This breach could be caused by a fastener, an antenna base, a navigation light, a hinge, a lockset, a nick, or a scratch—and it could be microscopic. A short explanation/demonstration of preparing bare aluminum using acid and conversion coating techniques in preparation for painting an aircraft skin. If you are going to go at stripping and sanding the mast yourself do yourself a couple of favors. I have an orbital sander that works nicely. Steve D'Antonio, Dec 29, 2014. Has no wiring or lighting. (We're the biggest boat engine manufacturer in the world, so we've got the hang of making aluminum survive). Spray or brush a chemical conversion coating for aluminum. Put the stick on saw horses. Others who have come to similar conclusions have tried to prevent corrosion by inserting plastic or another nonmetallic bushing or insulator between the hardware and the painted aluminum structure. Save the left over paint. It is vital to understand that paint sticks to rough surfaces. Hall Spars uses Awlgrip, which is what I would want to do. P.O. Sanding w 320->400->600->compound->polish->couple coats of good Teflon wax. Sure you can paint an antenna. Therefore, instead of attempting to prevent the damage, an effort I believe is futile, assume it will occur and mitigate its effects. At the same time I did the boom myself with International brightside or something similar and it looks better, but is not really a fair comparison as it does not get the same level of water exposure and does not have as much stainless on it. I think I may try doing the sanding myself and then have a pro do the painting. 4.5" x 3" cross section. Put a little more effort in to the prep and apply a quality 2-part product and you won't have to touch it again for quite a while. Rolll or brush bright side or similar. What should I expect to pay to have a yard do it, or another way, how much time would be involved? For your size mast and boomboat, painting would not be an overwhelming project and you may find that you like the look far better than bare aluminum. Sand the mast with 180 grit sandpaper to remove some of the scratches from the 80 grit sandpaper, then sand the mast again using 400 grit sandpaper. Then you can topcoat it however you like and it will actually stick. Just gave my 13' boom to an industrial powder coating place. While this can be helpful, it’s far from ideal: On heavily loaded structures such as cleats and winches, it’s often impractical to install these insulators; the loading will often cause them to split or crush. Plastic coat is similar to powder coating, it looked like a thin rubber coating. It was a j-22, I did all the work, gave the shop the material with everything removed. The paint will be the barrier layer so there isn't a real need to put an additional anti corrosion paste between the aluminium, the stainless rivets and hardware (but you still can of course). Remember, everybody sees the first 10 feet, the rest of the stick is way up there and details don t matter much. Have the people responsible for the painting do the final sand and prep on the mast. I plastic coated my mast, boom, spare spinnaker pole, spreaders, white, all for ~650, about 8 years ago. Sharp edges should be gently rounded before being painted. We're gonna need some pictures of that to drool over, thanks. If you want to give your aluminum boat a fresh coat of paint, there are some simple steps you can take to ensure the paint job looks great. Underneath will be lots of white powder. How to paint aluminum. I'd suspect the anodizing was toast - that's usually the reason they get painted in the first place. You will be touching it up every year. It is important to remember that when you re-install any mast hardware, the hardware and screws or rivets must be isolated from the painted aluminum. Allow the primer to dry for a minimum of 24 hours, but no more than 48 hours. That alone will prevent the thin-paint phenomenon, coating failure, and subsequent corrosion. I have a 55' black anodized sailboat mast which is badly faded and blotched by the sun. Once primed, painted and sealed, dull siding can be brightened up and sheeting can become a durable outdoor table, artistic retaining wall for a garden or hanging room divider for an outdoor seating area. 2 years later it was already bubbling and now it looks like shit. Enter two-part paints. Poor prep is the culprit for almost every bad paint job and you don't want to go down that road if it starts to bubble or flake. I'm not going to do it myself. 2. It is difficult to paint over anodizing. When I was researching the story of the two pilot vessels the… Read more », Professional BoatBuilder is written and edited for boat builders, repairers, designers, and surveyors. Our mast and boom was originally painted black and was peeling badly. Apply one coat of InterProtect 2000E (Thinned 15-20% with 2316N Reducing Solvent). HOW TO; Paint your Carbon Fibre Do not allow the tubing to become excessively hot. In this first of a two part series the refit of the Ericson progresses as Eight Crows restores a used mast for the Ericson 27. I stripped the mast and spreaders and repainted them white with Sherwin Williams Industrial Aluminum paint. After three years the mast, etc looked great, only a few markes under the boom. They work great on spars. There is, however, an aesthetic price for this durability. How much should I pay? Over the years AYS has evolved to incorporate the latest in ideas and technologies available to Australian and Asian marine industry. I made my own mobile antenna mast to be used with my hybrid coils and I painted the mast semi gloss black. How many people here even WASH it once a season, or ever for that matter? Going on 11 years and the plastic coating is holding tight to the 22 mast.. No pealing at all. I have a 1984 J22. Mast+packaging+freight=~$4800. Invariably, the paint would blister, in some cases before the vessels were offloaded from delivery trailers, and warranty claims were dutifully submitted, which the builder, to its credit, promptly paid. Using these, as well as the liberal hardware bedding technique and quickly repairing damage, paint applied over aluminum can last for a decade or more. ~20 hrs sanding / prep / reattach and $1000. Early in my career I worked for a dealership that sold production boats, every one of which was equipped with painted aluminum arches. Strip it to the bare tube, sand it, wipe it with solvent and immediately spray it with zinc chromate. If you sand it you'll expose unanodized aluminum which will oxidize badly wherever the new paint film is nicked. Q. This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies. Rolll or brush bright side or similar. Not only that, repainting a carbon mast will be substantially cheaper than doing the same to one of aluminum due to the much smaller amount of preparation required. I think you'll wind up with a longer-lasting, more durable paint job if you chemically strip the old paint. To paint anodized first degrease using Fiberglass Solvent Wash 202. 1) painting your boat does not put you in violation of voc laws,but you have to dispose of leftovers properly.2) I think 60 grit on an orbital is a bit rough.primer and paint probably won't fill … Brooklin, Maine 04616 USA My opion is one part paint easier to touch up when needed. Apply the stripper and let set for 30-60 minutes. You always see more damage done due to dissimilar metal corrosion and the like rather than lack of paint. You will need to make sure the aluminum is free from older paint, dirt, dust and grime. You might as well plan on the spreader fix while you are at it. Takes time but is worth it in the long run. I used Klean Strip KS3 Premium stripper from a big box home center. Stripped and painted for $260 all in. I noticed that nearly all the failures occurred adjacent to a hardware installation, a fastener, a spreader, a step, or some other fitting—an area where the paint coating had necessarily been upset or breached. I understand that the existing paint has to be sanded off, the hardware removed, and then the paint is applied. However, once painted, aluminum can no longer develop its tough, clear, corrosion-resistant oxide coating. Among other attributes, marine-grade aluminum alloys, those in the 5000 and 6000 series, are naturally corrosion resistant. I'll either have it repainted or do nothing. Includes spreader brackets, cleats and masthead. On the other hand, aluminum boats can become rather shabby looking after years of use so owners often want to paint them and spruce them up. In an effort to stem the cash flow, the company earnestly focused on improving the preparation and paint application processes. It is about $20/gal. Those areas also tend to suffer from abrasion abuse. He is the technical editor of Professional BoatBuilder, and is writing a book on marine systems, to be published by McGraw-Hill/International Marine. It doesn’t matter, because when aluminum is not exposed to moisture, its corrosion clock stops, or at least slows down substantially. The formation of the oxide or hydroxide lifts the paint, causing the familiar and unsightly blister, which eventually falls off, exposing raw, pitted aluminum. A wide variety of painting mast section options are available to you, such as free samples. Carbon spars start out painted or clear coated when new. Sanded and orbital ground down to bare metal where flakey. Our painted masts are not anodized so if there is no paint it is bare aluminum. But in the recent revival of the Wheeler Yacht Company with… Read more », Boat yards and design offices embrace new fibers and resins that promise to reduce pollution, consume less energy in production, and yield composite boats that can be recycled. Hard to know if that is more of an aesthetic or structural issue without seeing the mast and knowing what areas are affected. I just have the nasty task of keeping the machine that does it alive, so I've gotten to know more than I care about the process. I'm glad I'm in the process of replacing my shrouds, about $300 total. My masts are on my list this winter ( ketch ) and there old anodized masts and booms. Sand and wash as you see fit. . Left to the elements, aluminum develops a dull gray—and eventually dusty, gritty—finish; for military, pilot, fishing, and utilitarian applications, that finish can be a thing of beauty, as it lowers building and maintenance costs. It's aluminum (Hall Spars), painted white, but most of the paint is gone. Aluminum doesnt like heat..its a good thing you didnt do your mast..there were some deaths as a result of scuba tanks being powder coated and exploding.I used Interlux Brightside one part poly on my mast 4 yrs ago and still no chalking or chipping..truly amazing for a one part paint..mind you we dont see a lot of sun up here. Aluminum Sailboat Mast Refinishing . Initially the wound is self-healing: The oxide coating forms, but instead of protecting the aluminum, it lifts the edge of the paint and allows water to migrate farther under the coating. Who the f^&k waxes their mast twice a season, I mean seriously? Ive tried to read every old post on painting aluminum mast. “It is… Read more », Nordlund Boat Company of Tacoma, Washington, is one of the few remaining family-owned yacht builders in the U.S. about 20 hours total but all hardware came off easy . As a result of my observations, both at the production boat dealership and in the boat yard, I concluded that the corrosion was the indirect result of breaches in the paint’s otherwise contiguous coating, caused, in the vast majority of cases, by hardware installations. Put the stick on saw horses. Non-Marine. Yet the problem persisted. No standing rig. As to reasons for re-painting, it sounds like it is purely aesthetic. The boom is fine. K8ERV QRZ Member QRZ Page. OK, I got an estimate for the entire job. Next, you’ll need to sand the aluminum surface to further help your paint job stick. Any suggestions, such as caustic soda, or EZ-off as opposed to sanding or blasting? The boat has just been hauled for several weeks to dry out and have the bottom re-painted. If you do paint make sure you insulate the fittings from the mast as much as possible and use duralac or some other anti-corrosive compound on all screws. When we write about classic boats, successful yards, and legendary naval architects, it’s easy to overuse the word iconic. The paint job was a 2 pack something, and included sandblasting. When this happens, the aluminum pits and produces copious amounts of aluminum oxide powder or, when wet, aluminum hydroxide, which looks a bit like freezer-burned vanilla ice cream. Dust or older paint will make the new paint job harder to manage and maintain. An ongoing discussion from 1997 through 2015 . I found that once I sanded the paint off, the aluminum was flawless so I could go straight to the prime wash phase. painting aluminum is so complex that painting a fuel tank is simply not worth the trouble. Don't even try once before getting into your car to get the P3 driver you haven't needed before. F_L, Thanks for the good info. Painting an aluminium mast Back : ACTION: 1-component: 2-component (epoxy) 1 - Preparation: Degrease: Nautix SD degreaser: Nautix SD degreaser: Sand: P40 grade ... 4 - Finishing paint: 2 coats: STARLAC - 14 m²/L: L2 - 12 m²/L: L2 . Allow the aluminum to air-dry completely. We electro-plate the chromate, which is far superior, but its mostly for the benefit of our powder coated parts that have to live in salt water. Painting aluminum requires a few key steps in order to create a long-lasting masterpiece. Daysailing, local cruising and working on them. I believed I was onto something. Use these wheels in an angle grinder. © 2021 Professional BoatBuilder Magazine. Looks like new mast. Apply the aluminum oxide primer with a soft bristled paint brush. Fastener threads should be similarly treated. Barry KU3X, Aug 13, 2019 #9. Do you know of any readily available primers I can use before I paint my mast with a 2-part paint? Is there any reason, other than aesthetic, to have it re-painted. As a body shop owner for the last 28 years I,ll give my 2 cents, just an opinion for what it,s worth. the clear coat needs to be redone ever 5 years and paint may last a little longer but mot much. This shop was about as far from the water as you could get, in the desert of Washington State. The sealant prevents water intrusion, rendering the paint wound inert. Bull City, December 23, 2013 in Fix It Anarchy. Alibaba.com offers 488 painting mast section products. A few years later, I was managing a boatyard where painting aluminum spars was common. They also did my deck cleats in black. The cost for the labor and material of a nice job will be about the value of.your boat. 41 WoodenBoat Lane I strongly recommend Zinc chromate followed by good paint - I've never had it "fail" only chip & wear out. Step 1 – Ensure that the surface you intend to paint is clean and free from dirt, grease, oil, or anything else that could potentially interfere with the paint's application and adherence. 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