Fiberglass Over Metal?

[crokett™]

The top rail of my pool is metal.  There are some spots that will need paint.  The rail under the pool ladder is pretty bad.  I am going to move the ladder but want to do something to protect that rail after I fix the damage.  I was thinking of things like truck bed paint - if I could get it colored white and could brush it on, or even flex-seal.  Another thing I thought of was fiberglass applied to the top rail.  I've never done fiberglass.  Would it adhere to the metal  How well would it take paint?

[daddo]

I wouldn't advise it. A good strip, clean and sanding and epoxy primer and paint might be better.

But if you insist; Sand it down to the bare metal with a rough grit, about a 36-40 grit, then wash it with soap water and then clean with acetone, then give it a coat of epoxy primer and let that cure, then use an epoxy resin (Not polyester) with your mat. If there is any flexing it will crack and possibly come loose or/and let water in behind it and make it worse.

Don't know about bed liner, but that stuff sticks very well as I have seen.

[crokett™]

I'm going to start with the Rust encapsulator and some paint. After that I will see if I can come up with something to keep the water off of that rail.

[Cooler]

You might hang some boating zinc annodes to the ladder.  It will probably reduce the amount of galvanic corrosion.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/martyr--z...gI0YvD_BwE

Also use a high zinc content primer.  It will perform better than other choices.  

The chlorine does two things.

1.  It is corrosive on its own.

2.  It is an electrolyte that conducts electricity.  It promotes galvanic reactions between dissimilar metals.  So it the steel is near something that is less active on the periodic table it will accellerate the corrosion.  But putting the zinc nearby, the zinc becomes the sacrificial metal thus protecting the steel from corrosion.

[crokett™]

You might hang some boating zinc annodes to the ladder.  It will probably reduce the amount of galvanic corrosion.

I have a bad habit of not supplying enough detail.  that is my fault.  The ladder is plastic and doesn't touch the rail.  The top rail is rusting because people climb in and out of the pool and the water gets on that one rail. There are other rails with rust spots, this one is the worst.    After I fix/stop the rust I want to figure out a way to keep most of the water off the rail.   I will see if I can find some kind of shroud that can drain the water back into the pool or otherwise keep the water off the rail.

[Roly]

I have a bad habit of not supplying enough detail.  that is my fault.  The ladder is plastic and doesn't touch the rail.  The top rail is rusting because people climb in and out of the pool and the water gets on that one rail. There are other rails with rust spots, this one is the worst.    After I fix/stop the rust I want to figure out a way to keep most of the water off the rail.   I will see if I can find some kind of shroud that can drain the water back into the pool or otherwise keep the water off the rail.

Would a waterproofing tape work ?   Roly

[Cooler]

West Marine (the makers of the West System) sells an epoxy product designed to coat over rust.  It is prohibitively expensive in the 5 gallon size.  Maybe you can find smaller sizes.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/sea-hawk-...cordNum=14

They show a number of more pedestrian products including some Rustoleum products.

https://www.westmarine.com/search?Ntt=rust+paint

If you are able to clean the rust off prior to coating the epoxy primer is recommended and it is much cheaper.  It is a two part epoxy and I am not sure what the open time is.  I've never used it.  :

https://www.wholesalemarine.com/sea-hawk...gLP1PD_BwE

[crokett™]

I ordered this stuff.

http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-black-r...-rust.html

Next week I will paint the rails with it, then paint over that with rustoleum. I want to take an additional step on the rail where the ladder is.

A waterproof tape might work. I'd prefer a solution that allowed air circulation so that any water that did get in dried out. I'm thinking of something like a section of large diameter pvc cut in half, or some kind of rubber or plastic sheet fixed to the pool deck that drapes over the rail and into the pool.

[Snipe Hunter]

Your link isn't working. I'm curious. Eastwood has some nice stuff but they can be real pricey. Did you get a rust converter or a rust encapsulator?
I'd steer clear of fiberglass. Probably not the right application. You would still have to cover it with something like gel-coat. Something that will bond to fiberglass. Not much sticks to polyester resin without spending $$. When I use it, I sand it down to provide "tooth" the best I can and skim it with body filler (bondo). Bondo is also polyester but it has other goodies in it like talc and adhesion promoters (glue) to help primer adhere to it. Painting over straight fiberglass needs primer made to stick to polyester and still, it is problematic.

[crokett™]

I bought a rust encapsulator. that link is from a previous thread I made here specifically on rusting pool rails. this thread is more about how to protect the rail section that is under the pool ladder, since it sees a lot more water.