Hi gang. Has anyone had their mast reanodized? What type of pricing did you get? The RigRite #8 is out of production and paint is a high cost poor second choice. Thanks.:bang:
Reanodizing mast?
- Thread starter 25yearslater
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I have not done a mast but about 40% of our extruded aluminum products get anodized. What we have been told is re-anodizing is not a good idea. The finish is inferior and inconsistent. Could be our vendor just didn't want to do it. I don't know. As far as price goes, we pay about $225/80 SF. That's our volume price. A single bloke off the street would likely pay more. There are a few posts on this forum about painting masts. Tim Reilly had a nice write up on it. Good luck & post lots of photos.
Don
Biddeford, ME
Don
Biddeford, ME
Will do D. 700 bucks for a self inflicted Awlcraft 2000 job seems a bit pricey. Considering a new stick with mast step is 3000 something in between looks pretty good.
case of aluminum rattle can spray paint, some Brillo pads to scuff mast, and an afternoon and it will look just fine for under $20 :dance:
Is it black anodized? If so there is an option
Some have used penetrol to improve the finish. Also rigrite does have an alternative cross section on their website.
Some have used penetrol to improve the finish. Also rigrite does have an alternative cross section on their website.
Have you considered the scotchbright pad and a bottle of ALODINE 1201, See it at;
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/alodine1201.php
but I have seen it at marine stores also.
I used it on aircraft and it's easy to do!
Greg
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/alodine1201.php
but I have seen it at marine stores also.
I used it on aircraft and it's easy to do!
Greg
I thought he only wanted to re anodize parts of the mast. Low cost.
Yes, strip all of the old anodize off and have it redone is a better way, Higher cost.
Next, replace the spar. best way. Highest cost.
On aircraft, when you treat corrosion you are only doing small areas.
You remove the corrosion, then alodine the bare metal, prime and paint.
Greg
Yes, strip all of the old anodize off and have it redone is a better way, Higher cost.
Next, replace the spar. best way. Highest cost.
On aircraft, when you treat corrosion you are only doing small areas.
You remove the corrosion, then alodine the bare metal, prime and paint.
Greg
Hey cool beans, I am considering as a last fast resort Rustoleum Aluminum Primer which is an etching primer and a can of silver aluminum. That is if I can find the stuff. Seems anything that might work well has too much toxicity to be sold in New York. The Rustoleum Professional series might hold for a few years. The Spartan CD-4 mast section at 33 feet was 2994.00. The new improved design (yeah right) requires a new mast step and at least a major rework of the masthead. Checked that avenue first Tom, thanks. Hi there Mr. Delezynski. Tried the Alumaprep 33 and alodine 1201 last weekend to no avail. You are correct the anodizing needs to come off for it to work. That would involve lots of oven cleaner in a non controlled setting which gives me the willies. Hopefully this week I will hear back from the mast manufacturers on how bad this is going to be and I can make some sort of informed decision of what the future holds. Cheap paint for a couple of years sounds good as I save some coin for the Spartan replacement if reanodizing is off the table. I'll keep everyone informed of the progress.
So given that aluminum naturally develops an aluminum oxide coating when exposed to air why would you want/need to anodize your mast?
Great question Bill. While I'm not a metal treatment expert, from what I have been able to determine is the hardness of anodizing as opposed to natural aluminum oxide. The natural stuff washes off or is easy to rub off as one can see with a worn coating rubbing off on our nice white sails. That gray smear on our sails is the mast aluminum deposited on the sail every time we tack. New oxide forms and the process repeats until, well, bad things happen. Somehow the anodize is a harder aluminum oxide that stays bonded to the mast. Not sure of the chemistry but the magic works.
You're not going to wear through that non-anodized mast in your life time. It doesn't look pretty and stains the sails but won't break. Steve Dashew's 83ft aluminium power boat that's been around the world from tropics to arctic (replaced his 80ft sailboat) is unpainted and un-anodized. When they want it to look nicer they have a yard go over it with a scotchbrite pad.
I'd clean the mast with a scotch brite pad and then give it an occasional coat of good wax to keep the sails clean.
Carl
I'd clean the mast with a scotch brite pad and then give it an occasional coat of good wax to keep the sails clean.
Carl
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Good to know Carl. I did however contact several mast companies who seem interested more in selling new rather than refurbishing. No freaking problem. A quick search and a few phone calls to business contacts have led me to several long part metal finishing companies. I have received several yes answers and am awaiting the quotes. Stripping and reanodizing is quite readily available. Damn glad I went into the metal working industry for a living.
Well the answer is...reanodize and powdercoat. Sparcraft Spars can and will reanodize and or powdercoat in your choice of colors. The basic anodizing is, drum roll please, 166.00. Now what ya got to say? This doesn't include stripping or shipping to and from North Carolina or a shipping crate for the return but the bottom line is it costs less than a paint job that won't last half as long. The Powder coating is an additional 450.00 or skip the anodizing and go straight to powder coat. So as promised I would get an answer. And the answer is if you have a good spar without a lot of corrosion it may be well worth another look at reanodizing.
So here is a quick update. My mast, boom and spreaders are at Charleston Spar/Sparcraft Spars in North Carolina. The shipping costs are a killer at around 1000.00 round trip. These folks have the longest anodizing tanks in the world with capacity to 70 feet. Damn that's big. So what they will do is strip the old anodizing and reanodize. It will then be powder coated which comes in three standard colors and any optional color someone might want. Since a new spar would be over 3000.00 for the extrusion only it is a very cost effective means of restoring a mast to better than new as powder coating is able to take a hit without chipping like paints. I'll provide updates as available.
Not sure what you have against painting ... I painted the mast and boom with Interlux Perfection during the off-season several years ago and the spars still look great. I can't see a need for worrying about the finish for many years to come. I used the Interlux etching primer before applying the 2-part primer and finishing paint. It wasn't much work, wasn't that difficult and was a huge improvement. Tim's article about his job is excellent. You'd sure save a lot of money and logistical aggrevation.
I guess it helps to have a place to do the job. I was able to do ours in the basement so that helped a lot. I used a good face mask / filter because the fumes are killler.
I guess it helps to have a place to do the job. I was able to do ours in the basement so that helped a lot. I used a good face mask / filter because the fumes are killler.
Hi Scott. Not that I have anything against paint but more a question of aesthetics. I looked over several painting methods but the price came out higher than a straight reanodizing. All the painting supplies to do a professional job actually added up to more than the anodize powdercoat I opted for. The prep and primers were quite expensive by comparison let alone the problems associated with a good bond as aluminum is a real stinker metal. Couple that with my obsessive desire to effect a complete restoration the choice for me was longest available finish at most reasonable cost. The shipping was the worst of it but when complete I have a brand new mast that exceeds the original in durability and quality. For others painting is the better option as they may not want to see many dollars go poof in shipping costs.
Oh yeah, now I remember the main reason I went for a reanodize. My mast was gold colored. The problem arose in the sail track. In order to achieve the uniform color the track would have to be painted. here lies the problem. By the time I had primed and painted using a full system paint method there was no way to allow clearance for the smooth working of the mainsail slugs. Couple that with the constant action of the slugs against the paint and the possiblity of a bind during reefing became a serious concern.
Yes, that is a problem. After several coats right at the edge of the track it has closed up some. The track isn't as bad as the opening to the track. I painted the entire opening and it is a little bit of a struggle to get the slugs in and out, but that's only a problem twice a year.
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