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Painting Mast

3K views 18 replies 14 participants last post by  SloopJonB 
#1 ·
Anyone have any ideas on the best way to paint an Alum. Mast.. Best Paint.. Prep.Ect
 
#3 · (Edited)
Just did this this winter. Temperature and humidity make the weather windows tough.

I took the mast down to bare alum, and smoothed. Then wash clean of sanding dust...

By the way, find a good random orbit sander, make sure it's not a finish sander, and use 80 grit... or you'll be there quite a while.
Then I used primekote, roll and tip. Looked OK. By the way, I mistakenly thought that I didn't need to prime my spin pole... its flaking off in huge chunks now... that primer is really what makes it all possible.

Parts of the mast has knocks in it now (1 season)... where things have scraped the mast. Painting black wasn't my best decision. I looks real slick, but its not real practical (each ding shows silver/gray of primer underneath)... white would hide much of it. I think any topcoat paint would work over that primer.

Then next step I did was 2 part perfection black... I didn't wait until it warmed up enough, and my pole barn had too much dust, so it was totally my fault. That being said, it's holding up well, but still has more bubbles and runs than I wanted. Still looks light years better than before.

Sanding off flat white original 30+ yo paint...

Primed:

Painting

Final result... sailing last night :)
 
#4 ·
I used automotive paint to touch up the mast after purchasing the boat. Applied it with the Preval sprayer.
Paint was Nason 2k urathane, 3 parts, paint, reducer and catalyst. Not too happy with the Preval, kinda splattered a lot.
 
#6 ·
1. Next time remove the integral 'strainer' from the Preval dip tube, filter the paint (with a fine mesh conical automotive paint filter) before you load it into the Preval sprayer.
2. Unlike an automotive quality spray gun with a self-cleaning nozzle, the Preval 'tips' are flat and non-self cleaning. Therefore, continually wipe the Preval spray nozzle with a cloth soaked in solvent to prevent paint build up as you spray. The Preval 'nozzle tips' are flat faced and non-self cleaning.
 
#7 ·
Check out TimR's post on this topic. Very Much like Scnool's post but more in depth. A couple of things I've picked up. 1) Set your mast up with a pivot each end so you can easily rotate it as you go. 2) Start painting at the mast head and work your way down. Birds will bear witness to your lousy painting technique but by the time you approach the spreader mounts, you'll have it down and paint like Picasso . . . Wait. That would put your mast head on the end of a spreader sticking out from the mast partners and it would probably have breasts, one above the other. Maybe Davinci.
 
#9 ·
Zinc Chromate on a freshly sanded mast is the key to a long lasting finish. It is more properly termed a tie coat than a primer - it will stick to aluminium where few or no other coatings will. Paint will then stick to the ZnCr.

I've heard it's getting hard to get in the States due to EPA regs but aircraft manufacturers and service outfits have to have a way to coat bare aluminium so whatever they use if not ZnCr will work as well.
 
#10 ·
I've heard it's getting hard to get in the States due to EPA regs but aircraft manufacturers and service outfits have to have a way to coat bare aluminium so whatever they use if not ZnCr will work as well.
Zinc Chromate was difficult if not impossible to find when I went looking, and that tip was repeated to me by others. I suspect I'd have had a "harder" finish with it... but honestly the primekote wasn't bad. My only regret is I didn't roll and tip white, and use brightsides (would have been easier to apply, would cover more mistakes, and easier to touch up the paint).

I have little patience for painting, so the quality of my work suffered. Put an Earl Schibe job on it, rather than a proper automotive job. Still looks pretty good, which is a shock.
 
#13 ·
My friend's boat was victim of a boatyard accident. As part if the insurance settlement his mast was painted. He has rued the day as every chip and ding either requires touch-up (which never looks good) or the chips look lousy.

He tells me every time he sees me that I should not paint my mast. The satisfaction does not last.
 
#14 ·
Minor thread drift:

I have an unpainted mast that's pretty marked up. I'm tempted to lightly sand it to remove some of the marking, but I've been told that unpainted aluminum is surface treated in some way and if I sand it I'll be removing that treatment and opening it up to corrosion. Is that true?
 
#15 ·
I suppose you could treat it with alumiprep and alodine (taking the necessary precautions). I painted my boom last year and applied a chromate conversion coating before painting. Meanwhile the paint has chipped in a few places, but there is no corrosion at all.
 
#18 ·
I would be suprised if my mast is anodized. Doesn't have any chalky white build-up. Aluminum doesn't tend to rust fast because it forms its own thin protective layer. I second Minnewaska, painted masts look great, but, add projects down the road.
 
#19 ·
You can tell at a glance if it's anodized - it will have a shiny surface not a dull aluminium oxide surface. The white powder only builds up in places where it doesn't get weathered away.

My rig is 31 years old, hasn't had an easy life and the anodizing is still intact except for areas of wear & chafe.
 
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