Jump to content

painting aluminum masts


Randy Jones

Recommended Posts

I've tried to read every old post on painting aluminum mast.  Proper preparation is a consistent theme but I have a few questions:

1. Who's got an old mast paint job in good condition and how did you do it?

2. Do you prime and paint prior to attaching the sail track? 

3. Do you leave the B&B aluminum track unpainted?

My current plan is to degrease, sand, and immediately spray with 3 coats self etching aluminum primer. Then prime with System 3 Silver Tip primer and top coat with Systems 3 white LPU.  Since I don't a have a spray gun the self-etching primer will be from a spray can, the Silver Tip and LPU will be brush and roller.  

I'd appreciate guidance.  

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I did what you did....except with awlgrip products and was all roll and tip. Paint has done well for approx. 3 years. Chips/rubs off in high friction areas (mast tube opening/bottom). Also bubbles around screws etc that were not initially sealed.

 

I put on sail track after painting. Would not paint, as that would potentially affect the ease of hoisting the sails. I have limited experience...only my opinion.

 

Will

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Randy, 

I've seen some in great condition painted and I think the secret is not letting ANY salt water get to the aluminum after painting. Joe's EC-22 mast for example hasn't a flaw on it. He has the ss track. 

 

I plan to prime and paint my mast prior to attaching the track. I too want to try etching primer. In the past we've just cleaned the surface really well and went straight on with awlgrip 545 followed by topcoat without sanding between. a good spray job and the result is still pretty smooth and it beats sanding the primer by hand. 

 

The track itself is anodized clear so no need to paint it. 

 

I think you have a sound plan. If you wanted to you could put on all your hardware (or at least drill and deburr holes for it) then prime and paint in hopes of getting that last bit of primer needed to protect the aluminum. Bedding compound everything going down. I like butyl rubber for that. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used Amerlock 2/400 epoxy primer and Amercoat 450H two part polyurethane. Exactly same system I put on the boat. Got good mileage out of my paint cans that way. Not a marine paint as such but it is a GOOD stuff. Both were actually designed for metal application so the mast makes for a preferred application from manufacturer's point of view. Glass comes close second in my experience. Held up really well over 5 years. Sprayed the boat and rolled the masts. Installed hardware after painting, Used Tuffgell on screws.  PeterP

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I used Rustoleum products on my masts.  I took care to sand immediately before applying the etching primer.  The paint is holding up very well after four years’ use, with one exception.  The high stress areas around the base are too much for this paint.  As you can see, it has chipped off.  Everywhere else, it looks perfect.  Not sure if any paint could withstand this stress.  If I were to do something differently, it would be to not paint this part of the mast.

99F8DEBD-9A28-46FB-AD90-D3D7D03F39B5.jpeg

65119FFC-CBC0-4A38-B837-2BD9FFCB323D.jpeg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was thinking of drilling the holes for the new aluminum sail track before taking the masts over to be locally powder coated. Has anyone gone down this road?

 

I still plan to use tuffgel upon mounting the track, but I think the spars should be pretty well protected with exceptions of excessive wear i.e. snotter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another option would be to have the tubes anodized before applying the fiberglass collars and installing the track. Graham has been collecting sulfuric battery acid thinking he might try some diy anodizing in his "extra" spare time. We probably all know about that mythical concept (spare time).  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have hollow bird's mouth Douglas Fir masts.  I like everything about them except they are a bit heavy to step.  I still do fine, but I can see the day I won't want to lift them any more.  My next set of masts are possibly going to be thin wall wooden masts with a carbon sleeve epoxied over them.  Graham says he has done the math, and this will meet spec.

Another thought I had was to build a thinner wall aluminum mast and epoxy the carbon sleeve over it.  Would this be strong enough?  I figure by plugging, the sealed sleeve and epoxy it would make the mast water tight.  Then by bedding all hardware to the epoxy it would end up very light and float.  Does anyone with knowledge of carbon, epoxy and aluminum have any thoughts on this?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For what it's worth: I made long tapered ramps out of Starboard, bedded all with 3M 4200, and I also used Rustoleum products. What I wish I had done differently is to make an attractive taper all the way around the mast to conceal the steps between sections. I have admired masts where folks did that. Maybe that is a revision to try when repainting is needed.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

There is some more explanation of the ramp at the end of this video from the sailtrack page. There are quite a few ways to accomplish the ramps that we have used.

-Multi layers of fiberglass molded over the mast. as I did on the CS15 I built. video below.

-UHMW plastic strip shaped into a ramp. Like from a cutting board. 

-Simply using thickened epoxy as shown in video below starts at 8:10

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/9/2019 at 8:55 AM, Hirilonde said:

I have hollow bird's mouth Douglas Fir masts.  I like everything about them except they are a bit heavy to step.  I still do fine, but I can see the day I won't want to lift them any more.  My next set of masts are possibly going to be thin wall wooden masts with a carbon sleeve epoxied over them.  Graham says he has done the math, and this will meet spec.

Another thought I had was to build a thinner wall aluminum mast and epoxy the carbon sleeve over it.  Would this be strong enough?  I figure by plugging, the sealed sleeve and epoxy it would make the mast water tight.  Then by bedding all hardware to the epoxy it would end up very light and float.  Does anyone with knowledge of carbon, epoxy and aluminum have any thoughts on this?

 

You don't want carbon to directly contact aluminum. You could put a fiberglass sleeve over the aluminum first. Probably a better idea would be to start with foam, and cover that with carbon sleeves. I'm not sure how you would keep it straight. The issue with the thin-wall aluminum is that it won't significantly contribute to the strength of the mast, only to the weight. The carbon will carry the load until it fails, then the load will go to the aluminum, and that will fail. An all aluminum mast would likely be as light, and cheaper.

 

Windrider sells a carbon mast for their 16' boat that could possibly be adapted for your use. It's a little less than $1k US. It's in two pieces, so shipping to you would be possible, but probably not cheap. Probably a better idea for those in the US.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

I've nearly finished the mast that started this thread some nine months ago.  Finishing method was two coats Rustoleum self etching primer (spray can) followed by brushed on Systems 3 Silver Tip Yacht Primer finished off with brush applied Systems 3 Linear Polyurethane (LPU).  After a bit of a learning curve on the first mast the second one went smoothly.  The B&B mast kit was a great help. 

I'd probably skip the second primer next time as unnecessary but do everything else the same. I'm in isolation following Covid-19 exposure - healthy at day 9 with another 5 days to go.  Thankful to have my own isolation garage and a spouse that leaves me food and the occasional cold beer on the porch. 

Thanks everyone for the advice.  Looking forward to a test sail.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think im going to try treating my mast tubes with an alodine cromate conversion coating. They make a "clear" alodine coating. This is a chem process like used on unpainted small aircraft. Or as a treatment before painting. The chemicals are a bit icky but its just brushed on or dipped and then rinsed off. The regular alodine leaves the aluminum a golden color which i dont think i want. If it works then i wont paint them just leave metallic.

 

I spoke to a guy recently who was in the mast and later aircraft business and this is what they do. There are lots of youtube vids on it mostly for prepping homemade aircraft for painting. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

Supporting Members

Supporting Members can create Clubs, photo Galleries, don't see ads and make messing-about.com possible! Become a Supporting Member - only $12 for the next year. Pay by PayPal or credit card.




×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.