Personally Manny, I like the painted look ...
My Kenyon mast and boom were painted black and in bad need of re-finishing. Last winter I did the boom and now I have the mast down to do this winter. When I did the boom, I started by sanding all the black paint off to bare metal. I did like how clean and shiny it looked, but I like the snow white paint that I put on much more. I used a clean metal primer that I got at the hardware store, then Interlux primer for polyurethane and Interlux Perfection in Snow White. I figured that if I was going to paint it white, I may as well go with the whitest white that they make (they have about 6 selections of white). These Interlux systems are a 2-part primer and a 2-part polyurethane finish and they are EXPENSIVE! There are other single part alternatives that are easier to use and maybe far less expensive. You'll have to make up your own mind about that! I think they were about $65 each for a quart. I bought them from a local marine supplier in South Amboy. Get this ... they were charging an additional $20 more for the Snow White Perfection than the other "white" selections. I struggled with this decision for a few minutes before going ahead. Several weeks later, when this store didn't have something I was looking for, I went into the West Marine store which was literally right next door. I was curious about their price for the paints that I had already bought and opened and found that they were selling Perfection for the same price, except that the Snow White didn't have the upgrade premium that I paid at the other store *grr ! It pays to look around a little bit first ... If you paint your mast the right way, you won't be sorry. I do have a few questions for you experts. The store I bought the Interlux from said I should use zinc chromate to prime the bare metal for best results. They didn't have it and said just go to any hardware store. Since nothing is as simple as it sounds, I went to a Home Depot and another hardware store and couldn't find any bare metal primers that used the words "zinc chromate" on the label. I also got blank looks from the "experts" in these stores when I asked for "zinc chromate primer". The best I could come up with at the second store was the Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer where the label says it should be used where the finishing paint is Rust-Oleum Enamel. Is this appropriate or did I make a mistake? I couldn't be happier with the finish that I got. After one season with the boom painted, I had only a few tiny chips in the sail track where the outhaul shackle attaches to the clew and I had some very minor abrasion were the reefing lines chafe on the boom. I figured this is normal and that the results were very good overall. The other questions ... I started out by sanding with 60 git and progressing to 220 grit to get a very nice smooth and shiny surface on the boom. It occured to me that when priming the metal, it may be better to leave the roughed up surface from the 60 grit for better adherence. I cleaned with acetone before priming. When I do the mast, what will give the best results? I definitely have enough Interlux Primer and probably enough Perfection left from last year to do my mast this winter. The cans were sealed after opening last March, but can I expect to use the leftover paint, or should I start fresh again (and throw out the very expensive paint that I have left over)?
