Removing the Hand Rails?

[gfspencer]

How hard is it to remove the hand rails on a 23/3 (or any other cruiser)?  I want to sand them down and it looks like it would be easier to do if the rails were off the boat.

[fawsr]

not at all hard to remove ... at least on a 19 ... i did remove mine to sand them but ended up just cleaning and putting teak oil on them. They look much better now and I really think sanding them down would have taken most of the character out of them.

[Bob23]

gf:
   When I first bought my 23, or should I say, when she first adopted me, I removed all teak that was removable, sanded to bare wood and in a heated shop (it was winter) applied my 7  coats of Flagship varnish. Removing is easy and I made stands using drywall screws in a small piece of pywood sticking up into the existing holes in the bottom of the handrails.
    While the varnish route is a lot of work, I still remove any teak that needs attention to refinish it. I will do minor touch-ups on the boat howerver.
   The only teak I couldn't get off were the eyebrow trims on the cabin sides and the winch pads.
bob23

[jgsharpe]

I unscrewed the handrails in attempt to remove them for refinishing, but no amount of pulling would get them to budge.  Maybe someone used 5200 on them.  Any tips?

[wes]

Yes - they are bedded in 5200. Get a can of Debond Marine Formula, squirt it along the length of the rail at the top. Wait an hour. Repeat. Wiggle a sparkling knife in the joint when it starts to loosen. Pry hard, so that the wood breaks. Swear and kick the family dog. Call Hutchins and order new ones.

[jgsharpe]

My sympathies Wes, and thanks for the warning.  I guess I'll break out the blue tape and varnish in place.

[fawsr]

I've not tried it, but others on this board say heating 5200 with a hair dryer or heat gun will soften it up and facilitate removal ...

[gfspencer]

I unscrewed the handrails in attempt to remove them for refinishing, but no amount of pulling would get them to budge.  Maybe someone used 5200 on them.  Any tips?

Same here.

[skip1930]

" I unscrewed the handrails in attempt to remove them for refinishing, but no amount of pulling would get them to budge.  Maybe someone used 5200 on them.  Any tips? "

I removed mine on a CP-19 about five years ago. Unscrew and take out the fasteners, heat to 160 deg F. and rubber mallet beat them off. At 160 deg F. you almost can't hold your hand on the fiberglass, or if you will, a black car on a hot day on the beach is about 160 deg F. And I put them back down with 3M-5200 slow set again.

skip.