I have just spent two days and used 1/2 gallon of acetone cleaning off
paint that a previous owner had applied to the mast and which had
deteriorated to the extent that a fellow boat owner asked me if it had
the 'pox'.
The reason for applying the paint in the first place is now a lot more
obvious as the gold anodising has worn so thin in some places that it
is down to the bare aluminium. In other areas where the mast has been
damaged and the hard anodising breached it does indeed have the 'pox'
where the exposed aluminium and salt air have combined to produce that
'rotting aluminium' appearance we are all familiar with.
I have removed the flaky residue and now need protect these areas
against further salt air reaction.
I know of no way to re-anodise the mast myself and searching the
internet only suggests using an acid etch primer and then car body
primer/paints. Have any owners found other successful ways of
protecting bare aluminium from the ravages of our boat's environment?
David
V-1696 in sunny (again) Cyprus
paint that a previous owner had applied to the mast and which had
deteriorated to the extent that a fellow boat owner asked me if it had
the 'pox'.
The reason for applying the paint in the first place is now a lot more
obvious as the gold anodising has worn so thin in some places that it
is down to the bare aluminium. In other areas where the mast has been
damaged and the hard anodising breached it does indeed have the 'pox'
where the exposed aluminium and salt air have combined to produce that
'rotting aluminium' appearance we are all familiar with.
I have removed the flaky residue and now need protect these areas
against further salt air reaction.
I know of no way to re-anodise the mast myself and searching the
internet only suggests using an acid etch primer and then car body
primer/paints. Have any owners found other successful ways of
protecting bare aluminium from the ravages of our boat's environment?
David
V-1696 in sunny (again) Cyprus