Remember, everybody sees the first 10 feet, the rest of the stick is way up there and details don t matter much. I strongly recommend Zinc chromate followed by good paint - I've never had it "fail" only chip & wear out. I used Klean Strip KS3 Premium stripper from a big box home center. Bull City, December 23, 2013 in Fix It Anarchy. Allow the primer to dry for a minimum of 24 hours, but no more than 48 hours. High performance epoxy resins, together with oven post curing are employed in our tubes, however at temperatures above approximately 75°C the New J22 mast on its way to TX right now. By not counting the haulout and pull. And, when water makes its way between the insulator and the painted surface, as it always does, poultice corrosion will begin. I usually dont get a request for that during service unless it is extremely dirty. Duralac or Tef Gel on every fastener during final assembly. However, once painted, aluminum can no longer develop its tough, clear, corrosion-resistant oxide coating. Apply the aluminum oxide primer with a soft bristled paint brush. It doesn’t matter, because when aluminum is not exposed to moisture, its corrosion clock stops, or at least slows down substantially. 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. Has no wiring or lighting. Hall Spars uses Awlgrip, which is what I would want to do. 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. How do I paint my anodized aluminum mast? Apply a coat of metal aluminum paint with the soft bristled paintbrush. * This figure is for work done in Sydney, Australia so does not really translate to US prices. 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. To paint anodized first degrease using Fiberglass Solvent Wash 202. That alone will prevent the thin-paint phenomenon, coating failure, and subsequent corrosion. Hard to know if that is more of an aesthetic or structural issue without seeing the mast and knowing what areas are affected. I'm not going to do it myself. 26' aluminum sailboat mast. I had the mast on my 31ft 4ksb painted about 10 years ago, spent around $11k* for all new rigging (both standing & running), paint job and some electrolysis repair (a sleeve was put in around the gooseneck) and stainless work. The cost for the labor and material of a nice job will be about the value of.your boat. The boat has just been hauled for several weeks to dry out and have the bottom re-painted. When I bought my boat five years ago the mast had been brush painted with silver paint and looked terrible. Sand and wash as you see fit. 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. It’s a double whammy for corrosion: The elk hide spreader boot is a hygroscopic material, attracting moisture and keeping the painted aluminum surface underneath wet and oxygen depleted. The best solution is prevention; when installing hardware on painted aluminum surfaces, liberally bed with polyurethane or polysulfide sealant. 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. By I will be pulling it in the winter and redoing it myself, the boat probably only has another 10 years in it anyway so I am not going to get too carried away. 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 … 4.5" x 3" cross section. This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies. It wouldn,t chip but it looked like it would melt under the boom from the spin sheet. My masts are on my list this winter ( ketch ) and there old anodized masts and booms. Mast came off a 1974 26' Clipper Marine I can deliver for 75 … That alone will prevent the thin-paint phenomenon, coating failure, and subsequent corrosion. Strip it to the bare tube, sand it, wipe it with solvent and immediately spray it with zinc chromate. Save the left over paint. Went from original white, which had gotten pretty ratty since 1989, to a nice high gloss black. 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 […] The solution is straightforward enough: protect the paint “wound” with a resilient, pliable sealant to prevent water from entering. Preparing aluminum for painting is an important step. Steve D'Antonio, Dec 29, 2014. I'll try to find them and put a link to the photos on this thread. Soccer, oil painting, Mediterranean cuisine. How to paint aluminum. 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. What kind of sand paper did you use? Barry KU3X, Aug 13, 2019 #9. You will be touching it up every year. Any suggestions, such as caustic soda, or EZ-off as opposed to sanding or blasting? Over the years AYS has evolved to incorporate the latest in ideas and technologies available to Australian and Asian marine industry. For bedding, use a UV-resistant polyurethane sealant; for rivets (monel is preferred) or screws, most riggers use Tefgel, Tuffgel, or Duralac. Use these wheels in an angle grinder. Who the f^&k waxes their mast twice a season, I mean seriously? Begin by dewaxing/degreasing both surfaces with a solvent such as mineral spirits or 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover, then liberally bed the hardware with a low-adhesion polyurethane or polysulfide sealant. 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. It is about $20/gal. Plastic coat is similar to powder coating, it looked like a thin rubber coating. The mast is down. 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. 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. Have the people responsible for the painting do the final sand and prep on the mast. Ive tried to read every old post on painting aluminum mast. When exposed to air, oxygenated seawater, or fresh water, aluminum quickly develops a tough, transparent oxide film that is resistant to corrosion. 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. Brooklin, Maine 04616 USA Sounds reasonable to me. 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. I have a 1984 J22. (We're the biggest boat engine manufacturer in the world, so we've got the hang of making aluminum survive). Yet the problem persisted. I just did my mast and boom 30 year old Ross . After you're done with them, scrub it down with Scotchbrite. While it progresses slowly, once it begins it’s difficult if not impossible to arrest without removing the blistered paint, cleaning, priming, and repainting the surface. The paint job was a 2 pack something, and included sandblasting. I would be happy to do it for $138,000.00. It doesn't look very good. It is difficult to paint over anodizing. Thats $5K ever five years. 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. Rolll or brush bright side or similar. Apply the stripper and let set for 30-60 minutes. The powder coating is undoubtedly of better quality in terms of adherence, durability and resistance, also to mechanical stress, compared to liquid paint, but on the other hand is not comparable in terms of gloss of the paint. Among other attributes, marine-grade aluminum alloys, those in the 5000 and 6000 series, are naturally corrosion resistant. I believed I was onto something. Can anyone help? 1997. Includes spreader brackets, cleats and masthead. All paint applications benefit from proper surface preparation, priming, and best industry paint application practices, and aluminum is no exception. 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. Might a new mast section, less hardware, be cost competitive and a lot less trouble? The sealant prevents water intrusion, rendering the paint wound inert. 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. We are evaluating the possibility of installing a new powder paint line for aluminum extrusions and are having some doubts about the proper pretreatment for paint. I'll either have it repainted or do nothing. At some point you will be able to lift the coating off, almost in one piece, like pulling a part from a mould in reverse. Remember, everybody sees the first 10 feet, the rest of the stick is way up there and details don t matter much. With all respect to your suggestion, I'm not going wax my mast twice a year. You will need to make sure the aluminum is free from older paint, dirt, dust and grime. Then give it a heavy sanding using 60 or 80-grit sandpaper. Here, the screws damaged the paint when they were installed, allowing water to migrate under the coating. 2. It came out great. . Leery of experiencing the same sort of failure, I began reviewing old spars and other painted aluminum hardware. You will pay what its worth and get what you pay for. Proper preparation is a consistent theme but I have a few questions: 1. 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. The mast is down. Sharp edges should be gently rounded before being painted. Any alternatives to painting? I think the ones on the boat when I bought it in 2007 were the originals from 1984. Since that time AYS has come to be one of Australia‘s largest yacht mast providers. F_L, Thanks for the good info. Is there any reason, other than aesthetic, to have it re-painted. You will be touching it up every year. 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. 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. about 20 hours total but all hardware came off easy . I've put a post or two on painting aluminium masts and spars on the Forum in the past. If you are going to go at stripping and sanding the mast yourself do yourself a couple of favors. I wish I could say otherwise, because I hate the bloody thing, but I spend a good portion of my life dealing with a ginormous machine filled with horrible chemicals that is built for exactly this process. OK, I got an estimate for the entire job. Few recreational users have, however, learned to look beyond aluminum’s blemished surface. It is vital to understand that paint sticks to rough surfaces. All paint applications benefit from proper surface preparation, priming, and best industry paint application practices, and aluminum is no exception. It's aluminum (Hall Spars), painted white, but most of the paint is gone. You might as well plan on the spreader fix while you are at it. . P.O. Its aluminum (Hall Spars), painted white, but most of the paint is gone. 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. You will pay what its worth and get what you pay for. 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. “It is… Read more », Nordlund Boat Company of Tacoma, Washington, is one of the few remaining family-owned yacht builders in the U.S. Allow the aluminum to air-dry completely. 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. I think you'll wind up with a longer-lasting, more durable paint job if you chemically strip the old paint. 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). Dust or older paint will make the new paint job harder to manage and maintain. Save the left over paint. Boats that are sailed and bikes that are pedaled. Is there any reason, other than aesthetic, to have it re-painted. A few years later, I was managing a boatyard where painting aluminum spars was common. 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. In my experience, powder coated aluminium will fail underneath the rather solid coating. Subject: Mast Repaint I've been wanting to share another very successful tip with everyone. Sanded and orbital ground down to bare metal where flakey. Going on 11 years and the plastic coating is holding tight to the 22 mast.. No pealing at all. How much should I pay? 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. 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. It doesnt look very good. 18 hours of labor and about $350 for materials (Awlgrip primer, reducers, topcoat, etc.) the clear coat needs to be redone ever 5 years and paint may last a little longer but mot much. Whos got an old mast paint job in good condition and how did you do it? Corrosion is also a problem on sharp, or unradiused, edges. Takes time but is worth it in the long run. 41 WoodenBoat Lane The formation of the oxide or hydroxide lifts the paint, causing the familiar and unsightly blister, which eventually falls off, exposing raw, pitted aluminum. They also did my deck cleats in black. I've done a few J22 masts. Therefore, instead of attempting to prevent the damage, an effort I believe is futile, assume it will occur and mitigate its effects. To strip the hardware, sand to shiny aluminum, prime and paint ~$1,200. You WILL need a propane torch. All Rights Reserved. I stripped the mast and spreaders and repainted them white with Sherwin Williams Industrial Aluminum paint. and when its scratched and when he feelings like it he just touches it up. This shop was about as far from the water as you could get, in the desert of Washington State. There would be possible side benefits to removing and replacing hardware with new Tef-gel. I'm assuming some will be of higher quality than others. Spray or brush a chemical conversion coating for aluminum. Sure you can paint an antenna, but you may need a very large easel. ~20 hrs sanding / prep / reattach and $1000. You always see more damage done due to dissimilar metal corrosion and the like rather than lack of paint. Every new mast I step gets a wash and a wax, but thats it. It’s virtually impossible to prevent paint from being damaged or breached at hardware installations, often even with the addition of insulators. Make sure you use the proper sized screwdriver for whatever bolt head you are using or you will strip the head every time. 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. Rolll or brush bright side or similar. If it is in very poor shape remove it before painting. These high-performance paints enable boatbuilders and component manufacturers to continue to reap aluminum’s rewards, including strength, ease of fabrication, and weight savings, as well as a resistance to corrosion for interior and engineering spaces, while enhancing the alloy’s visual appeal. Looks great for a 30 year old boat. No standing rig. Just gave my 13' boom to an industrial powder coating place. Put the stick on saw horses. Those areas also tend to suffer from abrasion abuse. Painting aluminum requires a few key steps in order to create a long-lasting masterpiece. I plastic coated my mast, boom, spare spinnaker pole, spreaders, white, all for ~650, about 8 years ago.