, done for $416.

 

[JordanGrant]

Polish it

Dude, if you ask me, the right answer is to polish the rear slider rail and the side slider rails.
Cost: less than $10 if you buy a polish wheel and some polish from Lowe's/Home Depot.
Time: Depends on how deep of a shine you want, but guaranteed to be less than the time it takes to drop off and pick up your parts from the chrome/anodize/ceramic shop. It took me a total of about an hour to do all three pieces.
Quality: Looks fantastic. A fellow builder even asked me if I had them chromed - nope, just polished. Scratches and minor damage do very little to ruin the finish. Easy to repair.

Jordan Grant
RV-6 N198G

 

[billy d]

Canopy rails

I buffed the side rails with scotch brite (looks like a satin finish ) and made the rear rail out of stainless...no paint.
that way, any scratches/rubs can be easily fixed

billy d

 

[Rosie]

Stainless Steel Tape

This rail gets kicked quite a bit, and I would not recommend painting it. I polished my rail, and it cleans up quickly with some 'Mothers' polish. I recall seeing one that was covered with stainless steel tape that looked very nice. Rosie