Ct, you've got it right ...
Use a random orbit sander with 60 grit and the old paint comes off very nice. I ended up sanding with 150 grit to buff it out a little smoother. For my 33' stick the whole job of sanding took less than 2 hours so I was satisfied with that rather than working with chemicals. You'll get a nice shiny aluminum to start out with and it looks tempting to leave it natural. I felt that the 220 grit was maybe a little too fine and I was worrying about adherence of the paint. I couldn't find any advise on the grit for final sanding so I settled on 150 because it was the coarsest that would remove the evidence from the 60 grit and leaves the surface visually looking flawless. Before sanding, I removed everything from the mast with 2 exceptions. I did not remove the ears for the spreaders and I did not remove the boom vang collar (can't remember what that is called) at the base of the mast. These stainless steel attachments are riveted into the mast with large stainless steel rivits that I figured would be a bitch to remove and require special tools for replacement. They looked to be in perfect shape and I decided to work around them. Many people would say that this is a shortcut and that there could be corrosion associated with the interface between stainless steel and aluminum. After sanding, I could see no evidence of any corrosion, so I decided to paint around these attachments. Time will tell if this is a mistake, but I don't think so (so far). I used Interlux products and was completely satisfied. For this job, they recommend the vinyl-lux prime wash. When I did my boom the year before, I didn't use this product. Instead, I used a Rust-oleum bare metal primer. There is no evidence after 2 years that this was a mistake so the verdict is still out. The boom is obviously much easier to do over the winter so I have no worries. When I did the mast last winter, I did not want to take the chance of a mistake because I don't take the mast down every winter (and bring it home), so I followed recommendations. That vinyl-lux prime wash 353 is potent stuff and it is also 2-part. Make sure you use a high quality mask so that when you are doing this work you can't smell it. I think you can do some brain damage if you don't. I had my mast in the basement to work on it and when I did the prime wash, the smell even permeated into the 1st floor of our house. With windows open and some fans pulling the fumes out, it didn't last long. With my mask on, I could not detect any fumes. When I looked on line for the product it seemed to be sold in a gallon container and you won't need nearly that much. Check around by phone because I was able to find a provider who sold me a quart container. It is expensive stuff. I have enough left over for you to do yours, but I don't know the shelf life and I've had it almost a year now. I think I would keep it anyway. After one coat of prime wash, use the 2-part Interthane primer and then the 2-part poly-urethane paint (Perfection). You won't be sorry. I could not find any guidance on number of coats so I did 2 coats interthane primer and 4-coats Perfection. Tim from up in Maine used the flattener with Perfection to reduce the gloss. I like the gloss so I did not use the flattener. I applied with a brush and tried worked to keep the environment as dust free as possible in our basement. I am very pleased with the result but it took a lot of attention to make sure I did not get sags. I was the opposite of you. I had black and liked white. I guess that is a matter of personal preference.
