Black Mast Paint Touch-Up

[Ducati]

For the life of me I don't know why they manufactured my mast with black paint. I'm guessing that the previous owner liked the way it looked in the showroom.

Any suggestions on how to do touch-ups that don't like it was done by a hack?

 

[Snotter]

Ducati, anything would look better then alum. streaks on a black mast. Don't be afraid and have at it. It seems the challenging part would be keeping the halyard you are using to scale the mast from getting into the paint. Perhaps one of those fabric mast steps that fit into the sail track and get hoisted aloft would be the way to go. However, the thought of painting the mast without a safety line is enough to give one pause.

 

[Old Skool Neil]

Back in the 70's I painted a mast with flat black Rustoleum spray paint and after it dried, applied a coat of Johnson's liquid floor wax. It brought the paint to a satin finish and was durable as all get-out.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

I had that hideous black mast with the aluminum streaks ... I thought about painting it black as it seems that all Starwind masts were originally black (Jim Taylor must have had a thing for it in the 80's). Instead, I took the mast and boom down for the winter and painted it white using Interlux Perfection. I sanded all the original paint off with random orbit sander. I also made a project out of replacing lights, wiring and added a new wind instrument. I was able to do it in my basement, but under no circumstances would I do that job with the mast standing. Find a place you can do the job this winter.

 

[tommays]

Its most likely Awlgrip or some equal Bene would know with a phone call


For the most part the paints cant be buffed to do a blend like and auto paint so a touch-up touch up is diffcult

 

[Barnacle Bill]

I can't tell you how many times I have responded to this question. Not sure why peeps don't go back into the archives and dig out the answers already answered. But, aluminum is not easy stuff to paint so that the paint holds. Awlgrip has two systems for painting aluminum. One system is used when aluminum is heavily faired (like on a mega yacht) and the other is where there is no fairing (like on a mast). Dilute 1 part ALUMIPREP 33 with 3 parts water. Apply using Scotchbrite pads and allow to work for 2 to 5 minutes. Rince thoroughly with clean water. Should sheet out with no holes in water. This indicates a totally clean surface. Do not allow to dry. Do this until it sheets out properly. While surface is still wet apply ALODINE 1201 undiluted. Allow to react 2 to 3 minutes. Surface should be gold/tan color. Rinse with clean water. Do not allow to dry prior to rinsing. After it is dry (but before 12 hours) spray apply 30-Y-94 primer (one full wet coat) and let dry. Do not sand. You can apply topcoat to this or you can apply epoxy primer 545 (2 part). Sand if needed and then apply black (in your case) paint.