Faded rails can actually be restored using Black WOW or Mother's Back to Black. I know it sounds strange since those are products meant for trim plastic but it works. Depending on how faded they are it might take some elbow grease and a couple of coats but it's worth a try before removing them and sanding em down. I did my rails this past weekend. They were only slightly faded but they did look gray rather than black. After a single coat of Back to Black they look brand new.