Awhile back when we were de-naming our boat by trying different methods to remove paint and see if it was what we wanted for the final product, there was a debate on if we did in fact want to go down to bare metal or just remove the top layer and repaint with a fresh […] I want to strip the mast and paint, as re-anodizing seems out of the question. 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. In an effort to stem the cash flow, the company earnestly focused on improving the preparation and paint application processes. Have the people responsible for the painting do the final sand and prep on the mast. There would be possible side benefits to removing and replacing hardware with new Tef-gel. About the Author: For many years a full-service yard manager, Steve now works with boat builders and owners and others in the industry as Steve D’Antonio Marine Consulting. Is there any reason, other than aesthetic, to have it re-painted. Leave an aluminum mast with the paint peeling in the sun for more then a year and it is still good to go, do that to a Carbon mast and it is Carbon dust. I stripped the mast and spreaders and repainted them white with Sherwin Williams Industrial Aluminum paint. STEP 2: Sand the metal surface in a two-stage process. Use these wheels in an angle grinder. 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. Bull City, December 23, 2013 in Fix It Anarchy. No standing rig. Guillermo L [last name deleted for privacy by Editor] - Mexico City, Mexico 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. Carbon spars start out painted or clear coated when new. If you are going to go at stripping and sanding the mast yourself do yourself a couple of favors. I think the ones on the boat when I bought it in 2007 were the originals from 1984. A short explanation/demonstration of preparing bare aluminum using acid and conversion coating techniques in preparation for painting an aircraft skin. Among other attributes, marine-grade aluminum alloys, those in the 5000 and 6000 series, are naturally corrosion resistant. It is about $20/gal. Leery of experiencing the same sort of failure, I began reviewing old spars and other painted aluminum hardware. Enter two-part paints. Boats that are sailed and bikes that are pedaled. You will be touching it up every year. 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. Hall Spars uses Awlgrip, which is what I would want to do. Hard to know if that is more of an aesthetic or structural issue without seeing the mast and knowing what areas are affected. My guess is the paint will last twice as long on our carbon mast; not a trivial benefit when you consider that painting our aluminum mast would have cost in the region of US$10,000. How do I paint my anodized aluminum mast? When exposed to air, oxygenated seawater, or fresh water, aluminum quickly develops a tough, transparent oxide film that is resistant to corrosion. “Liberally” means the sealant should ooze out around the entire perimeter of the hardware base, as damage to the painted surface will occur wherever hardware makes contact. Fastener threads should be similarly treated. Fax: 207–359–8920. Thats $5K ever five years. What kind of sand paper did you use? For bedding, use a UV-resistant polyurethane sealant; for rivets (monel is preferred) or screws, most riggers use Tefgel, Tuffgel, or Duralac. 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. Your mast was almost certainly anodized before the original paint job. Put the hardware back on using Tef-Gel on the fasteners - either you in 10 years or the next owner will thank you. Apply one coat of InterProtect 2000E (Thinned 15-20% with 2316N Reducing Solvent). Any suggestions, such as caustic soda, or EZ-off as opposed to sanding or blasting? 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. My masts are on my list this winter ( ketch ) and there old anodized masts and booms. Sure you can paint an antenna. Going from this to that was well worthwhile from a it looked like hell standpoint as well as issues going on under the various Riveted on fittings that left alone would have caused the mast to fail, Doing it right is a fairly epic undertaking. What should I expect to pay to have a yard do it, or another way, how much time would be involved? 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. about 20 hours total but all hardware came off easy . Any alternatives to painting?