I'm restoring a pair of SSM3s and was woundering what the trick is to repair pits in the bare aluminum lower. Do they have to be welded and sanded out? Or, is there a good filler which can be polished to match the existing aluminum? Any help is appreciated.

Rob..

Just sand your as$ off.......It sucks but its the only way besides painting them.....Poor castings..

They look a lot better if you polish the top cap and flat part of the top.........

Looks like you are going through the same project. Some of my pits look too deep to sand out. I was hoping for an aluminum filler of some sort.

spot weld and sand out. Also preheat the spot before welding.

if pitting is too bad , i suggest cleaning with acid , then sand blast , clean with acid-again ,sand blast a second time and use this

http://www.evercoat.com/productDetail.aspx?pID=37

to fill the pits then prime with a good 2 part epoxy primer..

I agree, best way to do it. I just don't want to reseal the drives when the seals burn up. Drives were rebuilt about 10 hous ago.

I'm going to try the spot putty. If they don't clean up I'll tear them down and weld out the pits.

Thanks for the help!

I picked up Aluminox. Looks to be similar to what you are recommending. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Just finished repair drysumping,new skegs & paint. I feel your pain.

Old style skegs