Anodised mast

[Maurice55]

Hello!
I have a second hand black anodised mast which, although not in a bad nick, could do with a good polisning up.
Is there a way to tart it up a part from re-anodising, and I would like to paint a small part of it (below tabernacle) is it possible to paint over anodised aluminium without stripping it ?
Thanks for any usefull answer (and, actually, I don't mind daft ones !!)
Cheers......M.

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[bob26]

Maurice

The International Oaint website contains a FAQ as follows:

Question How do I paint my anodised aluminium mast?

Answer We do not recommend painting over anodising. This is because no matter what preparation is undertaken adhesion problems can occur. We would therefore recommend that the anodising is completely removed before any painting is undertaken, using the recommended aluminium specification for topsides.



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[tcm]

Re: daft answer

If you have a black mast, it wil look the absolute biz. Obviuosly it might look a bit manky closeup, but most of that will be covered with string or be miles out of sight. If you must, you could spray on a bottom of it with halfords matt black, masking around the area. If you spray the entire circumference, it looks vaguley as though is important to be like that, instead of a bit of paintwork touchup. It won't stink very well, but it won't matter. Get the big mast-mounted depth and speed readouts, slap them on and get sailing. I do hope the hull is black too?

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[Strathglass]

I have sucessfully sprayed a boom on top of anodising with good results. It was sprayed with a primer, I can't remember the name, but it was purchased from Aqua Marine. then I sprayed it with two part polyurethene (black)

I could find the name of the primer fairly easily if requested

The results were very good.

I MUST say however, that unless you have the correct protective equipment and experience DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SPRAY TWO PART PAINT. Use another application method.

Iain

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[JimMcMillan]

Any self etching primer will do(its the aluminium thats the prob)then a two part lorry paint.

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[oldsaltoz]

G'day Maurice,

Very few (If any) paints will stand up to the conditions imposed to a mast, being struck by shackles, lines flapping and god only knows what else, even the hard anodised surface gets damaged, so paint has no chance. If you paint now, you will be committing yourself to repaint work every few years to keep it looking really nice. I take a long hard look at the cost of re anodising and compare that to the cost of regular repainting.

Hope this helps, let us know what you decide.



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[BrendanS]

Looker on here (Mobo), but interested. What is the difference in cost between re-anodising and repainting? Removing fittings, mast, haulage to anodisers, must be quite expensive?

Nicely re-anodised mast would be preferable, but might be a costly option compared to painting a bit of an otherwise quite serviceable bit of mast?

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[Guest]

My rigger who is one of the few people I respect in the marine industry advises cleaning anodised masts with petroleum jelly (vaseline) and a black scourer. It apparently lifts the dirt out . He certainly left the booms looking as good as new when he recently serviced them. Rather than paint you mast you could put sacrifical pads over the worst part?

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[jbate]

If you spend the dosh and re-anodise the mast, bear in mind that annual cleaning does prolong the life of the spar. i.e. dirt in the anodised coating reduces corrosion resistance.
JB

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[kingfisher]

DON\'T

I bought my boat four years ago. The mast was anodised with a golden colour. Certainly at the top, where the wire (!) halyards had slapped against the mast, most of the anodising had gone.

I followed International's instructions on repainting: full sanding down to bare alu, etching primer, primer, primer, coatx3

Looked superb the first year. The two-pack is virtually indistructible, but I have a severe attachment failure and blistering around the mast attachments, up to two meters height (salt spray?).

So now I have to redo these patches. Spar manufctr says that there's no problem with the mast integrity, that it is but superficial. But it looks tacky, even on a thirty year old boat.

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[Maurice55]

That's a lot of good advice, thank you very much.
I think I will try the petroleum jelly first and save up for a re-anodisation when really necessary.
Cheers....M.

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