Black mast

BlackPig

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28 Mar 2009
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www.scottishensign.co.uk
PICT0098.jpg


Hi all I have a new boat with a black wooden mast there should be a picture above. What would the varnish/oil be to preserve it?


Thanks


http://i616.photobucket.com/albums/tt242/heard23/Gaff saddel/PICT0098.jpg
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Depends entirely on what the current coating is. If you are unsure and it is failing, best to strip back to bare wood and start again with something you know. If you want a durable woody looking finish then use Sikkens Novatec/Novatop. My wood mast is now in 7th season with one refresher coat after 5 seasons.
 
I contacted the last owner and the mast is treated as so

The mast was treated with 'DEKS OLE' - the first coat with D1 Deks Ole and the top coat with D2 Deks Ole - which is a gloss coat.
 
That is a clear finish so don't understand why it is black. It is a two part system - No 1 is like water and you put it on wet on wet until the wood will take no more. Supposed to "soak in" but I have my doubts - I think almost all of it evaporates. No 2 is a varnish which gives quite a good finish if you appply the recommended 5-6 coats. Looks OK for a couple of years but when the film breaks down water gets in and it starts to peel. Unfortunately the bits that do stay on are difficult to remove. I did my mast with it and was really disappointed with the durability, particularly given the cost and effort to apply. Replaced (after going back to bare wood) with Sikkens and have never regretted it.
 
Try Sikkens

I agree, the simplest solution would be to strip any loose or lifting Deks Olje and switch to Sikkens. You will not have any gloss and the finish will always be dark however it is fairly durable and it will let the wood breathe. From my experience masts with a 'bright' i.e. varnish finish are a continuous maintenance pain because of UV exposure then rain and frost :(
 
For what it's worth; not many people would paint a sound spar black ... If it's clear varnished/finished at least you can see what's going wrong underneath. Deks Olje just isn't black. OF
 
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I thought it may have been oiled with linseed (as that goes black) then maybe the last owner used the Deks Ole on top.

That's what I was going to suggest after looking at your photo but then thought you would more likely have described the colour as very dark rather than black.

This photo was really taken of the dog but you can see the colour of the mast of my old boat after about 10 years or so of linseed oil:-
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