Refurb a swim ladder??

I have some wear on my swim ladder. I'm not sure what sort of coating is on it. But wondering if I could somewhat easily remove the coating and have it powder coated. Thoughts??

Greetings,
Mr. JD. Don't know about a re-coat but it appears to be dipped on some sort of plastic. Similar to this maybe... https://plastidip.com/

Could be plastic, could also be cheap powder coating, if the surface isn't prepared properly and the item not heated before they coat it then it sits on the surface and doesn't connect to the metal properly, then when it fails it comes off in huge pieces, they usually lay it on thick so it lasts out of the warranty....

It would need to be taken apart, media blasted, then recoated correctly and it should be fine for years...

Jack

I had a similar condition on my Mainship 34HT when I bought it.
My thought was exactly the same as yours - strip & re-powder coat.
When i removed it and started to peel the old coating I found the upper angle & cross frame was SS so I simply removed & cleaned it up and remounted it after making the mods shown on the attached.
The write-up has the supplier's info and I have sent other MS owner to them and they were able to modify the ladder w/ new parts to add a step & make boarding easier. I aded the wider step pads to make it more coomfortable on bare feet...glad I did it's worked out well.

See Bacchus Projects - Swim Ladder Mods
I found a local shop that does powder coating - you may be able to do the same if you decide to go that route.

Yes, adding a step would be nice too. Thanks!

Those ladders I believe have a plastic coating.

For the price of refurbishing...you can get a new stainless ladder.

$88 - http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-step-Stai...ash=item2a7640d772:g:Zg0AAOSwcUBYP44o&vxp=mtr

$37 - http://www.ebay.com/p/good-3-step-s...tform/1646392809?iid=330864068456#UserReviews

Agreed.... with an extra step.

Wish I saw this thread last week! on my 37' MY I peeled off all the plastic, the aluminum was pretty corroded, scraped with a metal scraper then hit it with brass wire wheel on my drill. Primed with a paint called Zero-Rust that I use in auto restorations. Great stuff and sticks like powder coat. I finished it off with Rustoleum Refrigerator white enamel paint. Took about an hour in all and looks pretty good. If it acts up Im buying a new one on ebay!

Complete

Well.... I ended up purchasing a new THREE step ladder from GG Schmitt & Sons who made the OEM ladders for Mainship. The good news was it was a very simple replacement. I just had to modify a couple of holes in the ladder and screwed it into the existing mount under the swim platform. Also great to have that third step. The bad news you ask? Wait for it.... $600!

"Wait for it.... $600!"

Ouch!

JackD said:

I have some wear on my swim ladder. I'm not sure what sort of coating is on it. But wondering if I could somewhat easily remove the coating and have it powder coated. Thoughts??

Click to expand...

I have the same ladder on my 99 350, it is dripped in plasikote. The coating will easily peal off all the aluminum parts with a putty knife. Then the aluminum needs to be prepared for a new finish. The stainless mounting bracket is not as easy to clean, the bond is much stronger.

I stripped the coating on the aluminum and then blasted it with glass beads.
The stainless i used a "goo-b-gone" to strip it, it dissolves the plastitoke, a bit messy.

Once everything was clean, I used zinc chromate primer and bright white out drive paint. Came out nice and should last longer than the plastikote.

See attached images.

Nice work!! I took the lazy way out and spent $600 for a new one. Though I justified it because it has a fourth step. Getting too old for the shorter ladder!

i am thinking of replacing my ladder with the Garelick telescoping one. The issue I see is that the Garelick is a bit more narrow so will have to mount with new holes. Any suggestions on how to do this without through bolts? Can I just screw it in with six appropriate sized screws and seal with with 3M 5200? What was the original latter bolted into?

RE: Ladder bolts

I've since sold my boat. But if I recall, there were threads fiberglassed into the underside of the swim platform. That will be quite a bit of tensile load to rely on some screws and 5200, IMHO.

On mine the bolts that hold the ladder on were in a backer plate molded into the platform. I would use those same bolts for any replacement, even if you have to fabricate an adapter plate.

Thats what i figured. Thanks