Rusty skimmer questions (in-ground pool)

[RamblinDawg]

Just finished winterizing my pool before the cold weather really hits here in Georgia, and one of my maintenance items was to address rust around the skimmer faceplate. My liner was installed in May 2009, and I have never had any noticeable leak issues, but I have noticed rust around the skimmer faceplate.

My thought was that the gaskets were missing/damaged and that the rust was from the pool wall, so I got a new set of gaskets and a new faceplate. However, when I removed the faceplate, lo and behold, it appears to me that the skimmer edge that mates with the faceplate is actually rusting. (Gosh, I thought all the skimmer parts were plastic?)

Any ideas as to how I should handle this? I believe this is an American Products Admiral skimmer, original to the pool from the early 80s.

Again, what I *think* I am seeing is: metal > gasket 1 > vinyl liner > gasket 2 > faceplate. I am thinking that I should smear some silicone around the inner edge of the skimmer faceplate.

Also, how likely is it that the faceplate will leak around the screws? It appears that previous installer smeared silicone on the screws before tightening them.

Any help would be appreciated... I can't find much info about these specific parts online. Thanks!

 

[JamesW]

The metal is probably the pool wall, not part of the skimmer. Silicone sealant should help prevent further rust migration. The screws don't usually leak, but you might want to use silicone on them as well to prevent rust stains.